Jones v. State, CR–88–5
| Decision Date | 30 November 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. CR–88–5,CR–88–5 |
| Citation | 531 S.W.3d 384 |
| Parties | Milton Jasper JONES, Petitioner v. STATE of Arkansas, Respondent |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
John Lee Kearney, for appellant.
Brad Kevin Newman, for appellee.
Petitioner Milton Jasper Jones requests that this court reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court so that he may proceed with a petition for writ of error coram nobis. He filed two petitions making the request, one supplementing the other. This is the second time that Jones has made a request for coram-nobis relief. Jones's petition alleges that the State withheld evidence, namely, a confession by a codefendant. We deny the petition because it fails to allege adequate grounds for relief.
A petitioner who appealed his judgment of conviction must first request this court to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court before he may attack that conviction through a petition for writ of error coram nobis. Noble v. State , 2015 Ark. 141, 460 S.W.3d 774. Jones appealed his conviction for capital felony murder in the killing of Annie Bell Hall Killingsworth. He received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for the murder, and this court affirmed. Jones v. State , 296 Ark. 135, 752 S.W.2d 274 (1988). Jones contends that the prosecutor withheld evidence concerning a confession by Roosevelt Ferguson. Jones alleges that the State knew prior to his arrest that Ferguson admitted to burglarizing Killingsworth's apartment. Additionally, in that conversation, Ferguson implicated Jones and Erma McCoy in Killingsworth's murder. Jones asserts that this evidence was withheld in violation of Brady v. Maryland , 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963).
Jones was tried before Ferguson was arrested for the murder. The two men were seen near Killingsworth's home the night that she was murdered, and both left town the same night. Fingerprints found inside the victim's home belonged to Jones. After Jones was arrested, he confessed to participating in the murder and splitting $10,000 from the burglary with Ferguson. He told the police that he held Killingsworth's arms down while Ferguson smothered her with a pillow. At trial, Jones testified that his confession was coerced, provided an explanation for his fingerprints in Killingsworth's apartment, and denied participating in the burglary or murder.
Jones alleges that, if his attorney had known about Ferguson's confession, Jones would have pursued a different defense. Jones further contends that he could have used evidence of Ferguson being in the victim's home to bring a defense based on Ferguson's sole culpability.
Error coram nobis is an extraordinarily rare remedy, more known for its denial than its approval. White v. State , 2015 Ark. 151, 460 S.W.3d 285. The remedy is exceedingly narrow and appropriate only when an issue was not addressed or could not have been addressed at trial because it was somehow hidden or unknown. Clark v. State , 358 Ark. 469, 192 S.W.3d 248 (2004). The function of the writ is to secure relief from a judgment rendered while there existed some fact that would have prevented its rendition had it been known to the trial court and that, through no negligence or fault of the defendant, was not brought forward before rendition of the judgment. Green v. State , 2016 Ark. 386, 502 S.W.3d 524.
Coram-nobis proceedings are attended by a strong presumption that the judgment of conviction is valid. Westerman v. State , 2015 Ark. 69, 456 S.W.3d 374. This court has recognized four categories of error for which the writ is available: (1) insanity at the time of trial; (2) a coerced guilty plea; (3) material evidence withheld by the prosecutor; and (4) a third-party confession to the crime during the time between conviction and appeal. Noble , 2015 Ark. 141, 460 S.W.3d 774. The writ is issued only under compelling circumstances to achieve justice and to address errors of the most fundamental nature. Green , 2016 Ark. 386, 502 S.W.3d 524.
This court will grant permission to proceed with a petition for the writ only when it appears, looking to the reasonableness of the allegations in the proposed petition and the existence of the probability of the truth of those allegations, that the proposed attack on the judgment is meritorious. Isom v. State , 2015 Ark. 225, 462 S.W.3d 662. This court is not required to accept at face value the allegations in the petition. Grady v. State , 2017 Ark. 245, 525 S.W.3d 1.
II. Significance of the Confession
Jones asserts that his alleged grounds for the writ fall within the third and fourth recognized categories of error. However, application of the fourth category of error is limited...
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