McCrae v. State
| Decision Date | 30 October 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 45894,45894 |
| Citation | 395 So.2d 1145 |
| Parties | James Curtis McCRAE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Philip M. Gerson of Freshman, Gerson & Freshman, Miami, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
This is a direct appeal from a conviction of murder in the first degree and a sentence of death rendered in the circuit court for Lee County, Florida. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution, and affirm the conviction and sentence.
On October 15, 1973, Margaret Mears, a sixty-seven-year-old woman, was found dead in her apartment. Her body, unclothed from the waist down, had been brutally beaten about the head and chest, and her vaginal area was covered with blood. A bloody palm print lifted from her apartment was identified as that of the appellant, James Curtis McCrae. McCrae was subsequently indicted for two counts of murder in the first degree, one count charging a premeditated killing, and the other charging felony murder.
In order to determine his competency to stand trial, appellant was examined by three court-appointed psychiatrists. While all three doctors concluded that appellant's mental disorders created violent and uncontrolled behavior, appellant was found competent to stand trial. Specifically, Dr. Mordecai Haber observed that McCrae suffered from a disorder which contributed to an explosive personality. The doctor concluded that McCrae was mentally competent but too dangerous to be at liberty in society. Dr. Thomas Haagland found that McCrae At trial, the state introduced the testimony of four witnesses for the alleged purpose of showing identity or establishing a common scheme or plan. Edith Veal testified that she lived near the victim. At the purported hour of the crime's commission, she stated that a young black male with a cast on his arm fitting the same general description as appellant, knocked on her door and asked for Wayne Miller. Mrs. Veal stated that no one by that name lived at her residence. The man then asked if her husband was home. While Mrs. Veal was unable to identify appellant at a pretrial lineup, she was able positively to identify him upon being recalled to the witness stand.
was capable of giving aid to his counsel and, when sober, was a well-contained individual who had firm control over his faculties. However, when under the influence of intoxicants, appellant released an underlying epileptic furor which erupted into uncontrolled violent behavior. Dr. Clarence Schlit, who testified during the bifurcated phase of the trial, stated that McCrae was subject to attacks when under emotional stress which prevented him from exercising the restraint which would be present in a normal individual. Although the doctor stated that appellant was not insane, he did determine that McCrae suffered from a chronic schizophrenic illness and that he was unlikely to cooperate with defense counsel.
Muriel Bergner similarly testified that she lived in close proximity to the victim. According to her testimony, on October 14, 1973, the day before the victim's body was found, a young black male also fitting McCrae's general description approached her while she was walking her dog, to ask directions. The man walked away, but returned, again asking questions. At that point, Mrs. Bergner walked hurriedly to her home and locked the door. She succeeded in fastening the lock just before the man arrived at her doorstep. The state also called Dorothy Hendley who testified that while walking her dog, a man whom she positively identified as appellant approached her and asked questions similar to those asked of Muriel Bergner.
Faith Lederman Gertner and William Smith testified that McCrae came to Mrs. Gertner's apartment on June 8, 1973, searching for Randy Williams. When informed that Williams did not live there, McCrae left but returned shortly thereafter, and asked Mrs. Gertner to accompany him downstairs. She refused, but William Smith agreed to go in her place. Once they walked downstairs, McCrae took a swing at Smith and fled. Later that evening, appellant returned and forced the door open. He drew a gun and shot Smith. He then beat Mrs. Gertner about the face with the gun and choked her before fleeing again.
After the state rested, appellant took the stand in his own behalf. During direct examination, he was asked if he had been convicted of misdemeanors and if he had pleaded guilty to those charges. Appellant responded in the affirmative to both questions. His counsel then asked if he was ever convicted of a felony, to which appellant again answered affirmatively. On cross-examination, the state attorney sought to elicit the nature of the felony charge. Overruling defendant's objection, the court required McCrae to disclose to the jury that he had pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit murder on the ground that appellant's counsel had "opened the door" to such questioning.
After the close of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the felony-murder count, but recommended a life sentence. As required by section 921.141(3), Florida Statutes (1975), the trial judge made findings of fact wherein he rejected the recommendation of the jury and entered a judgment calling for the death sentence. Specifically, he stated:
As presiding Judge I observed the Defendant when evidence was introduced and especially when the fingerprint expert from the F.B.I. was testifying, the The Court was also aware that a person answering the description of the Defendant tried to gain entrance to the homes of two other elderly women in the same close neighborhood wherein the deceased lived in her apartment at or about the time shortly connected with the death of the deceased.
Defendant (appellant) appeared extremely nervous and upset when this evidence was being received. Throughout the trial, as the story unfolded, the Court was struck with the heinous, atrocious and cruel murder of this elderly woman.
The Court is also aware that the testimony proved that the Defendant, a few months before the instant case at bar, brutally attacked a female by the name of Faith Lederman (Gertner) after he, the Defendant, had shot and seriously wounded William R. Smith, which as a result of said attack, the Defendant stood before the Court and voluntarily pleaded guilty to the crime of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit first degree murder.
The record in Case No. 73-372 CF, Lee County docket, reveals that the Defendant plead guilty to this charge on September 11, 1974, just about one month before the murder of Margaret Mears, the deceased in the case at bar.
The Defendant was permitted to remain at liberty on bail pending the pre-sentence investigation report on Case No. 73-372 CF.
During the time the Defendant was at liberty on bail between September 11, 1973 and October 29, 1973, the murder for which the Defendant was tried and convicted in the instant case was committed.
It is interesting to note that the Defendant's fingerprints taken when he was convicted for the crime laid in Case No. 73-372 CF matched the bloody fingerprints lifted from the residence and premises occupied by the deceased, Margaret Mears, and thus resulted in the indictment and conviction of the Defendant in the case at bar.
The Court before the trial was interested in the mental state of the Defendant, and appointed experts in the field of psychiatry to thoroughly examine the Defendant. The Court held hearings on the question of the mental condition of the Defendant and after hearing the testimony of such experts held that the Defendant was fully able to distinguish the difference between right and wrong and could fully cooperate with his counsel in the preparation and conducting of his defense.
The Defendant did fully cooperate with counsel during the trial and actively advised counsel and was fully aware at all times of the proceedings during the trial.
The Defendant took the witness stand in his own behalf and demonstrated that he, the Defendant, had an excellent memory, but could not explain how his bloody fingerprints and palm prints were found on the wall near the back door of the deceased's apartment or upon books and other items in the residence.
The evidence discloses that the deceased was so brutally and viciously beaten that her blood was splattered upon the walls and ceiling of her residence, and the evidence further discloses that this elderly woman was raped, either just before her death or directly after she was murdered.
The Court sets forth the above facts as they fully appear in the trial record, and the record taken by the Official Court Reporter.
The mitigating circumstances are very minor.
The Defendant, in order to show the jury that at the time of the crime he was "under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance" placed Dr. Clarence Schilt on the stand, however the good doctor could not with any degree of medical certainty say in his opinion the Defendant was so affected. The doctor in his summation stated that the prisoner was either very smart or very sick.
Therefore, when the Court takes into consideration the aggravating circumstances such as:
1. The Defendant was a self-convicted felon, pleading guilty to assault to murder, and as an incident thereto, from the trial record that the Defendant had beat (sic) and choked the witness Faith Lederman in a brutal assault upon her, just a few weeks prior to the murder of Margaret Mears, and
2. That the Defendant had on the same night of the murder tried to gain entrance to the residences of two other elderly females in the same locality, and
3. That the crime was committed "according to the jury verdict" in the commission of rape, and
4. That the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, brutal and cruel.
The Court feels that these...
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