Fairchild v. State
| Decision Date | 06 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | 01-856 |
| Citation | 76 S.W.3d 884 |
| Parties | ROBERT L. FAIRCHILD, APPELLANT; VS. STATE OF ARKANSAS, APPELLEE;01-856 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS Opinion Delivered |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appellant Robert L. Fairchild appeals the order of the Jefferson County Circuit Court convicting him of attempted capital murder and possession or use of a weapon by an incarcerated person. Appellant raises two points for reversal: (1) there was insufficient evidence supporting his conviction on the attempted capital murder charge; and (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements made to a corrections officer. As Appellant was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1-2(a)(2). We find no error and affirm.
On the evening of June 17, 1999, Appellant was involved in an altercation with James Cannon. At that time, Appellant was an inmate in the Arkansas Department of Correction's Tucker Maximum Security Unit, and Cannon was a correction's officer at the prison. Appellant was transferred to Tucker from the Cummins Unit on August 23, 1990, where he was placed in administrative segregation until February 17, 1999. He was then assigned to be a barracks' porter on April 28, 1999, meaning that he was responsible for cleaning and sweeping the barracks that housed some of the inmates.
On the night of the altercation, Cannon reported to work for the evening shift and was informed by another officer, Anthony Ward, that Appellant had come to him complaining about a disciplinary report Cannon filled out on Appellant. According to Ward, Cannon stated that he would look into the matter and then left to conduct a security check of the barracks. He entered the barracks area where Appellant was sweeping. According to Ward, who was monitoring the prisoners from a control booth adjacent to the barracks, Appellant suddenly started running toward Cannon. When Cannon turned around, Appellant began punching him in the stomach and eventually grabbed his flashlight. Thereafter, Appellant began striking Cannon repeatedly in the head with the flashlight. According to Ward, Appellant struck Cannon in the head at least ten times. When Appellant finally stopped hitting Cannon, he started to drag his body across the barracks' floor, but then dropped him and began rummaging through Cannon's pockets.
Ward requested backup assistance from other officers. The officers were initially unable to access the area where Appellant and Cannon were, because when Cannon entered the barracks he left an inner door slightly open, causing the prison's security system to automatically lock the outer door. Once a supervisor arrived with an override key, officers gained access to Cannon and Appellant. Cannon was rescued and carried to the infirmary for medical treatment.
Two of the officers who responded to Ward's request for assistance were Delma Goldman, building supervisor, and David Knott, a correction's sergeant. According to Knott, when they arrived at the barracks, he witnessed Appellant running back and forth on the second level of the barracks. Then, Appellant approached Knott and Goldman, surrendering the flashlight that he had taken from Cannon, as well as a shank that he was carrying. Appellant was then handcuffed and initially taken to the infirmary as well, but was moved to a nearby office until Cannon was transported from the infirmary. Knott then attempted to place leg restraints on Appellant and was kicked by him in this process.
When Appellant was finally taken to the infirmary for treatment of injuries sustained while being restrained, he asked to speak with Goldman. Appellant initially asked Goldman if Cannon was dead, and Goldman replied that he did not know. Appellant then stated, Appellant's reference to his "big brother" was to Barry Lee Fairchild, another inmate who was executed by the State for the capital murder of Marjorie Mason.
Cannon was transported to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock for treatment of serious head injuries. He was rushed into emergency surgery, and according to his treating physician, Dr. Mark Linskey, Cannon was initially given a twenty percent chance of survival. Linskey explained that Cannon's scalp was broken in several places, his brain was bruised and damaged, and he was in a "severe head injury comatose state." Cannon survived this brutal ordeal, but suffered permanent damages as a result of his injuries. Doctors had to remove a portion of his brain in order to facilitate the brain's healing process. This damaged some of Cannon's cognitive abilities, leaving him sometimes unable to control his normal social inhibitions, which, in turn, causes uncontrollable and inappropriate outbursts. Cannon is also no longer able to see out of his right eye, and the left side of his body is extremely weak. He must walk with a cane, but fatigues easily and thus relies mostly on a wheelchair. He also requires assistance in completing daily living tasks.
Appellant was charged with one count each of attempt to commit capital murder; aggravated robbery; battery in the second degree; and possession or use of a weapon by an incarcerated person. A jury trial was held on November 21, 2000. During a recess in the trial, the court held a Denno hearing to consider Appellant's pretrial motion to suppress. The motion sought to exclude the statements Appellant made to Goldman in the infirmary following his attack on Cannon. According to Appellant, the statements were inadmissible because he was not advised of his Miranda rights, despite the fact that he was in custody at the time the statements were made; he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right against self-incrimination; and the statements were not made voluntarily.
At the Denno hearing, Appellant presented the testimony of Goldman in an attempt to prove that the statements were the result of a custodial interrogation. Goldman testified that he had known Appellant for several years and that the two "were as close, I think, as an officer could be to an inmate." Goldman stated that Appellant had been seen by the infirmary staff and while waiting for further treatment, Appellant asked Goldman if he could speak with him. Goldman then removed the handcuffs that had been placed on Appellant following the altercation with Cannon. When questioned as to why he removed the handcuffs, Goldman responded:
We had just had a major incident. And inmates in the infirmary are required to be placed in handcuffs, but this inmate had made a request that he wanted to speak with me. And I thought that he would probably say something to me that would shed some light on the incident. And I thought that if I removed the handcuffs he would open up and probably say more than he would if he had remained in handcuffs.
Goldman then stated that Appellant made the statements about trying to kill Cannon and wanting to go out like his big brother. Goldman reiterated that Appellant made his statements without any questioning or encouragement on his part. Goldman admitted that he did not advise Appellant of his Miranda rights, and that Appellant was not free to leave the infirmary at the time that he made the incriminating statements. Goldman also stated, however, that he was not trying to investigate Appellant at the time the statements were made. He only asked him why he had done it in response to Appellant's incriminating statements. Goldman also explained that the Arkansas State Police were called in that night to investigate the incident.
Goldman was the only witness to testify at the Denno hearing. Appellant did not testify, or put on any evidence regarding the events that occurred after the officers subdued him. The State argued that there was no Miranda violation because there had been no custodial interrogation. The State contended that the statements were spontaneously made and voluntary on Appellant's part. The trial court agreed, ruling that the statements were admissible because they were initiated by Appellant.
During Appellant's trial, witnesses recounted the events leading up to and surrounding the altercation. Goldman testified to the statements Appellant made in the infirmary. Officers Knott and David Westbrook, both of whom were involved in subduing Appellant after the altercation, testified that they were present in the infirmary when Appellant made the incriminating statements. Each of them testified that they heard Appellant state that he was trying to kill Cannon and go out like his brother.
At the close of the State's case, Appellant moved for a directed verdict on each of the charges. The court directed a verdict in Appellant's favor on the charges of battery in the second degree and aggravated robbery. As to Appellant's argument that the State had failed to make a prima facie showing of premeditation and deliberation, the trial court disagreed and denied his motion on that charge, as well as on the weapons charge. The defense rested without putting on any evidence, and the case was submitted to the jury. The jury subsequently rendered a guilty verdict on the two remaining charges, and Appellant was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment. This appeal followed.
For his first point on appeal, Appellant argues that it was error for the trial court to deny his motions for a directed verdict, as there was insufficient evidence to establish that he acted with premeditation or deliberation. Specifically, Appellant argues that if the incriminating statements made in the infirmary are excluded, as argued in his second point on appeal, there is no evidence to support the...
To continue reading
Request your trial