Mason v. Mitchell

• Citation: 543 F.3d 766
• Decision Date: 03 October 2008
• Docket Number: No. 05-4511.,05-4511.
• Parties: Maurice A. MASON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Betty MITCHELL, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

543 F.3d 766

Maurice A. MASON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Betty MITCHELL, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 05-4511.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: November 28, 2007.

Decided and Filed: October 3, 2008.

ARGUED:

David C. Stebbins, Law Offices, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Adam Michael Van Ho, Office of the Ohio Attorney General, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

ON BRIEF:

David C. Stebbins, Law Offices, Columbus, Ohio, Carol A. Wright, Federal Public Defender's Office, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Carol Ann Ellensohn, Matthew C. Hellman, Office of the Ohio Attorney General, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.

Before: BOGGS, Chief Judge; MOORE and CLAY, Circuit Judges.

MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CLAY, J., joined. BOGGS, C.J. (pp. 785-90), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

This case returns to us following the district court's denial of Petitioner-Appellant Maurice A. Mason's ("Mason") petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In Mason v. Mitchell, 320 F.3d 604 (6th Cir.2003) ("Mason I"), we remanded this case to the district court with instructions to hold an evidentiary hearing regarding Mason's claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing phase due to his counsel's failure to conduct a reasonable investigation into his family background. After holding an evidentiary hearing on December 29 and 30, 2003, and January 6, 2004, the district court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order denying Mason's petition on October 31, 2005. Mason v. Mitchell, 396 F.Supp.2d 837 (N.D.Ohio 2005) ("Mason II") (Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 379-413). Although Mason's counsel reviewed records provided by the state that contained some references to violence and drug use in the Mason family home during Mason's childhood, Mason's counsel failed to investigate Mason's background and essentially conducted no interviews of any of Mason's family members prior to settling upon a plan for the sentencing phase that was limited to appeals for mercy and claims of residual doubt. We hold that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to interview Mason's family members and investigate the obvious red flags contained in state records suggesting that Mason's childhood was pervaded by violence and exposure to drugs in the home from an early age. Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court, GRANT Mason a conditional writ of habeas corpus that will result in the vacation of his death sentence unless the state of Ohio commences a new penalty-phase trial against him within 180 days from the date that the judgment in this matter becomes final, and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

In Mason I, we summarized the factual background of this case as follows:

On February 8, 1993, Robin Dennis ("Robin"), the nineteen-year-old wife of Chris Dennis ("Chris"), disappeared. Earlier that day, Robin and Chris had socialized with Mason and other friends, and Chris and Mason had discussed trading Chris's .22 caliber Colt Frontier Scout revolver for Mason's television. The next day, Robin was reported as missing to the Union County Sheriff's Department; the report stated that Mason was the last person seen with Robin.

On February 10, 1993, Deputy Sheriff Jack Lautenslager ("Lautenslager") received a report about an abandoned car in a rural area of Marion County. Two days earlier, Lautenslager had driven through that area and seen a black man walking, whom he later identified as Mason. Chevron-style shoe impressions, similar to those made by shoes that Mason and Robin owned, were found on the outside of the passenger door and on the passenger's side of the dash. Type-B blood, Robin's blood type, was found on the inside of the passenger door. A set of keys, including car keys that fit a 1981 Chrysler owned by Mason's wife, was on the car's front passenger seat.

A few hours after this discovery, Dennis Potts ("Potts") of the Marion County Sheriff's Department questioned Mason about Robin's disappearance. This interview took place at the detective's office of the Sheriff's Department and lasted for eighteen minutes. On February 12, 1993, following up on information from other interviews, Potts questioned Mason again. The second interview took place in a basement interrogation room and lasted, with pauses in the questioning, for four hours. Mason appears to have understood that he was not under arrest at this time. After the second interview, Mason's parole officer took him into custody for a parole violation.

On February 13, 1993, Robin's body was found inside an abandoned building that was within eighteen minutes' walking distance from where her car had been found. She was lying face down, wearing only a bra; her jeans and underwear were pulled down to her ankles. Robin's T-shirt and car keys were under her jacket, which was found eight feet from her body with burrs and debris on it. The apparent murder weapon, a blood-stained board with protruding nails, was found twenty feet from her body. Another piece of wood found at the scene had strands of hair that matched Robin's hair. On February 15, 1993, detectives found a small blood-stained piece of metal at the crime scene, which a firearms examiner later concluded was identical to a grip-frame from a .22 caliber Colt Frontier Scout revolver and was consistent with having come from the handle of such a revolver.

