Haney v. State, 7 Div. 148

• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
• Citation: 603 So.2d 368
• Docket Number: 7 Div. 148
• Parties: Judy M. HANEY v. STATE.
• Decision Date: 29 March 1991

Page 368

603 So.2d 368

Judy M. HANEY v. STATE.

7 Div. 148.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

March 29, 1991.

On Return to Remand June 28, 1991.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 15, 1991.

Page 372

David Schoen and Bryan A. Stevenson, Montgomery, and Charlotte Norby and Stephen B. Bright, Atlanta, Ga., for appellant.

Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little and P. David Bjurberg, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellee.

James H. Evans, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little and P. David Bjurberg, Asst. Attys. Gen., on rehearing, for appellee.

PATTERSON, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, Judy M. Haney, was indicted on November 6, 1987, in Talladega County, in a two-count indictment for the capital offenses of murder for hire, in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(7), and murder committed during a robbery in the first degree, § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975. The indictment reads, in part, as follows:

"COUNT ONE:

"The Grand Jury of said County charge that before the finding of this Indictment and subsequent to July 1, 1981, Judy M. Haney ... did intentionally cause the death of Jerry Wayne Haney by shooting him with a shotgun for hire, to-wit: that Judy M. Haney hired Jerry Paul Henderson to kill Jerry Wayne Haney for Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(7) of the Code of Alabama, 1975....

"COUNT TWO:

"The Grand Jury of said County charge that before the finding of this Indictment and subsequent to July 1, 1981, the said Judy M. Haney ... did intentionally cause the death of Jerry Wayne Haney by shooting him with a shotgun and Judy M. Haney caused said death during the time that Judy M. Haney was in the course of committing a theft of, to-wit: Eighty Dollars ($80.00) in lawful currency of the United States of America, composed of, to-wit: at least one Twenty-Dollar Bill, at least one Ten-Dollar Bill, at least one Five-Dollar Bill, a better description of which is to the Grand Jury unknown otherwise than stated, of the value of, to-wit: $80.00, the property of Jerry Wayne Haney, did threaten the imminent use of force

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against the person of Jerry Wayne Haney with the intent to compel acquiescence to the taking of or escaping with said property and at the time caused serious physical injury to the said Jerry Wayne Haney, in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(2) of the Code of Alabama, 1975...."

At arraignment, Haney pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. On October 24, 1988, a jury found her guilty of both capital offenses charged in the indictment. A sentencing hearing was held before the jury, in accordance with §§ 13A-5-43 through -46, and the jury returned an advisory verdict recommending the death penalty. Ten jurors recommended the death penalty, and two recommended a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. ¹ Thereafter, the trial court held another sentencing hearing, in accordance with §§ 13A-5-47 through -52, and, after weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and considering the jury's recommendation, sentenced Haney to death.

The state's evidence showed that appellant, Judy M. Haney; her husband, Jerry Wayne Haney, the victim of these crimes; and their two children, Tonya and Gary, resided in a rural area near Talladega, Alabama. Shortly after Christmas 1983, appellant made several telephone calls to her sister, Martha Henderson, who lived in Calhoun, Georgia, telling Martha that she was having "problems" with her husband and that she and the children would like to visit Martha in Calhoun "to get away for a while." On December 28, 1983, Martha and another sister, Kathy Milstead, drove to the Haney home and brought appellant and her two children to the Henderson home in Calhoun. Martha testified that, while she was in the Haney home, appellant and her husband appeared to act friendly toward each other. Before departing for Calhoun, appellant took Martha aside; told Martha that she had told her husband that she wanted to go to Calhoun to see her sick aunt; and asked Martha, in the event appellant's husband said anything about it, to "stick" with that story. Upon arriving in Calhoun, appellant called her husband and told him that they had arrived safely. Over the next few days, appellant talked with her husband several times on the telephone.

After arriving in Calhoun, appellant explained to Martha that the reason she wanted her husband to think she was going to see her sick aunt was that she was afraid that he would want to go along to visit with the Hendersons. Appellant also told Martha that she had withdrawn and spent a considerable amount of money from a joint savings account, that her husband did not know about it, and that she was afraid of what he might do when he discovered it. She also told Martha that her husband was having an affair with "a lady named Louise."

