Morrison v. State
Decision Date | 20 August 1985 |
Docket Number | 4 Div. 284 |
Citation | 500 So.2d 36 |
Parties | Jesse Lee MORRISON v. STATE. |
Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Donald J. McKinnon, Clayton, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little and Rivard Melson, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellee.
This cause was originally before this court in Morrison v. State, 398 So.2d 730 (Ala.Cr.App.1979), in which this court affirmed appellant's conviction and sentence of death for the murder of Marguerite McClenny during the course of a robbery. Thereafter, this court, at the direction of our Supreme Court's ruling in Morrison v. State, 398 So.2d 751 (Ala.Cr.App.1981), reversed and remanded the case for a new trial on the basis of Beck v. State, 396 So.2d 645 (Ala.1980).
On remand the appellant was afforded a new trial which comported with the bifurcated trial requirements of Beck. Appellant was again convicted and sentenced to death, and it is from this result that he now appeals.
A detailed account of the facts of this case appear in Morrison v. State, 398 So.2d 730 (Ala.Cr.App.1979). On retrial the facts were substantially the same and, finding a detailed restatement of the facts unnecessary, we refer the reader to Morrison, supra, for a complete statement of the facts.
As a short rendition of the facts, however, we now include the relevant portion of the trial court's findings of fact, which are as follows:
From this conviction and sentence, the defendant now appeals raising the following twenty-four issues.
The appellant Jesse Lee Morrison first contends that the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in Beck v. State, 396 So.2d 645 (Ala.1980), which was the basis of his retrial, usurped the power of the legislature in violation of Article III, Sections 42 and 43 of the Alabama Constitution of 1901, and violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
The Alabama Supreme Court in Beck stated that "under the separation of powers doctrine, this Court cannot change the offense, but a change in procedure to comport with constitutional requirements is not impermissible." The Alabama Supreme Court has since repeatedly held that the judicial reconstruction accomplished in Beck was procedural and therefore constitutional. Clisby v. State, 456 So.2d 95 (Ala.1983), Ex parte Potts, 426 So.2d 896 (Ala.1983). We therefore must reject the appellant's argument that the Beck decision usurped the authority of the Alabama Legislature in violation of Article III, Sections 42 and 43 of the Alabama Constitution of 1901. We further hold that appellant's retrial under the authority of the Beck decision in no way violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
The appellant contends that the death qualification of the trial jury denied his rights to trial by a fair, impartial, and representative jury and to reliability in the capital sentencing process, in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
Appellant notes that this precise issue was decided unfavorably to him in Smith v. Balkcom, 660 F.2d 573 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 181, 74 L.Ed.2d 148 (1982). Furthermore, in Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 105 S.Ct. 844, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985), the United States Supreme Court clarified its decision in Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968), and set forth "the proper standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his or her views on capital punishment." The Court stated that the standard is whether the juror's views " 'would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath,' " 469 U.S. at 433, 105 S.Ct. at 857, quoting Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 2526, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980). The Court also stated that "in addition to dispensing with Witherspoon's reference to 'automatic' decisionmaking, this standard likewise does not require that a juror's bias be proved with 'unmistakable clarity.' " 469 U.S. at 424, 105 S.Ct. at 852.
Following is the excerpt from the record which led to the dismissal of Mr. Elzie L. Woods because of his position against imposing the death penalty. Mr. LeMaistre began by stating:
Mr. Woods's position and views on capital punishment were clearly such that they "would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath." Witt, supra. We hold, therefore, that Mr. Woods was properly...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Arthur v. State
...each item of proposed non-statutory mitigating evidence offered that it considered and found not to be mitigating. Morrison v. State, 500 So.2d 36 (Ala.Cr.App.1986), aff'd, 500 So.2d 57 (Ala.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1007, 95 L.Ed.2d 207, 107 S.Ct. 1634 (1987). Thus, the trial court's f......
-
Williams v. State
...(Ala.Cr.App.1990), aff'd, 577 So.2d 531 (Ala.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 886, 112 S.Ct. 242, 116 L.Ed.2d 197 (1991); Morrison v. State, 500 So.2d 36 (Ala.Cr.App.1985), aff'd, 500 So.2d 57 (Ala.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1007, 107 S.Ct. 1634, 95 L.Ed.2d 207 (1987). In Williams v. State,......
-
McGriff v. State
...each item of proposed nonstatutory mitigating evidence offered that it considered and found not to be mitigating. Morrison v. State, 500 So. 2d 36 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985), aff'd, 500 So. 2d 57 (Ala. 1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1007, 107 S.Ct. 1634, 95 L.Ed.2d 207 "Wilson v. State, 777 So. 2d 8......
-
Waldrop v. State
...each item of proposed nonstatutory mitigating evidence offered that it considered and found not to be mitigating. Morrison v. State, 500 So. 2d 36 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985), aff'd, 500 So. 2d 57 (Ala. 1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1007, 107 S.Ct. 1634, 95 L.Ed.2d 207 "Wilson v. State, [Ms. CR-97-2......