Morris v. State

• Decision Date: 29 April 2016
• Docket Number: CR–11–1925
• Citation: 261 So.3d 1181
• Parties: Alfonzo MORRIS v. STATE of Alabama
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

261 So.3d 1181

Alfonzo MORRIS

v.STATE of Alabama

CR–11–1925

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

April 29, 2016

Rehearing Denied September 2, 2016

Writ of Certiorari Quashed March 23, 2018

Alabama Supreme Court 1151265

Jason H. Casell, Ingrid L. Price, Anna Engh, and Sarah E. Tremont, Washington, D.C., for appellant.

Luther Strange, atty. gen., and Thomas Govan, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.

WELCH, Judge.

Alfonzo Morris appeals the circuit court's summary dismissal of his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., in which he attacked his capital-murder convictions and his resulting sentence of death. We affirm.

In May 2008, Alfonzo Morris was convicted of two counts of capital murder for the intentional killing of Miriam Rochester during the course of a first-degree burglary, § 13A–5–40(a)(4), Ala.Code 1975, and the intentional killing of Miriam Rochester during the course of a first-degree robbery, § 13A–5–40(a)(2), Ala.Code 1975. Following a sentencing hearing, the jury recommended, by a vote of 10–2, that Morris be sentenced to death. After the trial court held the final sentencing hearing, the court sentenced Morris to death. This Court affirmed Morris's convictions and death sentence. Morris v. State, 60 So.3d 326 (Ala.Crim.App.2010).¹ On September 17, 2010, the Alabama Supreme Court denied certiorari review, id., and on March 21, 2011, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review, Morris v. Alabama, 562 U.S. 1287, 131 S.Ct. 1679, 179 L.Ed.2d 616 (2011).

In this Court's opinion on direct appeal, we set out the evidence presented at trial as follows:

"[O]n February 24, 1997, Miriam Rochester, who was 85 years-old, used a walker, and weighed 92 pounds, was beaten to death in her home. Rochester had transformed her home into a duplex and had taken in a boarder, Elizabeth Russell, who was also elderly and in poor health. The two ladies had become friends, and, on the night of the offense, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Rochester telephoned one of Russell's sons to inform him that Russell had become ill and was being taken to the hospital.

"A rescue unit and fire engine arrived at the house at approximately 9:00 p.m. and were shown to Russell by Rochester. The paramedic who was the driver of the rescue unit testified that the ‘house was very neat and orderly.’ (R. 201.) After Russell was assessed and the ambulance called, the paramedic testified that she went outside to check on her truck. She testified that she saw someone ‘fooling around my rescue unit acting like he was looking in the windows, fooling with the doors.’ (R. 203.) She then asked the person if there was a problem and if she could help him. The man, whom she identified in court as Morris, walked up to her and asked what was happening and who was sick; he insisted that he wanted to go inside the house. The paramedic testified that at one point Morris attempted to bypass her and enter the house, but she prevented him from doing so. He told her that ‘he lived in that area and he knew everybody and he had a right to go in there.’ (R. 205.)

"Although Morris smelled strongly of alcohol, the paramedic testified that Morris understood what she was telling him and that his responses were appropriate. As the paramedic saw the rescue crew carrying Russell out to the ambulance, she also saw Morris finally turn and walk away. The paramedic thereafter stepped into the ambulance and through the opened back doors of the vehicle saw that Morris had returned. She informed her partner that Morris had been causing trouble previously, and her partner instructed him to leave. The paramedic testified that she saw Morris walk approximately half of a block away as the rescue crew left.

"At approximately 10:00 p.m., Russell's son telephoned Rochester to update her on Russell's condition. He received a call from his brother about an hour later, informing him that the brother had been to Rochester's house at his mother's request and that the door was open and the house appeared to have been ransacked. Both of Russell's sons then went to the house and without entering determined that the house had been vandalized. They attempted to telephone Rochester and then telephoned the police.

"The police and rescue units arrived around midnight, among them the same paramedic who had earlier cared for Russell. She testified that she originally believed that Russell was the deceased. However, because of the number of police officers present, she determined that the death was not believed to be due to natural causes. She informed the officers that she had been called to the house earlier on that night and that the house had not been in disarray. She also told them about Morris's presence and behavior. She did not know his name at that time but gave the officers his description.

