Johnson v. State
| Decision Date | 13 July 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 78336,78336 |
| Citation | 660 So.2d 637 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly S343 Emanuel JOHNSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender; and Stephen Krosschell and Robert F. Moeller, Asst. Public Defenders, Bartow, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Candance M. Sabella, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.
We have on appeal the judgment and sentence of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon Emanuel Johnson. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, Sec. 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
On October 4, 1988, police found the body of 73-year-old Iris White. She was naked from the waist down and had suffered twenty-four stab wounds, one incised wound, and blunt trauma to the back of the head. A variety of fatal wounds penetrated the lungs and heart. The body also showed evidence of defensive wounds and abrasions near the vagina and anus most likely caused by a forceful opening by hand or fingernails.
Police found a screen in the living room had been cut and the lower window raised. The fingerprints of Emanuel Johnson were recovered from the window sill. Police also found two pubic hairs that showed the same microscopic characteristics as Johnson's, though an expert stated that an exact identification was not possible. Johnson had done yard work for White some years earlier.
After a lengthy interrogation on October 12, 1988, Johnson gave a taped confession to police. He stated that he knocked on White's door to talk about lawn maintenance. When she opened the door, he then grabbed her, choked her to unconsciousness, and then stabbed her several times. Johnson said he then left the house, locking the door behind himself, but forgot to take White's wallet. Twenty minutes later he cut open the window screen, climbed in, took the wallet, and left. Johnson said he later threw the wallet in an area where a road surveyor later found it.
Johnson was found guilty, and the jury recommended death by a vote of 8-to-4. The trial court found the following aggravating factors: (1) prior violent felony; (2) commission of a murder for financial gain; and (3) heinous, atrocious, or cruel murder. The trial court found the following mitigating factors: (1) Johnson was raised by the father in a single-parent household; (2) He had a deprived upbringing; (3) He had an excellent relationship with other family members; (4) He was a good son who provided for his mother; (5) He had an excellent employment history; (6) He had been a good husband and father; (7) He showed love and affection to his two children; (8) He cooperated with police and confessed; (9) He had demonstrated artistic and poetic talent; (10) "The age of the Defendant at the time of the crime"; (11) Johnson "has potential for rehabilitation and productivity in the prison system"; (12) "The Court can punish the Defendant by imposing life sentences"; (13) Johnson had no significant history of criminal activity before 1988; (14) He exhibited good behavior at trial; and (15) He suffered mental pressure not reaching the level of statutory mitigation.
The trial court then found that each aggravating factor alone outweighed all the mitigating factors, and sentenced Johnson to death. The judge imposed an upward departure sentence for the burglary offense, based on the unscored capital felony and a pattern of escalating criminal activity.
As his first issue, Johnson argues that his confession was involuntary for a variety of reasons. Johnson contends that his low intelligence and mental disturbance at the time of questioning rendered his statements involuntary and thus inadmissible. As to both of these factors, the evidence in the record is conflicting. One defense expert's opinion was that Johnson was psychotic at the time he was questioned and that he had an intelligence in the retarded range. One State expert contended that Johnson was not emotionally disturbed when questioned by police, had a "working-type intelligence into the average range," and knowingly waived his rights. When evidence adequately supports two conflicting theories, this Court's duty is to review the record in the light most favorable to the prevailing theory. Wuornos v. State, 644 So.2d 1012, 1019 (Fla.1994), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 1708, 131 L.Ed.2d 568 (1995). The fact that evidence is conflicting does not in itself show that the State failed to meet its burden of proof except where the evidence actually supporting the State's theory, viewed in its entirety, does not legally meet the burden. Such was not the case here. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in refusing to suppress the confession on grounds of involuntariness.
Johnson next argues that his confession should be suppressed because the waiver forms used in connection with his subsequent polygraph examinations failed to reiterate some of the warnings he already had received pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and because he failed to receive additional warnings after the examinations were completed. The record is clear, however, that Johnson received proper Miranda warnings before the overall interrogation began. There is no requirement of additional warnings during the same period of interrogation where it is clear detainees are aware of their rights, as was the case here. Accordingly, we find no error.
On a related point, Johnson also contends that his confession should be suppressed because he confessed only after police told him he had failed the polygraph tests he had consented to receive. As a general rule, the fact that a polygraph examination or the prospect of receiving one has preceded or accompanied a confession does not of itself render the confession inadmissible. Johnson v. State, 166 So.2d 798 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964). Rather, there must be a sufficient showing of physical or psychological coercion, intentional deception, or a violation of a constitutional right. State v. Sawyer, 561 So.2d 278 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Martinez v. State, 545 So.2d 466 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989).
Absent such egregious police misconduct, the confession may be admitted; but if it is, defendants are entitled to argue to the finder of fact why the confession should be deemed untrustworthy, if they wish to do so. Johnson, 166 So.2d at 803. In sum, serious police misconduct poses a question of law for the judge, but less serious matters that may reflect on the reliability or fairness of the confession are questions of fact. Of course, putting polygraph misconduct into issue necessarily opens the door to all matters associated with the challenged examination. Thus, the decision to raise or not to raise the issue inherently is a strategic decision for the defense. The State obviously cannot broach details of a polygraph examination unless the defense has first put the matter into issue or otherwise consented.
Turning to the facts at hand, we find no violation of the principles outlined above. Police are not required to disclose every possible ramification of a waiver of rights to a detainee apart from those general statements now required by Miranda and its progeny. Nor are police required to tell detainees what may be in their personal best interests or what decision may be the most advantageous to them personally. Under our system, law enforcement officers are representatives of the state in its efforts to maintain order, and the courts may not impose upon them an obligation to effectively serve as private counselors to the accused. The latter is the obligation of private attorneys or public defenders and certainly must not be shouldered by those whose job it is to police our streets.
In the polygraph examination at issue here, police told Johnson the test results would not be admissible against him. Johnson's counsel makes much of this statement as being "misleading" because Johnson might have assumed that any statement he made in connection with the polygraph would be inadmissible. Counsel also notes that the post-test interview generally is considered to be one of several parts of a polygraph examination. While all of this may be true, these facts in and of themselves do not render Johnson's confession legally inadmissible. Police are not required to protect detainees from their own unwarranted assumptions, nor are police forbidden to talk about polygraph results with a detainee who has voluntarily taken a lie-detector examination and has validly waived all rights. In sum, Johnson's confession was not legally the result of coercion, deception, or the violation of constitutional rights.
This conclusion is not undermined, as counsel contends, by Johnson's statements to police that he was tired. While such statements were made, they did not indicate in themselves a desire to reassert waived rights. Indeed, Johnson showed every indication of wishing to complete the interrogation. As such, there was no violation of rights on this basis. Nor do we believe police improperly preyed on Johnson's conscience by telling him he suffered from a serious sexual disorder and needed help. The records establishes no basis for believing police coerced Johnson or made undue promises to him. We certainly cannot agree with Johnson's analogizing the challenged statements to the so-called "Christian burial technique." 1 Using sincerely held religious beliefs against a detainee is quite a distinct issue from a simple noncoercive plea for a defendant to be candid.
Except in those narrow areas already established in law, police are not forbidden to appeal to the consciences of individuals. Any other conclusion would come perilously close to saying that the very act of trying to obtain a confession violates the rights of those who otherwise have waived their rights. Miranda creates a sufficient protection for the accused by outlining the rights they may assert or waive. After waiver, those rights may...
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