Martin v. State, No. 2002-KA-00400-SCT.

• Decision Date: 22 April 2004
• Docket Number: No. 2002-KA-00400-SCT.
• Citation: 871 So.2d 693
• Parties: Sam Ivan MARTIN v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

871 So.2d 693

Sam Ivan MARTIN v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2002-KA-00400-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 22, 2004.

Ross Parker Simons, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

CARLSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Sam Ivan Martin was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jackson County of the murder of his wife, Crystal, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved by the judgment rendered against him, Martin appeals to this Court contending that the circuit court erred in (1) finding him competent to stand trial, (2) denying his motion to suppress two inculpatory statements he made to law enforcement, and (3) sentencing him under a statute which unconstitutionally delays his potential earned time release based upon his age. Finding no merit to Martin's contentions, we affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS AND THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE TRIAL COURT

¶ 2. On August 8, 1998, Deputy Sheriff Robert Zwick of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department responded to a 911 call at the residence of Sam Ivan Martin and Crystal Martin. While at the residence, Deputy Zwick discovered that Crystal was not at home and there appeared to be signs of a disturbance. Deputy Sheriff Mike Sears discovered casings from a 12-gauge shotgun. Fearing foul play, Detective Sergeant James O'Bryant of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department (Criminal Investigation Division) arranged for Martin to come in for questioning on August 9, 1998. After being interrogated by Investigator O'Bryant, Martin confessed that he had shot Crystal after she had attempted to shoot herself. Martin then buried Crystal's body in the septic tank behind the couple's home. Crystal's body was removed from the septic tank, and it was determined that she had suffered from two shotgun blasts, one to her face and one to her chest. Martin was arrested on August 9, 1998.

¶ 3. Martin was indicted, tried, found guilty of murder and sentenced to serve a term of life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The trial court denied Martin's motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a JNOV.

DISCUSSION

I. Competency Hearing

¶ 4. On July 31, 2001, a hearing was conducted to determine whether Martin was competent to stand trial. Dr. J. Donald Matherne, a board-certified clinical psychologist, testified for the defense. Dr. Matherne was substituted for Dr. L. Mulry Tetlow, a licensed psychologist, in June 2001 to serve as the court-appointed expert for Martin. Dr. Matherne interviewed Martin on July 14, 2001, spending approximately three hours with Martin. Over the next week, he reviewed approximately 255 pages of background information. After reviewing this information, Dr. Matherne was made aware of the fact that he had had prior contact with Martin when Martin was under the custody of the Department of Human Services due to parental neglect in approximately 1986. At the time Dr. Matherne had suggested Martin remain in the residential placement of Mill Creek. DHS concurred with his findings, and Martin remained there for several months. On July 26, 2001, Dr. Matherne dictated his report which was immediately hand-delivered to the Jackson County Public Defender's Office. Upon receiving Dr. Matherne's report, the Public Defender's Office immediately provided a copy to the District Attorney's Office.

¶ 5. Dr. Matherne testified that during his evaluation he performed intellectual, educational and personality testing. Dr. Matherne stated that he also performed competency testing and evaluated Martin's capabilities in dealing with his Miranda warnings. Dr. Matherne noted that, in addition to his evaluation, Martin was also evaluated in 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1992. Dr. Matherne incorporated these six prior intellectual evaluations into his own report. Using (1) Martin's prior special education records from school; (2) prior psychometric testing; (3) the evaluations from Mill Creek; (4) the disability evaluation by the Social Security Administration in 1992; (5) his own evaluations; and (6) an instrument called the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication, developed by the National Institute of Mental Health to determine competency specifically related to the ability of the defendant to proceed with adjudication, Dr. Matherne determined that Martin was "incompetent to fully understand the proceedings necessary for his defense." Dr. Matherne further determined that due to his lack of understanding of the court process, Martin would have "difficulty working together in a meaningful manner in his representation in the court process."

