Hadley v. State

• Decision Date: 21 September 1990
• Docket Number: 1 Div. 984
• Citation: 575 So.2d 145
• Parties: J.C. HADLEY v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 145

575 So.2d 145

J.C. HADLEY v. STATE.

1 Div. 984.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Sept. 21, 1990.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 30, 1990.

Certiorari Denied March 1, 1991

Alabama Supreme Court 1900487.

David A. Simon, Bay Minette, for appellant.

Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little, Asst. Atty. Gen., for State.

McMILLAN, Judge.

The appellant was indicted pursuant to § 13A-5-40(a)(5), Code of Alabama 1975, for the capital offense of the murder of a law enforcement officer. The appellant pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Following a jury trial, the appellant was found guilty as charged in the indictment. Thereafter, the jury returned an advisory verdict of life imprisonment without parole, by a vote of 12 to 0. A proceeding was then held before the trial court, following which the trial judge sentenced the appellant to death.

The record indicates that the appellant is a white male, who was approximately 52 years old at the time of the offense. The appellant has a fourth or fifth grade education and is illiterate. He has a long history of alcohol abuse, which worsened after his first wife committed suicide. The appellant remarried, and his second wife died of a heart attack. The chief of police of Robertsdale testified that, during the 12 years prior to the appellant's trial, he had committed 32 alcohol-related offenses in the City of Robertsdale. Several of these offenses, though many did not result in convictions, were potentially violent: e.g assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal trespass. The appellant was known to have threatened suicide on a number of occasions, and the appellant's sister-in-law, who testified for the State, indicated that the appellant often had "very severe" headaches, during which he would bang his head against the wall and, that on one occasion, he had tried to jump out of a moving car in order to stop the pain.

In 1981, the appellant was living in a 10 foot by 12 foot shack, located close to his mother's house. The appellant brought a gallon of gasoline to his shack and poured the gasoline over himself and around the shack. The appellant then attempted to kill himself with a "Bic" lighter, but, as the police later explained to him, he was unable to do so because he had wet the flint with the gasoline. An unidentified individual notified the police of the appellant's actions, and the police arrived and arrested the appellant for attempted arson. The appellant was then informed by his attorney that, if he agreed to plead guilty, he would be sentenced to only 5 years, whereas if he pleaded not guilty he would receive a 20-year sentence. The appellant pleaded guilty and was imprisoned for one year, the remaining four years to be served on probation.

The court records indicate that the appellant's probation was revoked because he committed the offenses of public intoxication and DUI and he failed to report to his probation officer. The appellant was imprisoned to serve the remainder of his sentence. While in prison, the appellant suffered two heart attacks. While the appellant was in the hospital, recovering from the second heart attack, his family was mistakenly notified that he had died. Soon after the second heart attack, on August 8, 1987, the appellant was released from prison.

There was testimony that, upon his release, the appellant attempted to change his life by becoming involved in religion. He often went to church with Neil Turberville, who owned Hub City Tires, and Turberville's wife. There was testimony that the appellant was attempting to abstain from alcohol. He began living with a woman, although he spent certain nights at home with his mother. The appellant had difficulty finding work and applied for SSI benefits from the government. On September 30, 1987, the day prior to the instant offense, the appellant's girlfriend apparently loaded his belongings in her car and dumped them out on the street, several houses down from the appellant's mother's house.

On the morning of the offense, October 1, 1987, the appellant went to the grocery store and returned to his mother's house, where he made sandwiches for his young nephews. One of his nephews, who was approximately three years old, was sitting on the front porch of the house, eating his sandwich, when a black dog approached the child, ate the sandwich, and bit the child on the hand. The appellant became extremely upset and ran to get his father's shotgun; however, there was no ammunition in the gun. The appellant then stated that he intended to kill the dog.

