Henderson v. State, No. W2003-01545-CCA-R3-PD (TN 6/28/2005)
| Decision Date | 28 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. W2003-01545-CCA-R3-PD.,W2003-01545-CCA-R3-PD. |
| Parties | KENNATH HENDERSON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE |
| Court | Tennessee Supreme Court |
Donald E. Dawson, Nashville, Tennessee, and Catherine Y. Brockenborough, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kennath Henderson.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Alice B. Lustre, Assistant Attorney General; Elizabeth T. Rice, District Attorney General and Walt Freeland, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Jerry L. Smith, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Robert W. Wedemeyer, and, J.C. McLin, JJ., joined.
The petitioner, Kennath Henderson, appeals as of right from the May 21, 2003 judgment of the Fayette County Circuit Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner entered guilty pleas to first degree premeditated murder, two (2) counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and felonious escape. The petitioner waived his right to jury sentencing. After a capital sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed the death sentence for the murder count and an effective sentence of twenty-three (23) years in prison for the noncapital offenses. The petitioner's convictions and sentences, including the sentence of death, were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Henderson, 24 S.W.3d 307 (Tenn. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 934 (2000). A pro se petition for post-conviction relief was filed on February 12, 2001, which was followed by an amended petition on November 30, 2001. An evidentiary hearing was held on April 28-29, 2003, and, on May 21, 2003, the trial court denied relief and dismissed the petition. The petitioner appeals, presenting for our review the following claims: (1) the trial judge erred in failing to recuse himself at both the trial and the post-conviction hearings; (2) the post-conviction court's findings were clearly erroneous; (3) trial counsel was ineffective; (4) appellate counsel was ineffective; (5) the post-conviction court erred in prohibiting a witness from testifying; and (6) the imposition of the death penalty is unconstitutional. After a careful and laborious review of the record, this Court concludes that there is no error requiring reversal. Accordingly, the order of the post-conviction court denying post-conviction relief is affirmed.
The proof, as set forth in our supreme court's decision, State v. Henderson, 24 S.W.3d at 210, established the following:
At the time of the events giving rise to this case, the appellant, Kennath Henderson, was incarcerated at the Fayette County Jail serving consecutive sentences for felony escape and aggravated burglary. On April 26, 1997, as the appellant was planning an escape from jail, he had a .380 semi-automatic pistol smuggled into the jail through his girlfriend. A couple of days later, the appellant requested dental work on a tooth that needed to be pulled, and an appointment was made for May 2 with Dr. John Cima, a dentist practicing in Somerville. Dr. Cima had practiced dentistry in Somerville for more than thirty years, and he had often seen inmate patients. In fact, this was not the appellant's first visit to see Dr. Cima.
On May 2, 1997, Deputy Tommy Bishop, who was serving in his official capacity as a transport officer for the Fayette County Sheriff's office, took the appellant and another inmate, Ms. Deloice Guy, to Dr. Cima's Office in a marked police car. Upon their arrival at the dentist's office, Dr. Cima placed the appellant and Ms. Guy in separate treatment rooms, and each patient was numbed for tooth extraction. Deputy Bishop remained in the reception area and talked with the receptionist during this time.
When Dr. Cima and his assistant returned to the appellant's treating room to begin the tooth extraction, the appellant pulled out his .380 pistol. Dr. Cima immediately reached for the pistol, and he and the appellant struggled over the weapon. During this brief struggle, Dr. Cima called out for Deputy Bishop, and the deputy hurried back to the treatment room. Just as the deputy arrived at the door, the appellant regained control of the pistol and fired a shot at Deputy Bishop, which grazed him on the neck. Although not fatal, this shot caused the deputy to fall backwards, hit his head against the doorframe or the wall, and then fall to the floor face down, presumably unconscious.
