Jamison v. Collins
| Decision Date | 10 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. C-1-94-175.,C-1-94-175. |
| Parties | Derrick JAMISON, Petitioner, v. Terry J. COLLINS, Warden, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
James Edward Davidson, John Patrick Gilligan, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn — 2, J Joseph Bodine, Jr, Parnela J Prude-Smithers, Ohio Public Defender Commission — 2, William Sheldon Lazarow, Assistant State Public Defender, Columbus, for Derrick Jamison, plaintiffs.
Jonathan R Fulkerson, Assistant Attorney General, Capital Crimes Secton, Columbus, Stuart Alan Cole, Ohio Attorney General — 2, Capital Crimes Section, Columbus, for Betty Mitchell, Warden, defendants.
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner's Amended Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (doc. 94), Respondent's Supplemental Return of Writ (doc. 95), and Petitioner's Amended Traverse (doc. 96.)
This is a capital case. Petitioner Derrick Jamison, an inmate in the custody of the Mansfield Correctional Institution, is under sentence of death in the State of Ohio. Petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on the grounds that both his conviction and his sentence are in violation of the United States Constitution. Because the Court concludes that the State of Ohio violated Petitioner's constitutional rights by suppressing exculpatory evidence material to the questions of guilt and sentencing, the Court conditionally grants the petition and orders that a writ shall issue unless the State of Ohio retries Petitioner within 120 days. Execution of this judgment shall be stayed pending any appeal.
Petitioner was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death by the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas for the August 1, 1984 murder of Gary Mitchell at the Central Bar in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following factual background comes directly from the Ohio Supreme Court's opinion in State v. Jamison, 49 Ohio St.3d 182, 552 N.E.2d 180 (1990), in which the court affirmed the conviction and sentence of Petitioner.
On August 1, 1984, Gary Mitchell was alone, tending bar at the Central Bar. The Central Bar, located near downtown Cincinnati, had been owned by Mitchell's family for forty years. When two patrons came into the bar, around 2:00 p.m., they found the bar empty and Mitchell unconscious, lying face down behind the bar. The cash register was open and empty. One patron called the police and an ambulance.
Soon thereafter the police and an ambulance arrived. When the ambulance crew carried Mitchell out, he had a large bruise on the side of his head. Upon arrival at the hospital, Mitchell was found nearly brain dead by treating physicians. Eight days later, Mitchell died from multiple brain bruises and bleeding caused by a traumatic blunt injury.
Cincinnati police found few clues to solve this crime. They did find a gym shoe print on the top of the bar. After photographing the print, they lifted an impression of it, discovering it was made by a Pony gym shoe. One bystander described two males that he saw running from the area of the bar at approximately the time of the crime as being in their mid-twenties, one, 6'2" to 6'4", weighing approximately two hundred pounds, and the other, shorter, 5'3" to 5'9".
Police investigated other robberies similar in pattern to the Central Bar homicide. Two earlier robbery victims had suffered severe head injuries, requiring extensive hospitalization. After the Central Bar homicide, other similar robberies continued to occur.
On October 12, 1984, the police, after being alerted by an automatic alarm, arrested appellant, Derrick Jamison, shortly after he had robbed a Gold Star Chili restaurant. A hidden automatic camera photographed appellant when he robbed Gold Star Chili. Appellant was arrested and taken into custody. Police found on his person marked money from Gold Star Chili, jewelry from another robbery, and a gun taken from a third robbery. In addition, appellant was wearing Pony gym shoes, the soles of which were similar to the shoe print found at the Central Bar two and one-half months earlier. Appellant, 6'3" tall, twenty-three years old, and weighing one hundred seventy pounds, fit the earlier general description of one of the suspects running from the Central Bar on August 1, 1984. Appellant, while being a suspect, was not charged with the Central Bar incident at that time since he could not be positively identified. Police continued their investigation.
In January 1985, police apprehended Charles Howell, appellant's accomplice in the Central Bar homicide. Police discovered Howell through a Crime Stopper tip. Howell told police he and appellant were playing basketball at about noon on August 1st and on the spur of the moment, they decided to rob the Central Bar. Howell acted as the lookout. It was appellant who attacked the bartender. Appellant took the cash from the register, later giving Howell $80. Howell agreed to testify against appellant and pled guilty to aggravated robbery. Howell testified before a grand jury, which indicted appellant for aggravated robbery and the felony murder of Gary Mitchell.
