Palmer v. State
| Decision Date | 01 June 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. S99P0037.,S99P0037. |
| Citation | 271 Ga. 234,517 S.E.2d 502 |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
| Parties | PALMER v. The STATE. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Richard O. Ward, Augusta, Charlotta Norby, Atlanta, for appellant.
Daniel J. Craig, District Attorney, Charles R. Sheppard, Assistant District Attorney, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Susan V. Boleyn, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Patricia A. Burton, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. THOMPSON, Justice.
Willie Williams Palmer was found guilty of two counts of malice murder and two counts of felony murder in the shooting deaths of his wife, Brenda Jenkins Palmer, and his stepdaughter, Christine Jenkins. He was also convicted of kidnapping, burglary, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The jury recommended a death sentence for each malice murder conviction after finding three statutory aggravating circumstances: the murder of Brenda Palmer was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a burglary; the murder of Christine Jenkins was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a burglary; and the murder of Brenda Palmer was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of the murder of Christine Jenkins. OCGA § 17-10-30(b)(2). The trial court sentenced Palmer to death. He appeals and we affirm.1
The evidence adduced at trial shows that Palmer and Brenda Palmer married in 1993. They had a baby, Willshala Palmer, in 1994. Several witnesses testified that Palmer physically abused Brenda and he often threatened to kill her. Brenda separated from Palmer in May 1995 and began divorce proceedings. Palmer owned a piece of land and he told numerous witnesses he would kill Brenda if she tried to take it. In July 1995, he was jailed for violating a restraining order to stay away from Brenda. Brenda, Christine Jenkins (Brenda's 15-year-old daughter), and Willshala moved to a two-room house without running water in Vidette. Brenda had an outstanding loan with a loan company and she told the loan company manager in August 1995 that she feared for her life if Palmer got out of jail. Brenda asked the manager not to tell anyone where she was living.
On September 1, 1995, Palmer was released from jail and he went to the loan company, where he was a regular customer, to borrow money to pay his lawyer. He asked the manager if she had seen Brenda, but the manager did not reply. Palmer said she did not have to answer his question because "I will find her." He added, "when I find her, I will kill that bitch." The manager testified that she was scared by Palmer's cold demeanor when he made this threat. During the next ten days, Palmer threatened to kill Brenda several times in front of several witnesses. He told one witness that he was "going to do it execution-style" and that it would be on TV.
Palmer was also angry with his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Smith, with whom he lived for 13 years before his marriage to Brenda Palmer and who was living with him again after her house burned down. He told a witness he was "going to kill Brenda [Smith] and the other Brenda," and he told another witness that "there won't be no Brendas." On September 10, 1995, Palmer chased Brenda Smith when she was a passenger in her sister's car and bumped his car into the rear of their car. Brenda Smith fled on foot and Palmer told Brenda Smith's sister, "Y'all don't know who in the hell y'all are playing with."
Palmer also spent part of the day looking for his guns and he asked his son and his nephew where they had been kept while he was in jail. The State presented evidence that Palmer owned a .22 caliber rifle and that he had used this rifle to shoot at his brother on two previous occasions when Palmer was angry with him. That night, Palmer asked his nephew, Frederico Palmer, to ride with him to Augusta. Frederico got into Palmer's blue Caprice Classic, but Palmer drove to Vidette instead.
Palmer asked Frederico, "Do you think I should do this?" Frederico replied, "What are you talking about?" Palmer said, "I'm fixing to go kill Brenda and her daughter." Frederico did not say anything. Palmer parked the car near a laundromat close to Brenda Palmer's house, put on gloves, and pulled out a .22 caliber rifle. He instructed Frederico to drop him off near Brenda's house, park the car by some dumpsters, and catch up to him on foot. Frederico complied. Palmer was fumbling with the telephone box on the side of Brenda's house when Frederico arrived. Palmer asked for help disconnecting the phone line and Frederico unplugged it. Palmer kicked in the front door and turned on the light. Christine Jenkins, Palmer's stepdaughter, was lying on a bed. Palmer said, "Hey Bootie [Christine's nickname], I told you I was coming back." Palmer then shot her once in the face, killing her. Palmer went into the back room where Brenda was holding Willshala in front of her as a shield. Palmer told Frederico to take the baby and Frederico complied, knocking Brenda to the floor. Palmer then killed Brenda by shooting her twice in the head. When the men departed, they left the baby in the house. Palmer concocted an alibi, telling Frederico to say that they had gone to Augusta together to see a friend. Palmer tossed the murder weapon, gloves, and shoes off a bridge.
