Jackson v. State

• Decision Date: 05 June 2014
• Docket Number: No. SC12–1159.,SC12–1159.
• Parties: Ray JACKSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

147 So.3d 469

Ray JACKSON, Appellant

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC12–1159.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 5, 2014.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 5, 2014.

Raheela Ahmed and Maria Christine Perinetti, Assistant Capital Collateral Regional Counsels, Middle Region, Tampa, FL, for Appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, and Lisa–Marie Lerner, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, FL, for Appellee.

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Ray Jackson and codefendant Michael Wooten were indicted and tried together for the kidnapping and first-degree murder of Pallis Paulk. Jackson v. State, 25 So.3d 518, 522 (Fla.2009). Both defendants were convicted of the crimes, and Jackson was sentenced to death. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed Jackson's convictions and sentence of death. Id. at 536.

Jackson filed an initial motion to vacate his judgment of conviction for first-degree murder and sentence of death, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. In addition, he filed a motion for DNA testing, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.853. After holding an evidentiary hearing on some of the claims, the postconviction court denied relief, a holding that Jackson contests. The postconviction court also denied his request for DNA testing.

Because the order concerns postconviction relief from a capital conviction for which a sentence of death was imposed, this Court has jurisdiction of the appeal under article V, section 3(b)(1), of the Florida Constitution. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the denial of postconviction relief and affirm the denial of DNA testing.

FACTS

On direct appeal, this Court summarized the relevant facts of this case as follows:

When Pallis Paulk was last seen alive by an acquaintance on November 9, 2004, she was being forced into the trunk of a car by Jackson. Her body was found in a shallow grave several months later. The facts at trial concerning her murder came in through a series of witnesses by which the following factual scenario was presented.

Around 3 a.m. on the morning of November 9th, Paulk arrived at a friend's house, looking for ecstasy pills. Her friend, Curtis Vreen, testified that Paulk arrived in a red hatchback. He noticed that there was someone else in the car, but he could not see the person's face. Vreen gave her half of an ecstasy pill and told her that was all he had.

Later that day, Paulk called her sixteen-year-old cousin, Calvin Morris, and told Morris, “I have a lick for you, Cuz,” which meant that she found a person to rob. Morris met Paulk at an apartment in Daytona Beach, and when Morris arrived, he saw Ray Jackson sleeping in bed. Concerned that Jackson might wake up, Morris walked back to the car and waited for his cousin. Paulk arrived at the car, carrying a Sponge Bob bag, which contained about two ounces of cocaine, some marijuana, and approximately $800. She also had men's jewelry and a cell phone that did not belong to her. Together, they drove to pick up Morris's girlfriend in Sanford, Florida, and smoked some of the marijuana. While they were driving, Paulk called Vreen, looking for more ecstasy.

At some point after Paulk left Jackson's apartment, Jackson woke up and realized the theft. Jackson and codefendant Wooten went to Latisha Allen's apartment and asked to speak to Frederick Hunt, who was Vreen's cousin. Based on Jackson's request, Hunt called Vreen to see if he had heard from Paulk. Vreen responded that Paulk had called him and provided the phone number from which Paulk had called Vreen. After Hunt relayed this information to Jackson, Jackson left.

Later in the day, Morris took Paulk to Vreen's house, even though Morris was afraid that Jackson would be there looking for Paulk. Paulk went inside, telling Morris that she would be right back. While Morris was waiting in the car, Wooten came outside and told Morris that Paulk was using the restroom. Jackson and Paulk eventually came out of the house and walked up to Morris's car. Morris saw that Jackson had a gun. Jackson asked, “Where is my stuff at?” Morris immediately gave Jackson his marijuana back. Paulk retrieved some additional items from Morris's car and then left with Jackson.

Morris noticed that Paulk looked upset, like she wanted to cry. According to Morris, Jackson shoved Paulk into the back of a red hatchback, and Jackson, Wooten, and Paulk drove away. Morris initially followed them, but stopped after Jackson held a gun out of the window. Morris immediately went to his grandmother's house and told her what had happened, but did not go to the police at that time because he had outstanding warrants against him.