On February 14, 1993, pathologist Dr. Keith Norton ("Norton") conducted an autopsy and concluded that Robin had died as a result of blunt force trauma causing multiple skull fractures. Dr. Norton determined that the blood-stained board found at the scene and the butt of a revolver could have caused Robin's injuries. Dr. Norton also found sperm in Robin's vagina that DNA experts later matched to Mason's DNA. DNA material from Robin's underwear also matched Mason's DNA. The experts did not find DNA from anyone other than Robin and Mason.

Mason I, 320 F.3d at 611-12 (footnotes omitted).

B. Procedural History

Our prior decision and the district court's decision after our remand both recount the procedural history of this case, see Mason I, 320 F.3d at 612-13; Mason II, 396 F.Supp.2d at 840-42, and we draw upon those decisions in our summary here.

In September 1993, Mason was charged with (1) aggravated murder, with a death penalty specification that the murder occurred during the commission of a rape; (2) rape, with a prior aggravated felony specification; and (3) having a weapon while under disability, with an offense of violence specification. In October 1993, after finding that Mason was indigent, the trial court appointed Lawrence A. Winkfield ("Winkfield") of Columbus, Ohio, as lead counsel and Ted I. Coulter of Marion, Ohio, as co-counsel in charge of the mitigation phase.

In December 1993, Mason was reindicted on the same charges, with a firearm specification added to each count, and Mason pleaded not guilty. Mason's jury trial began on May 31, 1994, and concluded on June 18, 1994, when the jury found Mason guilty on all three counts.

On June 27, 1994, the trial entered the sentencing phase, and the court held a mitigation hearing in the presence of the jury. Mason's counsel presented the testimony of two deputy sheriffs from the Marion County Jail Division, who testified regarding Mason's good behavior during his time in incarceration pending trial. J.A. at 712-19 (Tr. at 4237-44). Mason's counsel presented brief testimony from Ruby Mason, Mason's mother, as well as his brother, sister, and cousin. The family members asked the jury to show mercy and to spare Mason's life. J.A. at 720-27 (Tr. at 4245-52). Terry Mason, Mason's wife, then testified, and she pleaded for mercy and displayed for the jury some drawings that Mason had made for her while incarcerated. J.A. at 727-30 (Tr. at 4252-55). On cross-examination, the prosecution questioned Terry Mason regarding her memory of events on the day of the murder. J.A. at 730-40 (Tr. at 4255-65).

Finally, Mason made an unsworn statement on his own behalf, in which he denied killing Robin Dennis and asked the jury to sentence him to one of the two life sentences so that he could have "the chance to take [his case] through the Appeals Courts." J.A. at 754-57 (Tr. at 4279-82). At that point, the defense rested and the prosecution did not offer any evidence in rebuttal.

The trial judge then instructed the jury regarding the three possible sentences that it could impose: (1) a sentence of death; (2) a sentence of life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after thirty years; and (3) a sentence of life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after twenty years. See J.A. at 762 (Tr. at 4287). After approximately four and one-half hours of deliberation, the jury sent a question to the court, stating that "[w]e're unable to reach a unanimous decision on any one of the sentencing options." J.A. at 822 (Tr. at 4370); State v. Mason, 82 Ohio St.3d 144, 694 N.E.2d 932, 954-55 (1998). The trial judge then gave the jury an additional instruction about further deliberations and asked whether there was a possibility that the jury might reach a verdict after an additional period of time. J.A. at 822-24 (Tr. at 4370-72). The foreman initially answered "No," but he agreed to discuss the possibility of continuing deliberations with the other jurors. State v. Mason, 694 N.E.2d at 955. Then, "[a]t 5:00 p.m., the jury sent a note that they had made `some progress' and that it was `best to adjourn for the evening & resume fresh in the AM.'" Id. After deliberating for approximately thirty minutes the next morning, June 29, 1994, the jury indicated that they had reached a unanimous verdict. Id. The jury's verdict was a recommendation that Mason receive a sentence of death.

On July 15, 1994, the trial judge accepted the jury's...