Grayson v. State, 2002-DR-00588-SCT.

• Decision Date: 24 June 2004
• Docket Number: No. 2002-DR-00588-SCT.,2002-DR-00588-SCT.
• Citation: 879 So.2d 1008
• Parties: Blayde GRAYSON a/k/a Blayde N. Grayson a/k/a Blayde Nathniel Grayson a/k/a Blayde N. Amodeo v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

879 So.2d 1008

Blayde GRAYSON a/k/a Blayde N. Grayson a/k/a Blayde Nathniel Grayson a/k/a Blayde N. Amodeo v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2002-DR-00588-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 24, 2004.

Rehearing Denied August 19, 2004.

Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel by Robert M. Ryan, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Marvin L. White, Jr., Judy T. Martin, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

COBB, Presiding Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Blayde Grayson was convicted in the George County Circuit Court of the crime of capital murder during the commission of a burglary and sentenced to death. Grayson's conviction and sentence were affirmed by this Court in Grayson v. State, 806 So.2d 241 (Miss.2001), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 973, 123 S.Ct. 466, 154 L.Ed.2d 329 (2002).

¶ 2. Now properly before this Court are Grayson's Petition for Post-Conviction Relief and a subsequent Supplement/Amendment to Petition for Post Conviction Relief. The State filed its response in opposition to the petition and the supplemental amendment, arguing that the amended petition was filed after the statute of limitations had run, that all issues raised in the amended petition could have been raised prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations and thus are not properly before this Court. By order entered on March 6, 2003, this Court allowed Grayson to supplement his petition for post-conviction relief and the supplement/amendment was filed as a result.

¶ 3. Grayson's initial petition, filed hastily to comport with this Court's ruling in Puckett v. State, 834 So.2d 676 (Miss.2002), asserted six grounds for post-conviction relief: (1) purposeful unlawful delay in filing formal charges to obtain uncounseled confession; (2) unconstitutionally defective jury instructions; (3) sentence of death is constitutionally defective; (4) denial of right to effective counsel; (5) disproportionate sentence; and (6) cumulative error. In Grayson's supplemental amendment, he asserts six additional grounds for relief, some of which are duplicative: (7) ineffective assistance of counsel; (8) sentencing verdict fails to reflect aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt; (9) death sentence cannot be meted out until time has been served for other offenses committed prior to the capital murder; (10) aggravating factors not included in the indictment; (11) the "avoiding lawful arrest" aggravator was inappropriate in this case and it was fundamental error to present to the sentencing jury; and (12) jury's consideration of pecuniary gain and burglary as aggravators is error. Procedurally and on the merits, we find no error which warrants post-conviction relief for Grayson.

FACTS

¶ 4. A full recitation of the facts of this case is found in this Court's opinion on direct appeal. Grayson v. State, 806 So.2d 241 (Miss.2001). In summary, Grayson was arrested for the stabbing death of a seventy-eight year old woman on May 5, 1996. At that time, Grayson was a fugitive from justice, having walked away for a restitution center in Jackson County several months earlier. Based on information obtained during interviews of the victim's neighbors, Grayson was located in Florida, where he was also wanted by Florida law enforcement officials in connection with several armed robberies during the same month as the Mississippi murder. On May 17, 1996, the Escambia County, Florida, sheriff contacted Sheriff George Miller, of George County, Mississippi, and informed Miller that Grayson was in custody there and "wanting to talk with us." Sheriff Miller and three other law enforcement officers drove to Florida that afternoon, arriving late in the night. Upon arrival, Sheriff Miller began interviewing Grayson, after he signed a waiver of his Miranda rights. A short time into the interview, Grayson said that he would rather not talk anymore until he talked to his lawyer. Sheriff Miller explained that the reason they came down was because they were told that Grayson wanted to talk to them, to which Grayson replied that he "didn't mean to bring you fellows all the way down here for nothing ... but I need to talk to my lawyer about this-this is a situation." The sheriff then asked Grayson "you have not been in George County, is that correct?" Grayson said "no, sir" and the sheriff asked "Have you got witnesses to that, is that correct?" ... to which Grayson responded "yes, sir." Sheriff Miller basically conceded that Grayson had asked for a lawyer four times in approximately four minutes before the interview ended.

