Morva v. Com.
| Decision Date | 18 September 2009 |
| Docket Number | Record No. 090186.,Record No. 090187. |
| Citation | 278 Va. 329,683 S.E.2d 553 |
| Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | William Charles MORVA v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. |
David I. Bruck (Anthony F. Anderson; Melissa W. Friedman; Thomas M. Blaylock; Anderson & Friedman, on briefs), Roanoke, for appellant.
Steven A. Witmer, Jerry P. Slonaker, Senior Assistant Attorney Generals (William C. Mims, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
Present: All the Justices.
OPINION BY Justice S. BERNARD GOODWYN.
William Charles Morva was charged, in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, with assaulting a law enforcement officer, escape, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of murder, and three counts of capital murder.1 Upon a joint motion for change of venue, the case was transferred to the Circuit Court of Washington County.
After a jury trial, Morva was found guilty of all charges, and the case proceeded to a capital sentencing hearing. The jury found both the future dangerousness and vileness aggravating factors and sentenced Morva to death on all three capital murder convictions. He was sentenced to a total of sixteen years imprisonment on the noncapital offenses. On June 23, 2008, in accordance with the jury's verdicts, the circuit court sentenced Morva to death plus sixteen years and entered final judgment.
Applying settled principles of appellate review, we will state the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party at trial. Gray v. Commonwealth, 274 Va. 290, 295, 645 S.E.2d 448, 452 (2007), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 1111, 169 L.Ed.2d 826 (2008); Juniper v. Commonwealth, 271 Va. 362, 376, 626 S.E.2d 383, 393, cert. denied, 549 U.S. 960, 127 S.Ct. 397, 166 L.Ed.2d 282 (2006).
In the summer of 2006, Morva was in jail awaiting trial on charges of attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary attempted robbery, and use of a firearm. He had been in jail for approximately one year. While in jail he wrote a letter to his mother stating,
Morva was scheduled to go to trial on August 23, 2006. In the evening on August 19, 2006, he informed the jail personnel that he required medical attention due to an injury to his leg and forearm. During the early morning hours of August 20, 2006, Sheriff's Deputy Russell Quesenberry, who was in uniform and armed with a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, transported Morva to the Montgomery Regional Hospital located in Montgomery County. Morva was wearing waist chains, but Deputy Quesenberry did not secure Morva's allegedly injured arm.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Morva "kept trying" to walk on Deputy Quesenberry's right side even though he was ordered to walk on Deputy Quesenberry's left side. Quesenberry was required to have Morva walk on his left because Quesenberry wore his gun on his right side. Quesenberry observed that Morva's limping was sporadic and "sort of went away." Also, Nurse Melissa Epperly observed Morva walking as if he were not injured.
After the hospital treated Morva, Morva requested to use the bathroom. Deputy Quesenberry inspected the bathroom and allowed Morva access. While in the bathroom, Morva removed a metal toilet paper holder that was screwed to the wall. As Deputy Quesenberry entered the bathroom, Morva attacked him with the metal toilet paper holder, breaking Quesenberry's nose, fracturing his face, and knocking him unconscious. Morva then took Quesenberry's gun. Prior to leaving the bathroom, Morva confirmed that Quesenberry's gun was ready to fire, ejecting a live round from the chamber.
After escaping from the bathroom, Morva encountered Derrick McFarland, an unarmed hospital security guard. Morva pointed Quesenberry's gun at McFarland's face. McFarland stood with his hands out by his side and palms facing Morva. Despite McFarland's apparent surrender, Morva shot McFarland in the face from a distance of two feet and ran out of the hospital, firing five gunshots into the electronic emergency room doors when they would not open. McFarland died from the gunshot to his face.
In the morning of August 21, 2006, Morva was seen in Montgomery County near "Huckleberry Trail," a paved path for walking and bicycling. Corporal Eric Sutphin, who was in uniform and armed, responded to that information by proceeding to "Huckleberry Trail."
Andrew J. Duncan observed Morva and then later observed Corporal Sutphin on "Huckleberry Trail." Four minutes later, Duncan heard two gunshots, less than a second apart. David Carter, who lived nearby, heard shouting, followed by two gunshots, and saw Corporal Sutphin fall to the ground.