Two days later, Frederico confessed and led the police to the rifle, gloves, and shoes. He pled guilty to two counts of felony murder and testified for the State. Ballistics testing revealed that the .22 rifle was the murder weapon, and several witnesses, including a sheriff's deputy who temporarily confiscated the rifle during a 1992 traffic stop, identified this weapon as belonging to Palmer. The recovered shoes were size 11, the same size Palmer wears.
A witness who knows Palmer testified that he saw Palmer's blue Caprice Classic parked near the Vidette laundromat on the night of the murders. The witness said that Palmer's car is easily recognizable because it is missing part of its front grille. At trial, Palmer also attempted to prove that he is mentally retarded through an expert witness and IQ scores that ranged from 61-72. However, the State's expert testified that Palmer malingered on the attempted IQ testing by the State.
1. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find Palmer guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The evidence was also sufficient to enable the jury to find the existence of the three statutory aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.; OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(2).
2. Palmer claims that the State violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), by exercising its peremptory strikes in a racially discriminatory manner. The jury venire was composed of thirty-two African-Americans and thirty-six whites and the State used all ten of its peremptory strikes to remove African-Americans from the jury. However, the jury which convicted Palmer and recommended a death sentence included eight African-Americans, and the record shows that the State accepted many African-American jurors. The trial court required the State to give race-neutral reasons for its strikes, rendering the preliminary showing of prima facie discrimination moot. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991); Barnes v. State, 269 Ga. 345, 349(6), 496 S.E.2d 674 (1998). After reviewing the State's reasons for its peremptory strikes, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding that the reasons were race-neutral and sufficient. Barnes, supra (). We find no error in the trial court's Batson ruling.
3. The procedure and burden of proof for a defendant seeking to prove mental retardation under OCGA § 17-7-131(c)(3), that a defendant alleging mental retardation must prove his mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt in the guilt-innocence phase, are not unconstitutional. Mosher v. State, 268 Ga. 555, 558-560(4), 491 S.E.2d 348 (1997); Burgess v. State, 264 Ga. 777, 789-790(36), 450 S.E.2d 680 (1994). The verdict form listing the possible verdict for each count as "guilty but mentally retarded" was also not improper. See OCGA § 17-7-131(c)(3).
4. Palmer claims that the trial court improperly limited the testimony of a defense psychologist. We disagree. The record shows that the psychologist was reciting some test procedures he might use in some cases when the trial court interjected and told defense counsel to "get down to what we did in this case." This comment by the trial court simply reminded the defense to present relevant testimony, and the psychologist was able to fully explain the test procedures used with Palmer, why they were used, and the results. Since the psychologist's relevant testimony was not limited in any way, we find no error.
5. Palmer argues that the trial judge was not impartial because he made frequent and unnecessary comments, and he asked non-neutral questions to several witnesses. Because Palmer did not object at trial to any alleged judicial partiality, this argument is waived on appeal. Earnest v. State, 262 Ga. 494, 495(1), 422 S.E.2d 188 (1992). In addition, the record does not support this claim because it shows that the judge's comments and questions were not adversarial.
6. The sentencing phase jury charge was not improper. The trial court did not err by failing to instruct the jury that a unanimous finding on mitigating circumstances is not required, since the trial court charged the jury that it was not necessary to find any mitigating circumstances to impose a life sentence. McClain v. State...
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