Henry v. State

• Decision Date: 03 January 1991
• Docket Number: No. 70554,70554
• Citation: 574 So.2d 66,16 Fla. L. Weekly 58
• Parties: 16 Fla. L. Weekly 58 John Ruthell HENRY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 66

574 So.2d 66

16 Fla. L. Weekly 58

John Ruthell HENRY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 70554.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Jan. 3, 1991.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 27, 1991.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender and Robert F. Moeller, Asst. Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Stephen A. Baker, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

John Ruthell Henry appeals from a conviction for first-degree murder and death sentence. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

I.

A Hillsborough County jury convicted Henry of murdering Eugene Christian, the five-year-old son of his estranged wife, and he was sentenced to death. Henry later was convicted of murdering his wife by a Pasco County jury and was also sentenced to death for that crime. While the two cases are related, we have addressed the Pasco County conviction in a separate opinion. Henry v. State, 574 So.2d 73 (Fla.1991).

Suzanne Henry's body was found in her home in the Pasco County town of Zephyrhills, Florida, at 4:20 p.m. on December 23, 1985. She had been stabbed thirteen times in the throat, and her body had been covered with a rug and left near the living room couch. Her son, five-year-old Eugene Christian, was missing.

Within a short period of time, the sheriff's office discovered enough evidence to arrest Henry for his wife's murder. The two chief investigators in the case were Pasco County detectives Fay Wilber and William McNulty. Wilber and McNulty tracked Henry to the Twilight Motel in Zephyrhills, where he was staying in a room with Rosa Mae Thomas. He was arrested shortly after midnight. Detective Wilber read Henry his "Miranda rights," ¹ and asked about Eugene Christian. Henry denied knowing his whereabouts.

Henry was taken to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office in Dade City for questioning. He was placed in a conference room, the dimensions of which were approximately ten by twenty feet. One wrist was handcuffed to a chair, but he was not otherwise restrained, and he was allowed to smoke cigarettes and drink coffee. Wilber had known Henry for a number of years, so it was decided that he would question him.

While Wilber went to get coffee, however, McNulty attempted to talk to Henry, "to establish a rapport." McNulty said he understood Henry had "done some time before," to which Henry replied, "I am not saying nothing to you. Besides, you ain't read me nothing yet." McNulty reminded Henry that Wilber had read him his rights at the motel, and then asked where Eugene Christian was. After a few moments, Wilber came back with coffee, and McNulty left. On several occasions McNulty reentered the room to observe and participate in the questioning. McNulty never related Henry's statement to Wilber because he took it to mean that Henry simply did not wish to talk to him (McNulty).

Upon reentering with the coffee, Wilber read Henry his Miranda rights, and Henry agreed to talk. Wilber and Henry talked over the course of more than three hours. However, Wilber was out of the room on one occasion for perhaps as much as an hour and a half. Even then Henry did not confess. Ultimately, Wilber said he was going to have to leave and find Eugene without Henry's help. At this point, Henry said Eugene was in Plant City. Wilber asked if the boy was alive, and Henry said he was not. Henry said he would take police to the site, and he did so. When the body was found, it appeared that the victim had been stabbed five times in the neck. Once the body was recovered, Henry was taken back to Dade City, where, after again being informed of his Miranda rights, he made a full confession concerning both murders.

Henry related that he had gone to his estranged wife's house before noon on December 22 to discuss what Christmas present to buy Eugene. While he was there they got into an argument over his living with Rosa Thomas. After he refused to leave, she attacked him with a kitchen knife. They "tussled" and after he was cut three times on his left arm, he "freaked out," took the knife away from her, and stabbed her. He then covered her body and went into another room to get Eugene, who had been watching television.

