Franklin v. State, SC13–1632.

• Citation: 209 So.3d 1241
• Decision Date: 23 November 2016
• Docket Number: No. SC13–1632.,SC13–1632.
• Parties: Richard P. FRANKLIN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Florida

209 So.3d 1241

Richard P. FRANKLIN, Appellant,

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC13–1632.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Nov. 23, 2016.

Nancy Ann Daniels, Public Defender, and Nada Margaret Carey, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Robert James Morris, III, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

This case is before the Court on appeal from a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and a sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the conviction, vacate the sentence of death, and remand for a new capital sentencing proceeding.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE & FACTS

Richard Franklin appeals his conviction and sentence for the first-degree murder of Sergeant Ruben Thomas. At all relevant times, Franklin was an inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution (CCI), Annex Unit in Columbia County, Florida. He was serving life sentences for prior convictions of first-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm as well as a term of years for a prior conviction of aggravated battery with a firearm. Franklin was residing in room 3206 on the second floor of Quad 3, T Dorm. Two or three months before the murder in question, Franklin's cellmate, Robert Acree, sold Franklin the murder weapon: a 10.5 inch by 1.5 inch shank or knife.

Thomas was a corrections officer at CCI. On the night of his murder, Thomas was working the 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. shift in T Dorm as the dorm sergeant. He and dorm Officer Bradley Myer were stationed in the officer's station or control room. The officer's station was surrounded by a large octagon-shaped sallyport or vestibule that, in turn, separated the officer's station from the four surrounding quads where the inmates resided. There was an additional area within the sallyport that separated the sallyport from the entrance to the officer's station, with an outer swinging door leading into the additional area and an inner door leading from that area into the officer's station. Because the control consoles for T Dorm's quads were located in the officer's station, at least one officer always had to be present in the officer's station in order to operate the controls.

On March 18, 2012, shortly after the 10:30 p.m. master count of the inmates, Franklin removed from the air vent in his cell a piece of cardboard that typically was used to control the cell's temperature. He then used the Quad 3 intercom to summon Thomas to the cell under the false pretense that water was leaking from the vent. Thomas informed Myer that he was going to inspect an inmate's cell. Once Thomas entered Quad 3, he generally inquired about who had water coming from their vent, to which Franklin responded, "Up here, Sarge," and called out his cell number.

Thomas approached the cell, and Franklin called him to the back to look up at the vent. Witnesses testified that Thomas was carrying a bag of potato chips at that time and did not appear prepared to fight. The record generally reflects that either as Thomas was inspecting the vent or as soon as he looked back down, Franklin punched him in the face, breaking his nose and causing it to bleed "real bad." A brief tussle ensued, during which time Franklin hit Thomas in the stomach and chest area and knocked Thomas's radio out of his hand. Thomas's panic button also ended up on the floor.

Thomas managed to disengage himself and flee from the cell. Myer testified that he saw Thomas running across the second-floor catwalk toward the front of the quad, down the staircase, out the quad's sliding entrance door, and toward the outer officer's station door in the sallyport. By the time Thomas reached the bottom of the staircase, Franklin emerged from the cell while brandishing his shank and ran or "fast walked" in the same direction as Thomas. The sliding entrance door was closing, but Franklin managed to capture it and push it back far enough to squeeze through into the sallyport.

As Thomas approached the officer's station, he hollered, "back door, back door," meaning for Myer to unlock the outer door to the officer's station. Myer complied and simultaneously radioed for backup. Once Thomas got through the outer door, he tried to close it. However, Franklin caught up and wedged his foot in the doorway to prevent the door from shutting and locking. Franklin testified that he initially did not think he would catch Thomas, but when he was able to wedge the outer door, he got excited and thought to himself, "I got you," and that he had an opportunity to "whup [Thomas's] ass."

A struggle over the outer door ensued; Thomas tried to pull the door closed while Franklin attempted to force it open. Each time the door opened, Franklin struck at Thomas with the shank in a downward motion. Inmate Samuel Selig specifically recalled Franklin burying the shank into Thomas' neck, causing blood to squirt inside the vestibule area just outside the officer's station. He also recalled the outer door eventually closing, after which Thomas fell to his hands and knees, coughed up blood, and rolled over onto his back. The struggle lasted approximately thirty seconds.