Jamison, 49 Ohio St.3d at 182-183, 552 N.E.2d at 181-82.
On October 12, 1985, a jury found Petitioner guilty of the aggravated robbery and felony murder of Mr. Mitchell. Five days later, on October 17, 1985, the same jury recommended that the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas sentence Petitioner to death. Representing Petitioner at his trial were attorneys Calvin W. Prem and William E. Flax (Return of Writ, Ex. C). Petitioner pursued his direct appeals in the Hamilton County Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court, and both courts affirmed his conviction and sentence (Id., Exs. E & H). Attorneys Albert J. Rodenberg, Jr. and Mr. Flax represented Petitioner in the Hamilton County Court of Appeals (Id., Ex. D), while attorneys Peter Pandilidis and Mr. Flax represented Petitioner in the Ohio Supreme Court (Id., Ex. F). The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner's convictions and death sentence on March 7, 1990 (Id., Ex. H). Jamison, 49 Ohio St.3d at 193, 552 N.E.2d at 190. On April 11, 1990, the Ohio Supreme Court also denied Petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration (Id., Ex. I). The United States Supreme Court denied Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Certiorari on October 9, 1990 (Id., Ex. K).
Petitioner pursued post-conviction relief in the Ohio courts. He filed his post-conviction petition on June 25, 1991 (Return of Writ, Ex. L). The Ohio courts denied post-conviction relief at all stages (Id., Exs. N, Q, T & U). On August 28, 1992, Petitioner filed his Application for Delayed Reconsideration of his Direct Appeal with the Hamilton County Court of Appeals pursuant to Rules 14(B) and 26 of the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure and State v. Murnahan, 63 Ohio St.3d 60, 584 N.E.2d 1204 (1992), in order to assert a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel (Return of Writ, Ex. V). The Hamilton County Court of Appeals denied Petitioner's Application for Delayed Reconsideration as untimely (Id., Ex. X). Thereafter, Petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal from the decision denying his Application for Delayed Reconsideration (State Court App., Vol. X, Tab A). The Ohio Supreme Court entered a decision on this appeal on April 14, 1993, dismissing the appeal sua sponte for the reason that no substantial constitutional question existed therein (Id. at Tab F). Petitioner also filed a Motion for Delayed Reinstatement of Direct Appeal as of Right in the Ohio Supreme Court (Id., Vol. XI, Tab A). On October 27, 1993, the Ohio Supreme Court denied Petitioner's motion without an opinion (Id., Vol. IX, Tab G). On November 8, 1993, Petitioner filed a Motion for Rehearing (Id., Vol. XI, Tab E). The Ohio Supreme Court denied Petitioner's motion without an opinion on December 15, 1993 (Id., Vol. IX, Tab F).
Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on March 10, 1994 (doc. 3). Respondent filed his Return of Writ on April 2, 1994 (doc. 9). On January 30, 1996, the Court granted Petitioner leave to conduct discovery to be completed within ninety days (doc. 66). Thereafter, on January 31, 1997, Petitioner filed an Amended Petition, which is the Petition currently before the Court (doc. 94). Respondent filed a Supplemental Return of Writ on March 3, 1997, arguing that the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (hereinafter, the "AEDPA") applies to Petitioner's claims, that Petitioner's claims are not entitled to a merits review because of various procedural defaults, that Petitioner's claims lack merit, and that the Court is bound by the state courts' findings of fact (doc. 95). Petitioner filed his Amended Traverse on May 2, 1997 in which he disputes all of Respondent's arguments (doc. 96).
The Court held oral argument on the procedural default questions and the merits of the Amended Petition on December 22 and 23, 1997. Transcripts of the hearing were filed on March 23, 1998 (docs. 121 & 122). The Parties submitted pre-hearing and post-hearing proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law as well as numerous notices of additional authority. On December 21, 1998, this Court issued an Order focusing on the procedural default questions (doc. 143). In the Order, the Court (1) held that Claims Two, Eight, Fourteen, Nineteen, and Twenty were waived in toto; (2) reserved ruling on Claim...
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