The appellant then left the treating room and came back with the receptionist in his custody. The appellant reached down and took Deputy Bishop's pistol, and he took money, credit cards, and truck keys from Dr. Cima. The appellant then ordered Dr. Cima and the receptionist to accompany him out of the building, but just before he turned to leave the building, the appellant went back to the treatment room, leaned over Deputy Bishop, and shot him through the back of the head at point-blank range. The deputy had not moved since first being shot in the neck moments earlier and was still lying face-down on the floor by the door to the treatment room when the appellant fatally shot him.
Once outside of the office, the appellant was startled by another patient, and Dr. Cima and his receptionist were able to escape back into the office. Once inside, Dr. Cima locked the door and called the police. The appellant, in the meantime, stole Dr. Cima's truck and drove away at a slow speed so as not to attract any attention to himself. When police officers began to follow him, the appellant sped away, and eventually drove off the road and into a ditch. The officers took the appellant into custody, and upon searching the truck, they found the murder weapon, Deputy Bishop's gun, and personal items taken from Dr. Cima's office.
On May 13, 1997, the appellant was indicted by a Fayette County Grand Jury in a ten-count indictment, which alleged one count of premeditated murder, three counts of felony murder, two counts of especially aggravated kidnaping, and one count of attempted especially aggravated kidnaping, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and felonious escape. After three continuances, the appellant pled guilty on the day of trial to all of the charges except for the three counts of felony murder.
On July 13, 1998, the circuit court held the sentencing hearing, and the appellant waived his right to have a jury empaneled for purposes of determining his sentence. Several witnesses testified for the State at the sentencing hearing, including Deloice Guy, the inmate taken with the appellant to the dentist by Deputy Bishop; Dr. John Cima; Donna Feathers, Dr. Cima's dental assistant; and Peggy Riles, Dr. Cima's receptionist. In addition, Dr. O.C. Smith, a forensic pathologist, testified as to his investigation of the crime scene and of his autopsy of Deputy Bishop. Dr. Smith stated that based on his examination of Deputy Bishop's wounds, along with witness testimony, it was likely that the first shot fired by the appellant hit the deputy in the neck, and caused the deputy to hit his head against the doorframe of the examination room. Dr. Smith opined that this blow to the deputy's head could have rendered him unconscious. Moreover, Dr. Smith testified that the second shot fired by the appellant entered at the back of the deputy's head and exited near the left eye. This second shot caused "significant and severe brain damage," and the blood from this wound seeped from the skull fractures into the deputy's sinuses, and ultimately, was breathed into his windpipe. Finally, Dr. Smith testified that the bullets used by the appellant could have "easily" penetrated the thin walls of the dentist's office.
In mitigation, the appellant testified on his own behalf. According to his testimony, he was 24 years old at the time of the offense. He was a high-school graduate and has four younger brothers. While in elementary school, the appellant received numerous academic awards and certificates, and he was heavily involved in extracurricular activities and sports while in high school. Although the appellant expressed sorrow and remorse over his actions, he admitted that "[t]here's no reason" for the murder of Tommy Bishop. While he acknowledged that he extensively planned his escape from prison, including procuring the .380 pistol, his only excuse for the shooting was that he "wasn't thinking clearly that day."
The appellant also testified that he had some "problems" in high school, and although he was never cited to the juvenile court, he stated that he felt like his problems were never addressed. He also testified that while in jail in 1996, he requested counseling because he "felt like [he] needed help psychologically." His mother testified, however, that she did not believe that the appellant needed any help or intervention of any kind during his high school years. In addition, the appellant's mother testified that though she remembered that the appellant requested help while in jail in 1996, she never pursued the matter because he "seemed to be doing fine when [she] talked to him."
Finally, Dr. Lynne Zager, a forensic psychologist, testified as to her findings and conclusions based on two interviews with the appellant, a personality test administered to the appellant, and other information supplied by the defense. From this pool of information, Dr. Zager concluded that the appellant was suffering from dissociative disorder at the time of the murder, and that the appellant possessed an unspecified personality disorder which exhibited some narcissistic and anti-social traits. She also testified that based upon her testing, she believed that the appellant's dissociative state began after the first...
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