Jackson v. State

• Decision Date: 02 February 1990
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 936
• Citation: 562 So.2d 1373
• Parties: Joe Nathan JACKSON v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 1373

562 So.2d 1373

Joe Nathan JACKSON v. STATE.

6 Div. 936.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Feb. 2, 1990.

Rehearing Denied March 16, 1990.

Certiorari Denied May 18, 1990

Alabama Supreme Court 89-952.

Stuart Shapiro, Tuscaloosa, for appellant.

Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and Mary Elizabeth Culberson, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

PATTERSON, Judge.

Appellant, Joe Nathan Jackson, was indicted in a two-count indictment on April 29, 1988, for the capital offenses of murder committed during a robbery in the first degree, § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975, and murder committed during a kidnapping in the first degree, § 13A-5-40(a)(1). Appellant entered pleas of not guilty to both charges, and the case was tried before a jury. At the close of the state's case-in-chief, the trial court granted appellant's motion for a judgment of acquittal as to Count II, which charged murder committed during a kidnapping in the first degree. On August 26, 1988, the jury found appellant guilty of the lesser included offense of murder under Count I of the indictment. On September 19, 1988, the trial court sentenced appellant as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment, fined him $20,000.00, ordered him to pay $10,000.00 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund, and ordered restitution in the amount of $4,415.18.

Jackson appeals, raising one main issue, which he states as follows: "Whether a statement, made in direct response to strong promises of leniency was voluntary or whether it was the result of a set of circumstances which combined to deprive appellant of his free will." He also argues that a second inculpatory statement was rendered inadmissible because it was tainted by the alleged involuntariness of the first statement.

Since appellant does not question the sufficiency of the evidence to support the guilty verdict, we will not set out the facts of the case in detail. Suffice it to say that the state's evidence showed that appellant and an accomplice named "Robert," whose identity or whereabouts was never established, robbed B.L.W., a Samford University student, of $310 and his automobile and murdered him by drowning him in a drainage ditch in Tuscaloosa. When arrested, appellant was driving the victim's automobile.

Appellant did not testify at the suppression hearings or at trial. He called two witnesses to testify in his behalf at one suppression hearing and at trial. They were two of his former teachers, and they testified about his lack of ability to read when he was a student. The apparent purpose of this testimony was to cast doubt upon appellant's ability to read the Miranda warnings and the written waiver of rights. Appellant also called a medical doctor to testify during the trial. The doctor testified that appellant had a 50 percent limitation in the use of his left hand, which had been caused indirectly by a blow to his head when he was younger. The obvious purpose of this medical testimony was to lend support to appellant's statement that "Robert" had held the victim under water until he was dead and that, because of his disability, he would not have been physically able to do it.

The theory of appellant's defense, as stated by his counsel, in urging the court to grant his motion for judgment of acquittal, was that the "defendant never intended that the deceased be killed" and that "all statements made by the defendant show an intention to attempt to withdraw." ¹ The psychiatric report on appellant, which was prepared by the staff of Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility and which was admitted into evidence without objection, indicates that appellant admitted involvement in the crime. The report states, "Dr. Bryant reported that the defendant admitted being intoxicated on drugs at the time of the alleged crimes." The psychiatric report further reveals that appellant was not suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the commission of the crime that would have rendered him substantially lacking in his ability either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

The following facts must be considered in understanding appellant's only contention on appeal, which is that his confession was not voluntary because of Chilton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Bennie E. Mims's alleged "strong promises of leniency" and alleged intimidation that supposedly induced him to confess.

On August 7, 1986, the Clanton police received an anonymous tip that appellant was in Clanton, driving a small black automobile, with tag number "31M-9411," and that the police held an outstanding warrant for appellant's arrest. Appellant was known to the police and, indeed, they found an outstanding arrest warrant for a past offense of driving under the influence of alcohol, committed on November 11, 1984. Around midnight, the officers located the vehicle at a nightclub and discovered appellant asleep behind the steering wheel. He was intoxicated. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on that occasion and pursuant to the old warrant was transported to the Chilton County jail. At the time of his arrest, he was advised of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), by one of the arresting officers.