Henry said that he then took Eugene with him and drove to Plant City, in Hillsborough County. They stopped for him to buy the boy a snack and later for him to buy some cocaine, before heading back toward Zephyrhills. When Henry thought he saw flashing lights behind him, he said he turned into an isolated area near a chicken farm because he believed police were after him. When the car got stuck in some mud, Henry and Eugene got out and walked a short distance away. They stopped and Henry smoked his cocaine while holding Eugene on his knee. He then stabbed the boy to death and considered killing himself, but could not bring himself to do it. He walked around for awhile before dropping the knife in a field. Some nine hours had passed since he killed his wife. He walked back to Zephyrhills, went to Rosa Thomas' house, and changed clothes. The two then went to the motel. Henry said he did not know why he killed Suzanne and Eugene.

There were two significant pretrial skirmishes. The defense unsuccessfully moved to suppress the confession and all evidence that flowed from Henry's statements. The defense also announced that it would rely on an insanity defense. The trial judge appointed two doctors to examine Henry. After examination by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, Henry was declared sane at the time of the offense. The defense hired two experts who, after examining Henry, determined that he was legally insane at the time he killed Eugene Christian. The state then moved to have its expert examine Henry, and Henry refused to be examined. Upon motion by the state, the trial court ordered Henry to submit to the examination. When Henry again refused, the trial court struck the insanity defense.

The case proceeded to trial, where the jury found Henry guilty of both premeditated and felony murder (kidnapping was the underlying felony) and recommended death by a ten-to-two vote. The trial judge found four aggravating factors: (1) that Henry had previously been convicted of second-degree murder in 1976; (2) that the killing was committed in the course of a kidnapping; (3) that the killing was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody; and (4) that the killing was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner. In mitigation he found that Henry was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance and that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was substantially impaired.

II.

Henry argues that it was improper to admit all statements made after he told McNulty he was "saying nothing" to him. He argues that his right to cut off questioning was not scrupulously honored in accordance with the principles of Miranda. ²

The principal decision of the United States Supreme Court which has sought to explain the meaning of "scrupulously honored" is Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 96 S.Ct. 321, 46 L.Ed.2d 313 (1975). In Mosley, the Court concluded that a Michigan appellate court had misapplied Miranda when it suppressed a confession that was obtained under the following circumstances. Mosley was arrested and read his Miranda warnings, which he initially waived. When the officer asked him about some burglaries, however, he said he did not wish to discuss them. The officer ceased questioning, and Mosley was moved to a different part of the jail. Two hours later another policeman approached Mosley and read him his rights. After receiving a waiver of those rights, he asked Mosley about a homicide, and Mosley confessed.

The Court found several factors relevant in upholding this confession. First, Mosley was informed of his rights both times before questioning began. Second, the officer immediately ceased questioning when Mosley unequivocally said he did not want to talk about the burglaries. Third, there was a significant lapse of time between the questioning on the burglary and the questioning on the homicide. Fourth, the second episode of questioning took place in a different location. Fifth, the second episode involved a different crime.

Mosley does not fully resolve the issue before us because the Court only said what did constitute scrupulously honoring Miranda rather than what did not. Furthermore, the Court did not set precise guidelines and did not say whether any factor standing by itself would be dispositive of the issue. Henry argues that because McNulty continued to ask some questions after Henry said he did not want to talk to him, that fact alone means the right to cut off questioning was not scrupulously honored. To the contrary, upon consideration of the totality of the circumstances, we believe that the police did not violate the principles of Miranda or Mosley in obtaining appellant's confession.

First, the comment "I'm not saying nothing to you. Besides you ain't read me nothing yet," does not indicate that Henry wanted to cut off all questioning; in fact, it appears that it was McNulty he did not want to speak to, given that he knew Wilber better. ³ Second, it was McNulty's comments about Henry having been in prison that sparked Henry's remark and not a question about either killing. Third, the trial court fairly could have inferred from McNulty's testimony that Henry was only interested in having his Miranda rights read to him, rather than being disinclined to speak. Fourth, McNulty only asked a few questions; he testified he asked about Eugene Christian "two, maybe three times," and about the automobile Henry was driving once. Significantly, there is no indication that Henry incriminated himself as a result of those questions. Finally, upon reentering after McNulty's brief bout of questioning,...