McGregor v. State
| Decision Date | 25 October 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. F-89-503,F-89-503 |
| Citation | 885 P.2d 1366,1994 OK CR 71 |
| Parties | Billy Keith McGREGOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
Billy Keith McGregor was tried by jury and convicted of First Degree Murder in violation of 21 O.S.Supp. 1982, § 701.7(A), in the District Court of Seminole County before the Honorable Gregg M. Smith, Case No. CRF-89-38. During the sentencing phase of trial, the jury found the existence of two aggravating circumstances and sentenced McGregor to death.1 McGregor has perfected his appeal of this conviction. He raises twenty-three propositions in his petition in error.
On May 13, 1983, McGregor began boarding with Virgie Plumb, an older woman. Plumb had broken her hip in January, 1983, had a steel prosthesis in her left hip and often used a walker. On May 22, a neighbor saw McGregor and Plumb leave the house. McGregor was driving Plumb's car. This was the last time anyone saw Plumb, whose decomposed body was later found in a wooded area near Wewoka. No physical evidence links McGregor to the crime. During repeated custodial and non-custodial questioning over the course of a month, he gave police several stories and then gave several confessions.2 McGregor said that on May 22 he and Plumb were driving to Lake Eufala. On the way, they began to argue and Plumb said she would evict McGregor. He pulled over and began to choke her. When passing motorists stopped to help, McGregor told them she was drunk. While Plumb gasped for air, McGregor drove to a side road, stopped and walked her into the woods.3 He tied her to a tree and told her he needed time to get out of the area, and she begged him not to leave and began to cry. As he left, they heard motorcycles nearby and Plumb cried out for help. McGregor put his hands over her mouth, she bit him, he hit her on the head with a rock, and she screamed. She was still alive when he hit her again with a larger rock and fractured her skull. McGregor's June 22 confession directed officers to Plumb's remains.
McGregor argues in his tenth proposition that the trial court committed reversible error at his competency trial when it allowed his prison unit manager, Cook, to give an opinion as to his mental capabilities and competency to stand trial. Lay witnesses can testify about their observations of defendants if those observations are reasonably proximate in time to the proceedings.4 This Court will not disturb the judgment if any competent evidence reasonably supports the findings of the trier of fact.5 Lay witnesses can also give an opinion as to whether a defendant knew right from wrong at the time of crime if the opinion is rationally based on witness perception and helpful to a clear understanding of the testimony or determination of the fact in issue.6 Cook testified as to his observations of McGregor over a period of time while incarcerated. If this were error, it would be harmless: the jury could have disregarded this testimony and still found the State showed competency from the psychiatric testimony presented. Dr. Gentry testified that McGregor was drug competent, i.e., was competent when medicated, and Eastern State Hospital medical records indicated McGregor was drug competent with schizophrenia in remission.
McGregor claims in proposition eleven that he was deprived of his right to confrontation by the admission of hearsay testimony in his competency trial. This Court will not disturb a judgment of competency if any competent evidence reasonably supports the findings of the trier of fact.7 McGregor's objection to the admission of testimony of other doctors from Eastern State Hospital records was overruled under the business records exception (although the records themselves were not admitted in evidence). The witness, Dr. Lanier, was not from Eastern State Hospital, had no actual knowledge of the records, and does not appear to have been qualified to introduce them. Admission of this testimony may have been error. However, when we examine the evidence as a whole we find the error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and that the jury would have found McGregor competent.
In his fourth proposition McGregor claims the State withheld contents of exculpatory evidence, including a taped statement he made to a citizen, Hamilton, acting as a police agent on the day of his arrest, and statements he made purporting to implicate him in other crimes. On April 19, 1994 we remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of taped statements. On remand, the trial court concluded that no tapes were withheld in violation of any discovery orders or Brady v. Maryland.8 A review of the record reveals no abuse of discretion and we will not disturb this ruling.
In proposition thirteen McGregor argues the trial court improperly questioned prospective jurors concerning their ability to impose the death penalty. The trial court erroneously asked each prospective juror if he or she could impose the death penalty without doing violence to his or her conscience; the correct question is whether the jurors' views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of their duties.9 As McGregor did not object during voir dire this Court will review only for plain error.10 The trial court very clearly asked the jurors if their views on the imposition of death, life without parole, or life would impede their duties. A review of the record, including all questions asked by the court, the State and the defendant, shows that the correct standard was substantially satisfied.11
The two jurors who were excused both clearly stated they could not impose the death penalty under any circumstances. Their excusal was not only proper, but mandated under Witherspoon v. Illinois.12
In his first proposition McGregor argues that the State failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This Court will not disturb a verdict where, reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.13 We will accept reasonable inferences and credibility choices that tend to support the trier of fact.14 In cases raising sanity at the time of the offense as a defense, this Court will not interfere with a verdict on insufficient evidence grounds unless there is no competent evidence in the record to support the verdict.15
Oklahoma law creates a presumption of sanity in insanity defense cases. The defense has the initial burden to raise a reasonable doubt as to sanity at the time of the crime. If this burden is met, the State then has the burden to prove sanity at the time of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.16 Whether the State has met its burden is a question of fact for the jury.17 Lay opinion is admissible to prove sanity or insanity at the time of the crime; the law makes no distinction between expert testimony and other types of testimony, and weighing that evidence is a jury function. A jury can disregard entirely the testimony of psychiatric or medical experts and find sanity from testimony of lay witnesses alone.18
Two psychiatrists reviewed medical records, briefly examined McGregor, and testified that McGregor had a long history of mental illness. Neither would state whether McGregor knew right from wrong at the time of the crime, but both gave the opinion that he probably did not understand the nature or consequences of his acts. A State psychologist who had examined McGregor in earlier competency proceedings testified that McGregor was mentally ill but "drug competent" and had been on medication, according to records, for many years. McGregor's family also testified as to the continuing and longstanding nature of his mental illness. A jury could find either that this evidence raised a reasonable doubt of sanity at the time of the crime or that it was relevant only to McGregor's general sanity.
The State relied on lay witnesses who saw McGregor on the days immediately surrounding the crime. They testified that they noticed nothing unusual and that McGregor seemed as he always had. These witnesses included neighbors who saw McGregor the day of the crime, a woman who spoke with him that evening, store clerks who waited on McGregor the next day, his ex-girlfriend who was with him the following week, and officers who talked with McGregor when he reported the bad checks and Plumb's disappearance. McGregor's sister admitted that he seemed normal when he visited her the week after the crime. The jury could find from this testimony that the State met its burden of proving McGregor sane beyond a reasonable doubt at the time of the crime.
McGregor claims that the evidence must be insufficient because the jury's general verdict of sanity does not indicate the basis for their decision. When two alternative theories are present, if evidence supports both alternatives, the verdict is sufficient and the jury need not state which alternative it used.19 As the jury could have found either that McGregor did not raise a reasonable doubt as to sanity, or that the State met its subsequent...
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