By that time, inmates in each quad had gathered on the quad windows in observation. They began beating on the glass and hollering. Franklin subsequently walked around the vestibule and made a cutthroat gesture with his right thumb toward the inmates. He then entered Quad 2.¹

Captain Michelle Nipper responded to the annex. Upon arriving at T Dorm, she ordered the officers to lock down the inmates in each quad. A standoff at the Quad 2 door eventually began between Franklin and the corrections officers; Franklin was locked inside the quad, and the officers were gathering in front of the quad door within the vestibule. At some point, Franklin brandished his shank and a canister of pepper spray. Captain Nipper ordered Franklin to relinquish the items and surrender, but he refused. Franklin removed prison uniforms from a laundry bag, tied them together, and fastened the garments to the outside of the showers and the fire exit door to prevent the officers from entering the quad through that door. He returned to the quad's front door, bellowed to Nipper, "Bitch, you ain't taking me alive," and violently shook the door.

Shortly thereafter, the Designated Armed Response Team or "DART" members arrived at T Dorm. Franklin entered cell 2108 on Quad 2's first floor and broke the sprinkler head, causing the fire alarm and strobe lights to activate. Because water erupted from the sprinkler system, an ankle-high flood filled the quad and vestibule.

Additional officers, along with Assistant Warden Tony Anderson, had arrived at Quad 2's front entrance by that time. Franklin continued to disobey the officers' orders to relinquish his weapons and surrender himself. One of the officers sprayed Franklin with chemical gas through a porthole in the quad door in an attempt to force him to relinquish the weapons. Franklin wiped his face off and said in a "pissed off" manner, "I'm going to get another one of y'all, y'all come on. I'm ready for you." Franklin also attempted to spray the officers with his canister of pepper spray but ran out.

Using a non-lethal round, a DART member shot Franklin in the upper torso. Franklin fell to the floor and dropped his shank and pepper spray. The officers then rushed into the quad, administered more of the chemical gas, and apprehended Franklin.

Thomas died as a result of a laceration wound almost three inches in depth to the left side of his neck. The jugular vein and small blood vessels from the subclavian artery were cut. Thomas's left lung was punctured, and as a result, one fifth of his blood filled the left chest cavity and caused the lung to collapse. Thomas also sustained incised wounds on the right side of his face and the left scalp, a fractured temporal bone, eight sharp-force defensive wounds on his arms, and at least fourteen blunt-force defensive wounds to other parts of his body.

On June 19, 2013, a jury convicted Franklin of first-degree premeditated murder.² During the penalty phase, the State presented evidence of Franklin's prior convictions and also permitted Thomas's mother and his fiancée to read prepared victim impact statements. The defense called Franklin's father and sister in mitigation. Franklin also testified in his defense, during which he explained the circumstances surrounding his prior convictions. The jury ultimately recommended a sentence of death by a nine-to-three vote.

Following a Spencer³ hearing, the trial court, on August 2, 2013, sentenced Franklin to death.⁴ In imposing the death sentence, the trial court found five aggravating factors,⁵ no statutory mitigating factors, and seven nonstatutory mitigating factors.⁶ It concluded "that the aggravating factors clearly, convincingly, and beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh the mitigating factors. In fact, the mitigating evidence ‘is minimal and does not come close to outweighing the aggravating factors.’ " This appeal follows.

ANALYSIS

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Franklin chiefly argues that the record does not support his conviction of first-degree murder. He admits that he murdered Thomas using a homemade shank but contends that the evidence presented at trial failed to show a premeditated design to kill him. In every capital case involving the imposition of the death penalty, this Court independently reviews the record to ensure there was sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction. Dausch v. State, 141 So.3d 513, 517 (Fla.2014). There was sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction "if, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, a rational trier of fact could find the existence of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Johnston v. State, 863 So.2d 271, 283 (Fla.2003) (citing Banks v. State, 732 So.2d 1065 (Fla.1999) ); see also Dausch, 141...