At this time, the appellant began to attempt to fix his mother's commode. There was testimony that, each time he fixed one leak, another would appear. The appellant had to make many trips to the hardware store to get parts for the commode. In doing so, he would pass the liquor store. On one occasion, he stopped and bought a bottle of vodka and took it to an area in an alley behind his mother's house. The appellant referred to this area as his "stash" and testified that he was not allowed to drink in the house and and he, therefore, would always take his liquor to his "stash" to drink it, because he could get drunk there, go to sleep, and no one would bother him. The appellant subsequently bought a pint of Mad Dog 20/20 wine.

The appellant's sister-in-law testified that the appellant received a letter that day from the government denying him certain benefits he had requested. She testified that the appellant had threatened suicide, but that she believed he was kidding.

His sister-in-law testified that he became extremely upset and eventually got a severe headache. She observed him pick up a pipe wrench and hit himself in the head with the wrench and cry out for help. Neil Turberville testified that he observed a wound on the appellant's head later that day. After hitting himself in the head with the pipe wrench, the appellant asked for help. Mrs. Turberville was summoned to the house, and the appellant poured out the rest of his bottle.

At approximately 4:00 in the afternoon, the appellant went to Campbell's hardware store where Deputy Sheriff Carl Cherry, of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Department, observed the appellant buying buckshot. Deputy Cherry testified that he knew the appellant, although he had believed that the appellant had died in prison. He testified that, after they exchanged some small talk, he asked the appellant if he was buying the five shotgun shells to hunt deer, and that the appellant responded that he was buying the shells for people. ¹ Deputy Cherry testified that he believed the appellant was kidding when he made that response. He further testified that he did not believe that the appellant had been drinking.

At approximately 5:00 that afternoon, the appellant went to Turberville's shop and asked to speak with their pastor. Neil Turberville testified that he did not believe that the appellant was drunk; however, he knew that he had been drinking and that he had not drunk for a long time. He testified that the appellant was crying and appeared to be very depressed and upset. Minister Nabors came to Turberville's shop and prayed with the appellant for about an hour. The appellant returned to his mother's house, where he asked his sister-in-law about a half-gallon of Thunderbird wine that she had in her car. She testified that his mood had been up and down during the course of the day and that, when he went outside to get the wine, she heard him say, "May God forgive me for what I am about to do." Three or four minutes after he left, she testified that she heard a gunshot.

Thereafter, somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m., the appellant went to a pool hall, owned by Lavonia "Tugi" Duckworth, who had known the appellant for years. She testified that the appellant was in the pool hall until approximately 9:00 p.m.; however, he left once for a period of time. She testified that he made several phone calls to his girlfriend and thereafter called his son long-distance and simply told him, "Good bye." She testified that approximately 10 minutes later, the appellant's son telephoned her pool hall, concerned about his father. She testified that the appellant behaved very oddly and began preaching at people in the pool hall. She testified that the appellant had previously had an altercation with her son and, during the course of his preaching, that he approached her son and stated that, when he had first gotten out of prison, he had come back with the intention of killing a man, but that now he knew that it was wrong to kill. Duckworth testified that the appellant "was different from any J.C. Hadley that I had ever known." She stated that, while at the pool hall, the appellant drank Coca-Cola and that, although she could not smell alcohol, he could have been drinking. The appellant testified that when he left the pool hall that one time, he returned to his "stash" and continued to drink the wine. He testified that a friend walked by with some beer and gave him some.

The appellant stated that, after he left the pool hall for the last time, he remembered nothing for the rest of the night. Testimony established that after he left the pool hall, the appellant went into a Junior Food store, where Teresa Scott was working. Ms. Scott testified that she knew the appellant, as he had been in the store a number of times. She further testified that he had been in the store approximately four times that day and that each time he came into the store he stated that he intended to kill himself. The last time the appellant entered the store, he stated that he was going to kill himself and instructed Ms. Scott to call the police in 5 or 10 minutes, because he did not want any "piss ants crawling on" him. Teresa Scott testified at trial that she did not believe the appellant had been drinking; however, the statement of the dispatcher with the police department, who took the telephone call from Teresa...