Gator v. State, 52612
| Decision Date | 08 April 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 52612,52612 |
| Citation | 402 So.2d 316 |
| Parties | James Calvin GATOR v. STATE of Mississippi. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
William K. Duke, Richard C. Davis, Oxford, for appellant.
Bill Allain, Atty. Gen. by Mark A. Chinn, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.
Before ROBERTSON, P. J., and BROOM and HAWKINS, JJ.
James Calvin Gator was indicted, tried and convicted in the Circuit Court of Lafayette County for the rape of a 58-year-old widow. The jury was unable to agree on punishment, whereupon, the trial court sentenced Gator to serve 23 years in an institution designated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Around 10:30 p. m. on October 10, 1978, the prosecutrix, a 58-year-old widow, was awakened by a light in her bedroom. She heard a noise, and turned on a lamp by her bed. After checking the living room and kitchen doors, which were locked, she checked the drapes which were still drawn on the patio sliding door. When she pulled the drapes, she saw a face in the glass door, which was not completely closed. She attempted to close the sliding door but the man outside grabbed her wrist. As she struggled with her assailant, he entered the house and grabbed her by both wrists. After he had pulled her out on the patio, he threw her on the ground and raped her.
He then jerked her to her feet and ordered her back in the house. He told her that he had done a terrible thing, and that he had come there primarily looking for money. She offered him $20 if he would leave, and after she handed him the money she slammed the door and called the police. She was unable to give a description of her assailant other than that he was a black man of about medium build.
About a month and 20 days later, defendant was picked up after midnight on November 29, 1978, for investigation in connection with a series of burglaries. He was transported to the police station and advised of his Miranda rights. After defendant Gator stated that he understood his rights, he signed a printed waiver of rights form in the presence of Detective Captain David Webb and Lieutenant Metts. He then made a statement, reduced to writing by Captain Webb, admitting the rape of the prosecutrix. Gator signed the statement and Webb and Metts signed as witnesses.
At the preliminary hearing, on defendant's motion to suppress, Gator testified, denying that he had raped the prosecutrix or that he had made any statement about the rape. However, he admitted making statements about the burglaries. He admitted that he was not threatened or pressured on the burglary statements. The court overruled the motion to suppress the confession.
Dr. John W. Hunsicker, a young clinical psychologist, testified, at the pre-trial hearing to determine defendant's competency to stand trial, that he had given Gator psychological and personality tests a few days before, that the tests indicated an IQ of 43, and a mental age of 7 years and 2 months. Dr. Hunsicker was unable to testify that Gator had been overreached in making his confession, nor did he have an opinion as to whether Gator knew the difference between right and wrong. The court found that defendant was competent to stand trial. After a full trial, the defendant was convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.
The defendant has assigned 11 errors allegedly committed by the trial court. Most of them have to do with the feeblemindedness of the defendant, and the bearing this would have on his competency to stand trial, or to intelligently waive his rights and make a voluntary confession. The defendant's position seems to be that an IQ of 43, per se, conclusively proves that the defendant, although an experienced 41-year-old man, was not capable of forming a criminal intent to commit rape, was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, and was incapable of aiding his two court-appointed attorneys in preparing his defense.
At the trial, Dr. Hunsicker testified as to the psychological tests given Gator and as to his mental and social ages, but he could not state whether defendant was capable of forming a criminal intent, nor could he state whether the defendant knew the difference between right and wrong.
Dr. Donald C. Guild, director of forensic psychiatry at Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, testified that he, in conjunction with Dr. Stanley, the staff psychologist, had examined the defendant, after they had reviewed the defendant's history. Dr. Guild testified that he looked primarily at two things: (1) is he competent to stand trial; and (2) is he criminally responsible? Dr. Guild's opinion was that he was competent to stand trial, that he knew the difference between right and wrong, and that he knew the nature and quality of his wrongful act and was, therefore, criminally responsible. Dr. Guild explained that an IQ of 43 arrived at through the Stanford Benet test would not be conclusive as to the real intelligence of a person, that an IQ test can be influenced to a considerable extent by motivation, that most IQ tests contain a social comprehension scale, that an IQ of 43 would be the very bottom reading, and that in his opinion, although Whitfield did not give defendant Gator any psychological tests, his considered opinion, after interviewing and observing defendant and after studying his history, would be that the defendant had an IQ of 70.
The trial of this case took two full days. The record consists of 410 pages, contained in two volumes. The trial judge, in ruling on a motion for a new trial, said, among other things:
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Neal v. State
...Hancock v. State, 299 So.2d 188 (Miss.1974) (dull normal man's confession admissible after Miranda warnings); Gator v. State, 402 So.2d 316 (Miss.1981) (confession held admissible where defendant's I.Q. was placed at range between 43 and 70). See also, Lee v. State, 338 So.2d 399, 401 (Miss......
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Jones v. State
...Hancock v. State, 299 So.2d 188 (Miss.1974) (dull normal man's confession admissible after Miranda warnings); Gator v. State, 402 So.2d 316 (Miss.1981) (confession held admissible where defendant's I.Q. was placed at range between 43 and 70); see also, Neal v. State, 451 So.2d 743, 755-756 ......
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Cole v. State
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Blue v. State
...held admissible after Miranda warnings were given where defendant had an IQ of 87 and was considered "dull normal"); Gator v. State, 402 So.2d 316 (Miss.1981) (confession held admissible where defendant's IQ was placed at a range between 43 and In Neal, this Court held a defendant's confess......