Ex parte Scott

• Decision Date: 20 March 1998
• Citation: 728 So.2d 172
• Parties: Ex parte William David SCOTT. (Re William David Scott v. State).
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

728 So.2d 172

Ex parte William David SCOTT.

(Re William David Scott v. State).

1961460.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

March 20, 1998.

Rehearing Denied January 15, 1999.

John Knowles, Geneva, for petitioner.

Bill Pryor, atty. gen., and Michael B. Billingsley, asst. atty. gen., for respondent.

COOK, Justice.¹

William David Scott was convicted of theft of property and of murder made capital because it was committed during a burglary (§ 13A-5-40(a)(4), Ala.Code 1975) and was committed for a pecuniary consideration (§ 13A-5-40(a)(7)). The jury, voting 12-0, recommended that for the murder Scott be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The trial judge overrode the jury's recommendation and sentenced Scott to death. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the murder conviction and the sentence of death. Scott v. State, 728 So.2d 164 (Ala.Cr.App.1997). We have granted certiorari review as to the murder conviction. We affirm.

The Court of Criminal Appeals, in its opinion of January 17, 1997, set forth the following set of facts:

"The record indicates that during the late evening hours of July 10, 1993, or the early morning hours of July 11, 1993, J.W. Griffin was killed at his home in Geneva. The victim's son, Greg Griffin, found his father dead on the morning of July 11, 1993. Griffin's hands were down by his side and his pants were unzipped. He had been shot once above the right eye and once in the center of the back. The State presented evidence that all of the doors to Griffin's mobile home were shut and his car was parked in the front yard. A chair with a footprint on it was found at an exterior bedroom window and the screen was lying on the ground. It appeared that the assailant had entered the mobile home through the window. There was no sign of a struggle.

"James Linder, a friend and coworker of the appellant's, testified that, on June 17, 1993, he accompanied the appellant on what was to be a trip from Ocala, Florida, to a possible construction job. The appellant's car, however, broke down in Lake City, Florida. Linder testified that the appellant called an acquaintance, Jim Fletcher, who came and picked them up and took them to Ocala. The following day Linder and the appellant drove to Geneva, Alabama, in Jim Fletcher's truck. Linder testified that it was during this trip that the appellant told him that the purpose of the trip was to kill Griffin. The appellant offered to pay Linder $300 if Linder would drive him. The appellant also told Linder that there would be future jobs involving much larger compensation if this one went well. Upon arriving in Geneva, the two were unable to locate Griffin at either his residence or his place of business, which was a produce stand. They spent two nights in Geneva and then returned to Florida. Linder testified that on July 10, 1993, he and the appellant returned to Geneva. According to Linder, the appellant had a revolver in his possession. Linder dropped the appellant off at a vacant lot near Griffin's mobile home. The plan was for the appellant to go to Griffin's home, kill him, and return to the truck, where Linder would be waiting to drive him back to Florida. Linder testified that from where he was waiting, he could see people attending a pool party. He testified that after several minutes had passed, a man, later identified as Al Danner, approached him and asked him what he was doing there. He testified that shortly thereafter, police officers arrived and questioned him. Linder told the officers that he had lost his identification, and he gave the name and birthdate of a friend, Albert Faulk, as his own. Linder testified that, after the officers instructed him to move on, he pulled into a nearby gasoline station, purchased a soft drink, and proceeded to Panama City, Florida, where he spent the night.

"That night, Linder telephoned Jim Fletcher, who instructed him to meet the appellant at the Greyhound bus station in Panama City the next morning. Linder testified that, while at the bus station, the appellant told him that `it's not like on TV' and `people—they don't grunt when they go down.' The appellant told Linder that he had crawled through a window and that he shot Griffin twice. Linder testified that the appellant told him that Jim Fletcher had wired money to him in Panama City but that he was unable to find a Western Union Telegraph Company outlet that was open for business. Linder, however, found a Western Union store and when the appellant returned to Ocala he was to send Linder a portion of the original transfer from Fletcher. Linder testified that he received the money and then returned to Oklawaha, Florida. There, Linder was instructed by Fletcher to get rid of the truck. He testified that he took the truck into a wooded area and burned it. Linder did not see the truck again until he and the appellant went to the area to show the truck to Ronnie Thomas, a mechanic, who was interested in buying the truck.