On December 31, 1983, appellant told Martha and Martha's husband, Jerry Paul Henderson, that she did not want to return home because of her fear of what her husband might do when he discovered the money missing from the savings account. She told the Hendersons, "... I would do anything if I could just get rid of him, just get him out of my life." Jerry Paul Henderson replied as follows: "What would you do to get rid of him? You know, I might be able to help you. ... Would you be willing to pay?" In turn, appellant said: "Well I've got $3,000.00. ... That's all I've got. I would pay that." Henderson told appellant that he knew someone who might be able to help, and she told him to "check into it and see." Henderson left and, a short time later returned. He told appellant that everything had been arranged; he asked her if she was sure that that was what she wanted, and she answered "yes." Henderson borrowed some highpowered shotgun shells from a friend. He told appellant and Martha that he was going to Talladega and kill Haney. Appellant drew a map of the area

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around her home, showing where Henderson could park his truck and approach the Haney home undetected. Appellant told Henderson that her husband had money in his wallet and that he should get the wallet and "bank book." She gave him $8.00 for travel expenses

Henderson left Calhoun and drove to the Haney home. He parked his truck away from the Haney home and walked to the house. He knocked on the door, and Jerry Wayne Haney came to the door. He told Haney that he "ran out of gas" nearby while bringing "Judy and the kids" home and asked him to help him get some gas. Haney invited Henderson in so that he could warm by the fire while Haney dressed. After staying inside for a while, Henderson told Haney that he was hot and that he would wait for him outside. He waited outside, and when Haney stepped out of the house, Henderson shot him in the stomach with a shotgun. The blast knocked Haney to the ground, and while he was on the ground, Henderson shot Haney again, grazing the area around Haney's ear. Haney got to his feet and ran around a hedge row, trying to escape. He fell on the steps of his house and said, "Don't shoot me any more. Get help." Henderson shot Haney again, this time point-blank in the face, and departed.

On his return trip, Henderson stopped at a Waffle House restaurant in Oxford, Alabama, about 11:00 p.m., called his home, and told appellant and Martha that Haney had been killed. When appellant talked with Henderson on the telephone, she asked him if he had gotten the "bank book." Henderson arrived at his home in Calhoun around 3:30 a.m. Appellant had taken the victim's "insurance card," Social Security card, driver's license, and around $80.00 in money from his wallet. She gave Henderson $25.00 for gasoline and kept the rest. The remaining contents of the wallet were burned in the kitchen sink. The wallet was later placed in a trash dumpster, and the shotgun was thrown into a nearby river. Neither was ever found.

Not having heard anything the following day and being concerned that something had gone wrong, appellant called the victim's brother, Billy Haney, an officer with the Talladega Police Department, and told him that her husband was supposed to call her and to come get her and that she had not heard from him. She told Billy that she had been unable to reach him by telephone, and she asked him to check on her husband and call her back. Henderson assured her that there was no way the victim could be alive, since he had shot him in the head. Billy Haney discovered the body and, after notifying the authorities, called Martha and told her that the victim was dead.

Appellant paid Henderson $3,000, in three installments, for killing her husband. She gave him $300 on two occasions, and the balance was paid from the proceeds of a loan she obtained after executing a second mortgage on her home in Talladega County which she had inherited from the victim. Appellant and the Hendersons agreed that they would "keep their mouth[s] shut" about the killing and "stick" to their story that they were all together at the Henderson residence in Calhoun on the night of the murder. About a month after the murder, appellant called Henderson and told him that an investigator might come to Calhoun and question him about owning a shotgun. She advised him to make up an excuse for not having the gun. Henderson faked a burglary of his truck to explain his missing shotgun.

The investigation of the victim's death continued for three years and eight months before an arrest was made. A break in the investigation came in the fall of 1987, when Martha Henderson, having separated from Jerry Paul Henderson, agreed to cooperate with the state, assisted the state in its investigation, and made a statement giving the details of the crimes. The arrest of appellant and Henderson for the commission of the capital crimes followed shortly thereafter. ²

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Appellant testified in her own behalf. She admitted paying Henderson $3,000 to kill her husband. She also admitted giving him instructions on...