Nolan v. State

Citation61 So.3d 887
Decision Date12 May 2011
Docket NumberNo. 2008–CT–00564–SCT.,2008–CT–00564–SCT.
PartiesClinton Wyatt NOLANv.STATE of Mississippi.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

James D. Franks, Jr., Hernando, attorney for appellant.

John R. Henry, Jr., Office of the Attorney General, attorney for appellee.EN BANC.WALLER, Chief Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Clinton Wyatt Nolan shot and killed his father. In a bench trial before the DeSoto County Circuit Court, Nolan pleaded insanity as his defense. The circuit judge determined that Nolan was sane at the time of the shooting and found him guilty of heat-of-passion manslaughter. Nolan was thus sentenced to seven years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and thirteen years of post-release supervision. His appeal was assigned to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals held that there was sufficient evidence to support that Nolan was sane at the time of the homicide, but it found that there was insufficient evidence to show that Nolan had acted in the heat of passion. The Court of Appeals, nevertheless, affirmed Nolan's conviction under our general manslaughter statute and remanded the case for resentencing under that statute. Unlike the Court of Appeals, we are persuaded that there was, in fact, sufficient evidence to support that Nolan shot his father in the heat of passion. We also find that there was sufficient evidence to show that Nolan was sane at the time of the homicide, and we decline Nolan's request that this Court abandon the M'Naghten rule as the test for insanity in this State. For these reasons, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and affirm the trial court's conviction and sentence for heat-of-passion manslaughter.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. The following is, in essence, a verbatim recitation of the facts as stated in the Court of Appeals' opinion. Nolan v. State, 61 So.3d 912 (Miss.Ct.App.2010).

¶ 3. During the early morning hours of May 26, 2006, Nolan called 911 after shooting his father, Donald Nolan, in the chest in Hernando, Mississippi. Donald died shortly thereafter. In November 2006, Nolan was indicted by a grand jury for heat-of-passion manslaughter. Nolan waived his right to a jury trial. A bench trial was held on December 11, 2007, in which Nolan asserted an insanity defense.

¶ 4. At the beginning of the trial, the State and Nolan, through counsel, filed and entered into evidence a written Stipulation of Facts which stated, inter alia, that Clinton Wyatt Nolan did on the 26th of May, 2006, in DeSoto County, Mississippi shoot and kill David Nolan, a human being, by the use of a dangerous weapon, to-wit: a handgun.” The State then rested its case-in-chief, reserving the right to call rebuttal witnesses after Nolan had presented his case-in-chief. Nolan moved for a directed verdict, which Judge Chamberlin denied.

¶ 5. Following the denial of his motion for a directed verdict, Nolan called seven witnesses, the first of whom was Dr. Robert Hoehn. Dr. Hoehn, who had been Nolan's psychiatrist since 1996, was qualified as an expert in the field of psychiatry. Dr. Hoehn testified that Nolan had been diagnosed with, and treated for, “Asperger's disorder” prior to coming under his care, and that he had treated Nolan for symptoms related to “anxiety, attention deficit, and depression.” Dr. Hoehn stated that he had placed Nolan on several medications while Nolan was under his care. Dr. Hoehn testified that he had made modifications to Nolan's medication during the month before the shooting and that it appeared that Nolan had adjusted well. However, Nolan had become more depressed and anxious, prompting Dr. Hoehn to switch his medication from Paxil to Zoloft . Dr. Hoehn recalled that Nolan had seemed to be doing better when he had seen him approximately three weeks prior to the shooting. However, Dr. Hoehn stated that Nolan's family members had contacted him the week of the shooting and had informed him that Nolan seemed more upset, was more irritated, and had not been sleeping well. Dr. Hoehn testified that he then had prescribed Klonopin, which, Dr. Hoehn explained, is a tranquilizer that is used to treat sleep anxiety and agitation. Nolan killed his father within twenty-four hours of taking the Klonopin.

¶ 6. Dr. Hoehn testified that he had visited Nolan in the DeSoto County Jail on May 31, 2006, at which time Nolan had been “very psychotic.” Dr. Hoehn explained that he meant that Nolan had been “unable to distinguish what was real and what wasn't.” According to Dr. Hoehn, Nolan had been confused and agitated. After the shooting, Dr. Hoehn had diagnosed Nolan with depressive-type schizoaffective disorder. He explained that schizoaffective disorder lies between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He also noted that hallucinations are a common symptom of schizoaffective disorder and that Nolan did not experience any hallucinations before the shooting. However, he pointed out that Nolan had experienced command hallucinations after the shooting. He defined a command hallucination as a voice that tells a person to do something. When asked whether he had an opinion as to whether Nolan understood the nature and quality of his actions at the time he shot his father, Dr. Hoehn stated:

I think [Nolan] has always understood the facts of the case as it relates to that he shot his father. As far as, you know, what led to his making that decision, I think he was having very altered thinking. I don't think he was—I think he was delusional and psychotic, and I think, you know, that he wasn't in his right mind in terms of making decisions.

