Morva v. Davis

• Decision Date: 15 April 2015
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 7:13-cv-00283
• Parties: WILLIAM CHARLES MORVA, Petitioner, v. KEITH W. DAVIS, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia

WILLIAM CHARLES MORVA, Petitioner, v. KEITH W. DAVIS, Respondent.

Civil Action No. 7:13-cv-00283

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ROANOKE DIVISION

April 15, 2015

MEMORANDUM OPINION

By: Michael F. Urbanski United States District Judge

William Charles Morva ("Morva"), a Virginia inmate proceeding with counsel, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Dkt. No. 111, challenging the sentences of death imposed by the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Virginia ("circuit court") on August 25, 2008. Respondent, who is the Warden of the Sussex I State Prison ("Warden"), moved to dismiss the petition, Dkt. Nos. 67, 120, Morva responded, and the court held a hearing on October 24, 2014. After exhaustively reviewing the record and considering the parties' arguments, the court finds that Morva's counsel were not ineffective and that his capital murder trial did not otherwise violate the laws or Constitution of the United States. As such, the Warden's motions to dismiss must be GRANTED.

I. Factual and Procedural History

Following an eight day trial held in March 2008, a jury convicted Morva of assault and battery on Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Quesenberry, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-57; escape with force by a prisoner, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-478; one count of capital murder for killing hospital security guard Derrick McFarland while a prisoner, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-31(3); one count of capital murder for killing Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Eric Sutphin, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-31(6); one count of capital murder for committing premeditated murders of more than one person within a three-year period,in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-31(8); and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of murder, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-31. The jury based its decision on the following facts, as recited by the Supreme Court of Virginia:

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, "I will kick an unarmed guard in the neck and make him drop. Then I'll stomp him until he is as dead as I'll be."

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 hishands 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.

Morva v. Commonwealth, 278 Va. 329, 335-37, 683 S.E.2d 553, 556-57 (2009).

During the sentencing phase of trial, the jury heard testimony from Dr. Bruce Cohen, a forensic psychiatrist, and Dr. Scott Bender, a neuropsychologist, both from the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy in Charlottesville, Virginia.¹ After conducting numerous psychologicaltests, Dr. Bender identified two "DSM-IV Diagnostic Possibilities:" Somatoform Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified), which is an Axis-I disorder, and a Personality Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) (Mixed Personality Disorder with Schizotypal, Narcissistic, Antisocial, and Paranoid Features), which is an Axis-II disorder.² State Habeas Appendix ("SHA") Vol. 6, at 2486.³ Relying on documents, his own interviews, and Dr. Bender's determinations, Dr. Cohen concluded that "Morva's life story and overall clinical presentation are indicative of a diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder." SHA Vol. 6, at 2467; Direct Appeal Joint Appendix ("Direct Appeal JA") at 2325. Dr. Cohen did not find that Morva's schizotypal personality disorder constituted an "extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the offenses" or that it significantly impaired Morva's capacity "to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law[.]" SHA Vol. 6, at 2466; Direct Appeal JA at 2324-25, 2353; see, e.g., Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-264.3:1(A), (C). However, Dr. Cohen testified that Morva's schizotypal personality disorder served as a mitigating factor against imposing a death sentence. Direct Appeal JA at 2353-54.

After hearing substantial mitigation evidence, including testimony from Dr. Bender and Dr. Cohen, the jury recommended sentences of death for each of the three capital murder convictions and a total term of sixteen years' incarceration for the other convictions. The circuit court's August25, 2008 sentencing order imposed the jury's recommended sentences. Direct Appeal JA at 413-15.⁴ On appeal, the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the convictions and sentences, finding "no reversible error" and "no reason to set aside the sentences of death."⁵ Morva v. Commonwealth, 278 Va. at 355, 683 S.E.2d at 568.

Following the denial of the direct appeal, the circuit court appointed two licensed Virginia attorneys ("state habeas counsel"), who were specially qualified under Virginia Code § 19.2-163.7 to represent Morva in state habeas proceedings. On December 3, 2010, state habeas counsel filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and five volumes of appendices with the Supreme Court of Virginia.⁶ The Warden filed a motion to dismiss supported with exhibits, including affidavits, on January 4, 2011.

Between February 4, 2011, and April 3, 2013, Morva filed five motions for leave to supplement the record and one motion to amend the petition.⁷ During that same time, Morva alsopursued motions for discovery, for appointment of mental health experts, and for an evidentiary hearing to support the claims set forth in the petition and exhibits.⁸ On April 12, 2013, the Supreme Court of Virginia denied all of these motions, considered "[t]he exhibits contained in the [five] appendices . . . pursuant to the appropriate evidentiary rules[,]" and granted the Warden's motion to dismiss the habeas petition. Morva v. Warden of the Sussex I State Prison, 285 Va. 511, 525, 741 S.E.2d 781, 792 (2013).

II. Morva's Federal Habeas Claims

Thereafter, Morva timely commenced this action with the assistance of new habeas counsel appointed by this court, and the court stayed Morva's execution pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2251(a)(3). The petition ripe for adjudication is Morva's second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus prepared by counsel, Dkt. No. 111.⁹ Morva presents the following twelve claims in the instant petition:

I. The circuit court's denial of the assistance of a risk assessment expert on the issue of future dangerousness violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; II. (A) Morva was visibly restrained during trial in violation of due process, and (B) trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by not objecting to the visible restraints;

III. The circuit court's exclusion of venirewoman Mary Blevins violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments' guarantees of a fair trial and an impartial jury;

IV. Trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by stipulating that Morva was "a prisoner imprisoned

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