Shortly thereafter, Officer Brian Roe discovered Corporal Sutphin, who was dead from a gunshot to the back of his head. Corporal Sutphin's gun was still in its holster with the safety strap engaged. Officer Roe confiscated Corporal Sutphin's gun to secure it and continued to search for Morva.
Later that day, Officer Ryan Hite found Morva lying in a ditch in thick grass. Even though Morva claimed to be unarmed, officers discovered Quesenberry's gun on the ground where Morva had been lying. Morva's DNA was found on the trigger and handle of Quesenberry's gun.
Prior to trial, Morva filed a motion for the appointment of an expert on prison risk assessment, Dr. Mark D. Cunningham. Although the court had already appointed two psychologists as mitigation experts, Morva argued that Dr. Cunningham would be needed to rebut the Commonwealth's claim that Morva was a future danger to society and to provide the jury with an assessment of the likelihood that Morva would commit violence if he were sentenced to life in prison. Along with the motion, Morva proffered Dr. Cunningham's curriculum vitae, an example of a presentation Dr. Cunningham had given in Commonwealth v. Jose Rogers, and a declaration from Dr. Cunningham regarding his qualifications and experience in providing violence risk assessments and his anticipated testimony. The court denied the motion, finding that this Court had rejected the introduction of such evidence in Burns v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 307, 541 S.E.2d 872, cert. denied, 534 U.S. 1043, 122 S.Ct. 621, 151 L.Ed.2d 542 (2001).
Subsequently, Morva filed a motion requesting the court to reconsider the denial of his request for the appointment of Dr. Cunningham as a prison risk assessment expert. Attached to the motion was a letter from Dr. Cunningham in which he stated that in forming his opinion concerning the risk of Morva committing violent acts in prison, he would interpret Morva's criminal history, capital murder conviction, and projected life sentence in light of group statistical data regarding similarly situated inmates. In the letter, Dr. Cunningham stated that in doing the assessment, he would take into consideration Morva's prior behavior while incarcerated, his security requirements during prior incarcerations, his age, and his level of educational attainment. He also stated that preventative interventions and increased security measures could significantly reduce the likelihood that Morva would engage in violence in prison and that such information was essential to his expert opinion. After hearing arguments, the court denied the motion to reconsider.
Morva also filed, prior to trial, a motion in which he argued that lethal injection was unconstitutional. Upon Morva's request, the court took the motion under advisement. Morva failed to present any additional evidence or argument on the matter. The circuit court never ruled on the motion, and Morva never raised the motion again at any other point while before the circuit court.
During voir dire, juror Vesta Andrews revealed that her husband was a retired federal probation officer and that her son was a federal probation officer in Richmond. Andrews also stated that her daughter had been the victim/witness director for the City of Bristol for seven years and had quit a few months prior. Morva's attorney asked Andrews if she thought that she would have a problem serving on the jury. Andrews responded, "I don't think so because . . . I've heard so much over the years that I'm very broad minded." Morva's attorney then asked her if her relationship to former and current law enforcement personnel might affect her feelings on the case. Andrews stated that she was "not prejudice[d] one way or the other." When later asked if she would automatically vote for the death penalty if the defendant willfully and deliberately killed a police officer during the course of his duties, Andrews said that she would have to hear more of the evidence and that she "could go either way."
Morva made a motion to strike Andrews for cause due to her family background in law enforcement. The Commonwealth argued that a person could not be struck from a jury solely on the basis that she has family members in law enforcement. The circuit court denied Morva's request to strike Andrews for cause, finding she did not show any bias or prejudice against either side.
Prospective juror Mary Blevins stated in her juror questionnaire that she might have a problem imposing the death sentence because of her religious beliefs. During voir dire, she stated that even if she decided that the death penalty was appropriate, she did not know if she would be able to sentence someone to death. When questioned further, she stated that she probably could in certain circumstances, but that it was "questionable." Upon additional inquiry, the circuit court asked her if she would be able to impose the death penalty after considering all the evidence. Blevins said that she did not think that she could impose the death penalty.
The Commonwealth moved to strike Blevins...
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