¶ 7. Dr. Hoehn concluded by saying that Nolan had never expressed to him that he had command hallucinations on the night of the shooting. Dr. Hoehn stated that he thought that Nolan “was starting to have the beginnings of a psychotic episode the week before his dad died.” Dr. Hoehn also stated that, after the shooting, Nolan was prescribed Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug.

¶ 8. Nolan posted bond and was released from jail. Dr. Hoehn explained that, following Nolan's release, Nolan was sent to Lakeside Behavioral Health System (Lakeside) in Memphis, Tennessee, for three months. According to Dr. Hoehn, Nolan showed improvement while at Lakeside. For example, Nolan's hallucinations diminished, and although he showed some agitation and frustration, his mood became more stable.

¶ 9. Next, Nolan called Dr. Joseph C. Angelillo, an expert in the field of forensic psychiatry. Dr. Angelillo had conducted an evaluation of Nolan a few weeks after the shooting to determine Nolan's mental status at the time of the shooting. At the time that he had conducted the interview, Nolan had been on Seroquel for two to three weeks and was “fairly lucid.” Dr. Angelillo concluded that Nolan had not understood the nature and quality of his actions on the night of the shooting.

¶ 10. Margaret Cashion, a nurse who had worked at the DeSoto County Jail during Nolan's incarceration, testified that, while being housed in a holding cell on May 26, 2006, Nolan had become aggressive and agitated. According to Cashion, she was called to render assistance after Nolan struck an officer on the nose. Cashion testified that when she reached Nolan's cell, he was talking to a wall, and that she was told that he had been hitting his head against the wall prior to her arrival. Cashion stated that Nolan was allowed to speak with his mother after complying with Cashion's request to calm down. Cashion testified that she contacted Dr. Hoehn at some point thereafter and that he prescribed psychotropic medication which, in her opinion, positively affected Nolan's behavior.

¶ 11. In addition, several friends of the Nolan family testified on Nolan's behalf. Lynn Ford, who had visited Nolan on a daily basis while he was incarcerated, recalled that, during one visit, Nolan had asked her if she heard people talking, even though there was no one else in the room. Ron Donahoo had visited Nolan while Nolan was at Lakeside and described Nolan as being agitated and frustrated about the circumstances surrounding why he was there.

¶ 12. J. Hickman testified about a telephone conversation that he had with Donald shortly before the shooting. According to Hickman, Donald told him that Nolan's condition had deteriorated, as Nolan had become agitated and was having trouble sleeping.

¶ 13. Like Ford, Hickman had visited Nolan while Nolan was incarcerated. According to Hickman, Nolan had been incoherent, agitated, confused, and fidgety. Nevertheless, he noted that Nolan had expressed remorse for his father's death, even though he did not indicate that he knew what had happened to his father.

¶ 14. James Wendell Sanders had lunch with Nolan and Donald on the day before the killing and testified that Nolan had been withdrawn and “was not acting like his normal self.” Sanders noted that he had not seen Nolan in that state before.

¶ 15. The State then offered several rebuttal witnesses, including Commander Mark Blackson with the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department and clinical psychologist Dr. W. Criss Lott. Blackson interviewed Nolan on the morning of the shooting and testified regarding the interview. Blackson testified that Nolan had acknowledged shooting his father and that Nolan had expressed remorse for doing so. Blackson noted that the tape depicts an instance when the tape recorder was on and Nolan was talking, but he stopped abruptly and asked whether the recorder was on. Blackson answered affirmatively. Then, according to Blackson, Nolan became quiet and ceased talking. Blackson then turned the recorder off. Later, Blackson turned the recorder on again, and Nolan just looked at it and remained silent. Blackson then terminated the interview.

¶ 16. Dr. Lott, at the State's request, had interviewed Nolan one week before Nolan's trial. Dr. Lott was charged with providing a psychological assessment and an evaluation of Nolan's mental state at the time of the killing. Dr. Lott had...

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