¶ 6. Dr. Matherne determined that Martin was "significantly compromised, primarily because of his intellectual incompetency and not because of any mental incompetency." Dr. Matherne's testified that during his intellectual testing of Martin, he discovered that Martin's reading and writing skills were on a first grade level and his ability to comprehend math problems was on a third grade level.

¶ 7. Dr. Matherne also testified that he utilized a test developed by Dr. Thomas Grisso to assess Martin's understanding and appreciation of Miranda rights. Dr. Matherne determined that Martin showed "evidence of a degree of impairment in his ability to understand his rights during interrogation, particularly concerning his right to remain silent." Therefore, Dr. Matherne concluded that Martin's "ability to understand Miranda was significantly compromised, and [ ] his ability to understand the proceedings was compromised, primarily because of his intellectual deficiencies."

¶ 8. According to Dr. Matherne, he did not talk to any of Martin's family members before or after his evaluation. The history he relied on was provided in the 255 pages of background information submitted by schools, psychologists and the Social Security Administration which spanned the last twenty years. The latest history of Martin included in the background information utilized by Dr. Matherne was a record from William Bridges, M.D., a psychiatrist, dated April 29, 1998. That record stated that Martin was "mildly mentally retarded and unable to read or write." The records indicated that Martin finished school at East Central High School in Hurley where he was in special education classes. Dr. Bridges also acknowledged that Martin had been attending Singing River Services twice a week.

¶ 9. Dr. Matherne chose not to interview any of Martin's family members, and he stated that he based the competency examination on Martin as he saw him on July 14, 2001. Also, Dr. Matherne testified that he did not rely solely on the information from twenty years ago inasmuch as competency is a present factor to determine. He stated that his findings were only validated by the supplemented background information; therefore, there was no need to interview family members, police, co-workers or neighbors. He also did not listen to the audio tape of the statement made to the police by Martin. Dr. Matherne was informed by Martin's counsel, Brenda Cook, that she was having difficulties communicating with Martin. Although Dr. Matherne met Katy Jones, Martin's fiancee and the mother of his child, Dr. Matherne did not question her as to the history of their relationship.

¶ 10. When asked if Martin was able to communicate the general facts surrounding the crime such as date, time, victim and place, Dr. Matherne responded that Martin was able to do so. However, Dr. Matherne stated that when asked hypothetical questions concerning legal situations, Martin was unable to understand the role of the defendant in relation to his counsel. Dr. Matherne also stated that Martin knew the difference between the truth and a lie.

¶ 11. Martin's employer, William Toulme, testified that he employed Martin at Toulme Tire, Inc. approximately a year before the hearing. Toulme stated that Martin's duties consisted of sweeping, cleaning, and sometimes changing tires. Although he stated Martin never caused any problems, Toulme testified that Martin had a difficult time following directions and his communication skills were extremely poor.

¶ 12. The State's expert psychiatrist, Dr. James Rusch, testified that on the morning of the hearing he was given a packet of materials by the State for review. He was also given a synopsis of the police report and had been allowed to listen to the previous testimony of Dr. Matherne and the other defense witnesses. From the reports and testimony, Dr. Rusch testified that he did not agree with Dr. Matherne's opinion that Martin was not competent to stand trial. Dr. Rusch did agree that Martin suffered from mild or moderate mental retardation. However, Dr. Rusch testified that it was his opinion that Martin had both the capacity to communicate his needs and communicate with his counsel. He agreed that Martin may have trouble understanding the proceedings, but he did not see this as an absolute limitation. Dr. Rusch opined that once the proceedings were explained in simple concepts, Martin would be reasonably able to assist his counsel and the trial could proceed. Dr. Rusch was not able to determine if Martin understood his current legal situation because he did not individually interview Martin. Also the questions and answers regarding this subject matter were not covered in the material he was given to review; therefore, he was not able to form an opinion within a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

¶ 13. On cross-examination, Dr. Rusch admitted that he could not state with reasonable medical certainty that Martin was not competent to stand trial because he had not individually interviewed Martin. However, he did testify that given the same information used by Dr. Matherne, he would not have reached the same conclusion reached by Dr. Matherne that Martin was not competent to stand trial.

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