Jackson took Paulk to Allen's apartment. Although Hunt, Thomas, and Allen were not there when he first arrived, Jackson had keys to Allen's apartment. Allen and Hunt returned to Allen's apartment and saw a red hatchback parked in front. Jackson was inside, sitting by the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Jackson told Allen that he had been robbed and asked her to go look. Allen went into the bathroom where she saw a woman in her bathtub, dressed but with her hands tied behind her back. The woman told Allen that she was fine and that it was her fault. After Allen left the bathroom, Wooten told her not to be “dumb” like the victim or she could end up the same way. Allen asked if Jackson was going to kill the woman, and he nodded yes. Allen left to bail her boyfriend out of jail, but Hunt remained.

Although a number of people were in Allen's apartment, Wooten and Jackson were the only people who entered the bathroom after Allen left. Jackson asked if anybody wanted to “have fun” with Paulk, but no one responded. Jackson obtained duct tape and, after putting on some gloves, went into the bathroom with the duct tape.

Once night fell, Jackson had several people serve as lookouts. Jackson then retrieved Paulk and carried her over his shoulder to one of his cars, a blue Oldsmobile Delta 88. As they neared the car, Paulk pleaded with Jackson not to put her in the trunk. Despite her pleas, Jackson forced Paulk into the trunk. Paulk resisted, straightening her legs so the trunk lid would not close. Jackson punched her in the face, Hunt hit Paulk in the back of her legs, and they were finally able to close the trunk. After retrieving his keys, Jackson left. Paulk's friends and family never saw her alive again.

After Hunt helped in Paulk's kidnapping, Hunt and Jackson became much closer. Hunt moved in with Jackson, selling drugs for Jackson, answering his phones, and running different errands for him. At some point, Hunt heard that a body had been found and told Jackson. Jackson called somebody and asked that person to go to the spot, but to “step lightly” and then call him back. On a different occasion, when Hunt had Jackson's phone, a person from Paulk's family called, accusing Jackson of doing something with Paulk. When Hunt informed Jackson about the call, Jackson replied that he was not “worried about it because they ain't got no body, they ain't got no case.” After Paulk's family posted flyers about Paulk in an attempt to find her, Jackson asked Hunt to find one of the flyers and tried to hang it up on his wall. Before Paulk's body was found, Hunt and Jackson's relationship soured after Jackson borrowed $800 from Hunt to buy cocaine and never repaid the money.

On April 17, 2005, Paulk's body was discovered in a shallow grave. There were no visible signs of injury, but her body was severely decomposed. Using dental comparisons, a forensic dentist affirmatively identified the body as Pallis Paulk. The medical examiner opined that the cause of death was homicidal violence of undetermined etiology. Although he was unable to determine the precise method of death, he ruled out a drug overdose after reviewing the toxicology report. Shortly after Paulk's body was discovered, Hunt and Allen approached the police together, providing information regarding Paulk's disappearance.

At trial, in his defense, Jackson presented Captain Brian Skipper, an officer with the Daytona Beach Police Department, who testified about an alleged serial killer who murdered three women between December 26, 2005, and February 24, 2006. However, on cross-examination, the State demonstrated substantial differences between those crimes and the murder of Paulk.

During codefendant Wooten's defense, Wooten called Quentin Wallace, a fellow inmate who testified that while Hunt was in prison, Hunt talked to him about his own case and said that he had lied about both Wooten and Jackson and that Wooten was not even there. Wooten also testified, alleging that he lived in Jacksonville at the time of the crime and was at work on the day that the kidnapping occurred. He further denied owning a red hatchback at the time of the crime.

Based on the above evidence, by special verdict forms, the jury found that Jackson was guilty of first-degree murder under the theories of premeditated murder and felony murder. The jury found that Wooten was guilty of only first-degree felony murder. The jury found that both Jackson and Wooten were guilty of kidnapping.

Jackson, 25 So.3d at 522–24 (footnotes omitted).

During the penalty phase, the State presented victim impact statements from family and friends, as well as a stipulation from Jackson that announced that Jackson had previously been convicted of robbery, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest with violence. Id. at 524–25. Jackson then presented a significant amount of mitigating evidence that this Court summarized as follows:

Jackson called numerous witnesses who testified about the poor conditions in which he grew up. According to these witnesses, both Jackson and his younger brother, Thayer, lived with their mother, who abused drugs and disappeared for weeks at a time. Jackson became a father figure and made sure that they had enough food to eat. After Jackson's younger sister died, Jackson tried to hang himself. Both of the boys entered the foster care system.

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