On August 12, 1986, the police received another anonymous tip, informing them that appellant had stolen the small black automobile and had probably killed its owner. Officer James Henderson interviewed appellant on August 12, after receiving the tip, seeking information about the automobile, and appellant apparently gave some explanation. However, the record is silent about what transpired at this initial interview and what explanation was given by appellant. Appellant raises no issue on appeal concerning this initial statement.

On August 19, 1986, appellant was interviewed by Mims. Appellant had complained about visitation privileges in the jail and was brought to a jail office to discuss his complaint. After the complaint was resolved, Deputy Mims asked appellant if he wanted to discuss the case of the missing owner of the automobile. Mims testified as follows:

"It was approximately 9:45 p.m. when I started talking to Joe Nathan. I asked Joe Nathan if he would mind discussing the case further with me at that time. He told me that he would talk to me but he did not want to talk to anybody else. Warden Buckner was asked to leave the room at that time and he did. I told Joe Nathan that I would like to talk to him about the car that he was driving and about the boy that was missing that owned the car that he was driving the night he was arrested. At that time I advised Joe Nathan Jackson of his rights."

The record shows that Mims read and explained the Miranda rights to appellant and that appellant acknowledged that he understood them and stated that he wished to talk to the officer without an attorney being present. Mims testified that no promises or threats were made. The record shows that Mims testified as follows:

"I told Joe Nathan I wanted to talk to him about the case and I wanted him to clearly understand his rights and I explained each one of his rights as exactly what his rights were at that time. He said he understood his rights and was willing to talk without an attorney being present. I told Joe Nathan we had positively identified the car he was driving at the time he was arrested as belonging to [B.L.W.] that was missing and was last seen in Tuscaloosa. I told him the reason I believed--I had reason to believe [B.L.W.] was dead and I was convinced [B.L.W.] was dead. I told Joe Jackson at that time that I believed he knew about the boy's death and that I could prove he was in Tuscaloosa just before [B.L.W.] came up missing.

"....

"Joe Nathan told me at that time, 'I've already told you where I got the car, man. What do you want from me?' I told Joe Nathan again about the papers that we had found in his possession at the time he was arrested that had the name of James Jones on the paper. I told Joe Nathan at that time that we could prove in fact that he was Joe Jones or James Jones and that he had served time in the State of Georgia and that he had left the State of Georgia and came to Tuscaloosa, not from Miami like he told us in an earlier interview. Again I told Joe Nathan I believed he was involved with the missing boy and I had good reason to believe he was involved in the boy's death in some way. I asked him at that time to simply tell me the truth. Joe Nathan asked me at that time, 'Man, what's in it for me if I do?' I told Joe Nathan I don't know what's in it--didn't know what was in it for him because I didn't know what his involvement was in the case at that time. I again told Joe Nathan I believed he was involved in the boy's missing, the boy's death, and at least he knew who killed the boy. At that time Joe Nathan hesitated, put his hands on his head, and leaned over and put his head between his legs kind of with his hands on his head. He turned again and said, 'Man, what's in it for me if I do know?' I told him 'I still don't know. I cannot promise you or tell you anything about what effect--how it will affect you or if it would affect you how it would affect you until I knew your involvement in the case.' Joe Jackson asked me, 'What if they found the body and my fingerprints are on it and I did not actually kill him. They're still going to charge me with it and think I did it.' I told Joe Nathan that it would depend on the circumstances of the case. I asked him please tell me the truth and I would try to prove it was the truth and if he told the truth I believe I could prove it. At that time Joe Nathan hesitated again for several minutes and he said, 'Oh, man, I don't know whether to tell you anything or not.' I told him the doors were unlocked. All he had to do was stand up and call the jailer and he would be put back up. I told him that no one was...