Graham v. State
| Decision Date | 01 April 1980 |
| Docket Number | 4 Div. 787 |
| Citation | 403 So.2d 275 |
| Parties | Richard GRAHAM v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Myron H. Thompson, of Thompson & Faulk, Dothan, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., J. T. Simonetti, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
During the late evening hours of June 29, 1977, Mary Ann James was raped and stabbed to death in her apartment in Daleville, Alabama. She had been stabbed at least fifty-seven times. At the time of the crime, the victim was a lieutenant in the Missouri National Guard on active duty at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. The appellant was a warrant officer and likewise stationed there.
The appellant was indicted for the capital offense of "rape when the victim is intentionally killed by the defendant," § 13-11-2(a)(3), Code of Ala.1975. He first entered a plea of not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty after his trial counsel engaged in plea bargaining on his behalf. After an extensive colloquy, in camera, pursuant to Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), and execution of an Ireland form (Ireland v. State, 47 Ala.App. 65, 250 So.2d 602 (1971)), the appellant's change of plea was accepted by the trial judge. A jury was empaneled for the purpose of allowing the State to present a prima facie case pursuant to § 15-15-24(a), Code of Ala.1975, and the procedure approved in Prothro v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 370 So.2d 740 (1979). The State then introduced evidence which we will summarize below.
Major Anthony Keil was the "Field Officer of the day" at Ft. Rucker on the date of the crime. He saw the appellant talking to the victim at the Officers Club around 10:15 or 10:30 that night. Keil talked to both the victim and the appellant, and when he left the club after about twenty minutes, Graham and Lieutenant James were still talking and drinking together.
Iris Croshaw was the night clerk at the Daleville Inn where the victim resided. On the night of the crime, the appellant came to her office sometime between 10:15 p. m. and midnight and asked for the apartment number of a Mr. Bailey. However, when the appellant received that information, he said that since it was so late he would leave and return the next morning to see Bailey. A map of the apartment complex showing the location of each apartment was displayed on the desk of the office in the presence of the appellant. Lieutenant James' body was found in her apartment the next day.
Robert Nipper was the appellant's cellmate in the Dale County jail where the appellant was awaiting trial on the instant charge. The appellant admitted the murder to Nipper and made elaborate plans for Nipper to escape and kill another woman in the same manner. Appellant believed that another identical crime committed while he was in jail would convince the police he was innocent and he would be released from jail. From the record:
The appellant gave Nipper the names and addresses of two women he might kill. One worked across the street from appellant at Ft. Rucker, and appellant had obtained the name and address of the other one day when he was at the telephone office and overheard the woman give that information to someone there.
The plans were further detailed by Nipper:
....
The note which the appellant gave Nipper with coded instructions was deciphered and read to the jury by Nipper and was admitted into evidence. However, a transcript of one of their conversations tape recorded from a microphone hidden on Nipper was not admitted at trial. Nipper voluntarily told the police about the appellant's incriminating statements to him and volunteered to use a microphone concealed on his body to transcribe other conversations with the appellant. The transcript of a later conversation with the appellant which corroborated the testimony of Nipper was admitted at sentencing.
Dale Carter, a criminalist and laboratory director with the State Department of Toxicology and Criminal Investigation, testified as to the scene of the murder and cause of death. The details of the death scene and murder corresponded exactly with the instructions the appellant gave Nipper as how to commit another murder. The body of the victim was found in the bathroom wrapped in sheets and submerged in water. The bedroom had been ransacked, and the contents of bureau drawers had been scattered about the floor. The mattress on the victim's bed had been turned over and was lying face down. No fingerprints were found indicating to the witness that the contents of the apartment had been deliberately wiped clean or else the intruder had used gloves. Although on first impression a larceny appeared to have taken place, officers found nothing of value missing from the apartment.
The case was submitted to the jury with the understanding that the appellant had entered a guilty plea. The jury fixed punishment at death upon a finding of guilt as mandated by the Alabama capital felony statute, supra, and the trial judge after a sentencing hearing sentenced appellant to life imprisonment without parole.
A presentence investigation report was submitted to the trial judge by the State on the sentencing hearing. Among other things that report showed that the appellant had been charged in Dale County in 1974 for rape and again in 1978 for a rape-murder. As to the first incident, the report revealed:
....
The report likewise showed that the appellant was charged for the April 11, 1978, rape-murder of Donna M. Wilcynski. From the report:
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