"Jim Fletcher testified that he was a resident of Oklawaha and that he had known the appellant for several years. He testified that a man named Jesse Richburg[²] had approached him about killing J.W. Griffin. Fletcher said that he did not do anything like that and referred Richburg to the appellant. He testified that, during the early months of 1993, the appellant informed him that he had accepted the `job' and would receive $5,000. Fletcher testified that on June 9, 1993, the appellant drove his truck to Geneva to `scout the job out.' He had to wire $100 to the appellant in Panama City so that he could afford to return to Geneva. Fletcher testified that he became aware that the appellant had attempted a second trip to Geneva when the appellant called him requesting help because his car had broken down in Lake City, Florida. Fletcher drove to Lake City and transported the appellant and James Linder back to Oklawaha. Fletcher testified that the following morning the appellant told him that he and Linder would be taking Fletcher's truck to Geneva to kill Griffin. Two days later, the appellant telephoned Fletcher from Panama City stating that he and Linder had been unable to locate the victim and that he needed him to wire $100 so that they could return home.

"Fletcher testified that, shortly thereafter, he obtained a `throw away' gun from Richburg and passed it on to the appellant. Fletcher testified that, on the weekend of July 10, 1993, he received a telephone call from the appellant. The appellant instructed him to call a certain number and say the following: `Listen, I'm only going to say this one time. It's done, it came out dirty, I'm going to need more money and I'll see you tomorrow.' The appellant also stated that he and Linder had gotten separated and that he asked Fletcher to wire him $300. Fletcher testified that he complied with the appellant's requests. Approximately three hours later, Fletcher received a telephone call from the appellant's ex-wife, who asked him for $50 so that she could purchase a bus ticket from Panama City to Ocala for the appellant. The ticket was wired from Ocala to Panama City, where the appellant signed for it. Fletcher testified that he saw the appellant on Monday. The appellant told him that he had climbed into Griffin's mobile home through a window and shot him twice. The appellant told him that Griffin had been lying on the couch and when he got up to go to the bathroom, he shot him.

"Rita Boyette testified that she lived approximately one mile from Griffin's mobile home. She testified that, on the night of the murder, her 1983 Ford LTD automobile was stolen from her carport. The abandoned car was found at a construction site in Panama City, Florida, by an officer of the Panama City Police Department. The State presented evidence that fingerprints and palm prints discovered in the automobile matched those of the appellant.

"Blanche Kay Klapper, a friend of the appellant and Linder, testified that the appellant asked her to keep his son on the weekend of July 10 because he `had a job to do.' The following Monday she picked the appellant up at a convenience store. She and the appellant left the store and went to Jim Fletcher's house, at the appellant's request. On the way, the appellant told her that `he could be looking at facing the [penitentiary] or maybe the [electric] chair because somebody was killed.' Klapper testified that she then told the appellant that she did not want to hear any more. She testified that, after she and the appellant arrived at Fletcher's house, the appellant and Fletcher had a conversation, which she did not hear.

"Jimmy Hand, an investigator with the district attorney's office in Dale and Geneva Counties, testified that Griffin had been involved as an informant in a federal investigation involving Jesse Richburg. He testified that Griffin's ex-wife, Rhonda Bohannon, knew that Griffin was an informant. He testified that Bohannon and Richburg had been seen together before and after Griffin's death."

728 So.2d at 165-166. The Court of Criminal Appeals addressed the following six arguments in its opinion:

I. "[That] the trial court erred in allowing the jury to consider the uncorroborated testimony of [Scott's] accomplices, Jim Fletcher and James Linder, in violation of § 12-21-222, [Ala.Code 1975]." See 728 So.2d at 166.

II. "[That] the trial court erred in refusing to give 14 of [Scott's] 34 requested charges during the guilt phase of his trial." See 728 So.2d at 169.

III. "[That] there was insufficient evidence presented by the State to support [Scott's] conviction for capital murder and his sentence of death." See 728 So.2d at 169.

IV. "[That] the trial court's decision to override the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment without parole and to sentence him to death was not supported by either the evidence or the law." See 728 So.2d at 171.

V. "[That] the Alabama statutory scheme that allows the trial court to override the advisory verdict of

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