¶ 5. Grayson was transported back to George County that same night. Four days later, Grayson asked to speak with Sheriff Miller, at which time he gave a statement admitting that he was at the scene of the crime but that he did not rob or kill the victim, and naming the man who did the killing. Two days after that, Grayson gave another statement, and agreed to take a polygraph test, which was done the next day. Grayson then admitted that he had killed the victim and later repeated his confession on videotape.

ANALYSIS

I. Did the delay in filing of a formal charge against Grayson violate his right to counsel and result in the State obtaining an un-counseled confession?

¶ 6. Grayson argues that the State delayed the filing of formal charges against him for the purpose of extracting a confession from him, in violation of his constitutional rights. He contends that because the confession should not have been admitted into evidence during his trial, his conviction and sentence should be vacated. The State responds that this claim is barred by the doctrine of res judicata and is procedurally barred from relitigation by Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3). We agree.

¶ 7. Grayson made virtually identical arguments during the trial court's hearing of his motion to suppress his statements. He also made the same arguments on direct appeal, in which this Court found that the "trial court's refusal to suppress the statement was not manifest error." Grayson, 806 So.2d at 249. Moreover, this issue was one of two made in Grayson's petition for writ of certiorari filed with the United States Supreme Court, which was denied. See Grayson v. Mississippi, 537 U.S. 973, 123 S.Ct. 466, 154 L.Ed.2d 329 (2002).

¶ 8. "Rephrasing direct appeal issues for post-conviction purposes will not defeat the procedural bar of res judicata. The Petitioner carries the burden of demonstrating that his claim is not procedurally barred." Jackson v. State, 860 So.2d 653, 660-61 (Miss.2003) (quoting Lockett v. State, 614 So.2d 888, 893 (Miss.1992) (citations omitted)). This issue is procedurally barred and without merit.

II. and III. Were Grayson's rights violated by the imposition of a sentence of death based on jury instructions which were constitutionally defective in light of Tison v. Arizona?

¶ 9. Grayson argues that Mississippi's death penalty statutes are unconstitutional in that applying the death penalty to all defendants who are guilty of felony murder ignores the mental state and relative culpability of the defendant, and thus the death penalty is imposed in an unreasonable and inconsistent manner. He further contends that the jury instructions used in his trial and sentencing violated his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and were contrary to the holdings in Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 102 S.Ct. 3368, 73 L.Ed.2d 1140 (1982), and Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137, 107 S.Ct. 1676, 95 L.Ed.2d 127 (1987).

¶ 10. Grayson again raised the same arguments on direct appeal. This Court held that Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-19(e), the portion of Mississippi's death penalty statute which provides for the application of the statute to all defendants who are guilty of felony murder, is constitutional. Grayson, 806 So.2d at 251-52. This Court further held that Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-10, which provides that a jury is to determine punishment in capital cases, and lists the aggravating and mitigating circumstances which are to be considered, is constitutional. Grayson, 806 So.2d at 252. See also Stevens v. State, 867 So.2d 219, 223 (Miss.2003)

. Accordingly, this issue is procedurally barred from consideration and cannot be relitigated in a post-conviction collateral relief action. Id.; Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3).

¶ 11. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, the record reveals that this issue is also without merit. In order to return a death sentence, the jury must find, beyond a reasonable doubt, at least one of the intent factors contained in Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-101(7). In the present matter, the jury found all four factors beyond a reasonable doubt, including that Grayson "intended the killing of Minnie Smith take place." In his present arguments, Grayson completely ignores that finding. The jury's finding that Grayson intended to kill Minnie Smith "is sufficient under both Enmund and Tison." See Walker v. State, 863 So.2d 1, 26 (Miss.2003)

.

IV. and VII. Was Grayson denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel within the meaning of Strickland v. Washington?

¶ 12. Ineffective assistance of counsel claims are governed by the following principles:

An ineffective assistance claim has two components: A petitioner must show that counsel's performance was deficient, and that the deficiency prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). To establish deficient performance, a petitioner must demonstrate that counsel's representation "fell below an objective standard of reasonableness." Id., at 688 104 S.Ct. 2052. We have declined to articulate specific guidelines for appropriate attorney conduct and instead have emphasized that "[t]he proper measure of attorney performance remains simply reasonableness under prevailing professional norms." Id.

Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 2535, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003)

; Simmons v. State, 869 So.2d 995, 1000-01

(Miss.2004); Stringer v. State, 454...