"The first officer who had arrived at the scene testified that there were ‘pry marks' on the door, indicating forced entry. (R. 261.) He took a description from the paramedic of the man who had attempted to gain entry into the house and, after the scene was processed, he left at approximately 4:00 a.m. and resumed his patrol of the area. At approximately 5:00 a.m., he observed a man fitting the description of the person who had earlier attempted to enter Rochester's house. The man appeared to be intoxicated and was staggering down the middle of the street. The officer asked the man questions and he responded in a ‘slurred, but logical way.’ (R. 265.) The officer determined that it was not safe for the man to continue and arrested him for public intoxication. The officer identified Morris at trial as the man he had arrested. He asked the man if he was carrying any weapons, and he responded that he had a pocketknife in his right front pocket. (R. 267.) He also stated that he had other items in his pockets that he described as ‘junk.’ (R. 267.) The officer stated that the items were pieces of costume jewelry. He also had a couple of pills and a cigarette in his pockets. Morris identified himself as ‘Anthony Morris' and gave the officer an address for his residence.¹(R. 270.)

"Before the officer left the scene of Morris's arrest, the paramedic was brought to that location to determine if she could identify him as the man she had seen earlier. The paramedic testified that she was certain that he was the man she had seen earlier at Rochester's house. (R. 223.) Morris was taken to the administrative building where officers concluded that he was too intoxicated to be interviewed. He was taken to jail for the night and interviewed the following day.

"Rochester's granddaughter and Russell's son identified some of the jewelry taken from Morris as belonging to the victim and Russell. Blood found on Morris's shoe was determined to be Rochester's and a cigarette butt found in the Rochester's house contained Morris's DNA.

"Morris testified at trial that he had been drinking on the day of the offense and had gotten into an argument with the man with whom he had been living. He left the house and eventually began gambling with a man known as ‘Cue Ball.’ (R. 433.) He testified that he won a bag of jewelry from ‘Cue Ball and that, as he was attempting to gather the jewelry, ‘Cue Ball’ snatched money from him and a fight ensued. He stated that other gamblers got involved in the altercation, because they did not want him to leave since he was winning. Morris stated that he suffered cuts and bruises, as well as a laceration over his eye, in the altercation. He testified that ‘Cue Ball’ threw the jewelry at him and that he picked it up and walked to a Huddle House restaurant for breakfast. He stated that he became belligerent with the waitress because he had been drinking, and he was forced to leave. He also testified that after eating he put a cigarette in his mouth but did not light it.

"Morris testified that he then encountered a police officer who indicated that Morris appeared to have been drinking and arrested him for public intoxication. Morris stated that he was taken in the police car ‘to the scene of a crime in a house’ (R. 441), where a woman identified him. (R. 443–444.) While he was standing in front of the police vehicle, he stated that a dog ‘came from somewhere’ and ran around his feet. (R. 444.) He was subsequently taken to the hospital to treat the laceration to his eye

and then was taken to the jail.

_______________

"¹ It was later determined that Anthony Morris is Morris's brother and the address that he gave the officer was that of his brother. He also gave his brother's date of birth when the officers were taking his clothing to be processed."

Morris v. State, 60 So.3d at 336–38 (one footnote omitted).

On September 12, 2011, Morris filed this Rule 32 petition. On November 9, 2011, the State filed its answer and moved to dismiss Morris's petition. While the State's motion to dismiss was pending, Morris filed a response to the State's motion to dismiss, a discovery motion, and two motions for funds for expert assistance. On August 9, 2012, the circuit court entered an order summarily dismissing Morris' Rule 32 petition. On September 7, 2012, Morris filed a postjudgment motion in which he objected to the circuit court's adoption of the State's proposed order and to the circuit court's denial of his motions for discovery and for funds to hire experts, and he requested that the circuit court independently review the claims and grant him a new trial. The postjudgment motion was denied by operation of law.

On appeal Morris reasserts several of the claims he made in his Rule 32 petition. It is well settled that this Court "will not review issues not listed and argued in brief." Brownlee v. State, 666 So.2d 91, 93 (Ala.Crim.App.1995). Allegations that are not expressly argued on appeal are deemed to be abandoned. E.g., Burks v. State, 600 So.2d 374, 380 (Ala.Crim.App.1991). Claims from the Rule 32 petition that Morris chose not to pursue on appeal are deemed to be abandoned and will not be...