Parker v. Norris

• Citation: 859 F. Supp. 1203
• Decision Date: 01 August 1994
• Docket Number: No. PB-C-91-548.,PB-C-91-548.
• Parties: William Frank PARKER, Petitioner, v. Larry NORRIS, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas

859 F. Supp. 1203

William Frank PARKER, Petitioner, v. Larry NORRIS, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction, Respondent.

No. PB-C-91-548.

United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Pine Bluff Division.

August 1, 1994.

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Jeffrey M. Rosenzweig, Little Rock, AR, for petitioner.

Olan W. Reeves, of the Attorney General's Office, Little Rock, AR, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge.

William Frank Parker, an inmate in custody of the Arkansas Department of Correction, is under sentence of death for the 1984 murders of James and Sandra Warren, the parents of his ex-wife. Parker seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on grounds that both his conviction and sentence are in violation of various provisions of the United States Constitution. Concluding that Parker was sentenced in violation of his right to due process of law, the Court grants his petition for writ of habeas corpus.

I.

Parker and his wife, Pam Warren, were divorced on June 6, 1984, following a brief and somewhat stormy marriage. An attempted reconciliation soon after the divorce proved unsuccessful. In the months that followed, Parker's relationship with Pam and her immediate family became progressively worse, and was marked by various instances of vandalism and harassment.

On November 5, 1984, Parker approached Pam's father, James Warren, and her sister, Cindy Warren, as they were getting into Mr. Warren's truck at his home in Rogers, Arkansas. Parker was brandishing a 9mm assault-type pistol and was wearing combat boots and camouflage clothing described as "army fatigue-type clothes." Cindy attempted to spray mace into Parker's face and ran down the street to a neighbor's house while Mr. Warren retreated into his house. Parker fired shots at Cindy — missing her — and then entered the house and shot to death Mr. Warren and his wife, Sandra. Parker subsequently kidnapped Pam Warren from her apartment and proceeded to the Rogers police station where he shot police officer Ray Feyan. After a standoff lasting some time, Parker was shot and wounded by police snipers. Before being apprehended, Parker shot and wounded Pam Warren.

Parker initially was convicted of capital felony murder on the theory that he had murdered the Warrens while burglarizing their home.¹ The statute under which he had been charged required the state to prove that Parker caused the death of another "in the course of and in furtherance of the underlying felony." Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(1). As alleged by the state, the burglary was the entry of the Warrens' home for the purpose of committing the murders of the Warrens. The Arkansas Supreme Court reversed Parker's conviction because the statute under which he had been charged could not be construed to encompass the facts established at Parker's trial. Parker v. State, 292 Ark. 421, 731 S.W.2d 756 (1987) (Parker I). The court determined that "the Warrens' deaths were not caused `in the course of and in furtherance of' a burglary" as required by Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(1). Id.

The state subsequently charged Parker under Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(4), which required the state to prove that Parker, with the premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing the death of any person, caused the death of two or more persons in the course of the same criminal episode. Parker, who was allowed to waive his right to counsel and represent himself at trial,² again was convicted of capital murder and, following the penalty phase of his bifurcated trial, sentenced to death by lethal injection. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed Parker's conviction and sentence on direct appeal, see Parker v. State, 300 Ark. 360, 779 S.W.2d 156 (1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 883, 111 S.Ct. 218, 112 L.Ed.2d 186 (1989) (Parker II), and denied his request to proceed under Rule 37 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. See Parker v. State, No. CR88-95, slip op., 1991 WL 19889 (Ark. Feb. 18, 1991) (unpublished per curiam), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 101, 116 L.Ed.2d 71 (1991).³

The petition now before the Court was filed on October 29, 1991, and sets forth numerous grounds for relief. Several months after the filing of this petition, Parker moved for partial summary judgment on the ground that his second trial violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. By order dated July 7, 1992, the Court denied Parker's motion. See Parker v. Lockhart, 797 F.Supp. 718 (E.D.Ark.1992). The Court concluded that because Parker's first conviction was overturned due to an error in the judicial proceedings rather than evidentiary insufficiency, the Double Jeopardy Clause did not forbid Parker's retrial in order to correct trial error. Id. at 725. Parker subsequently petitioned the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to file an interlocutory appeal of this Court's order. On August 25, 1992, the Eighth Circuit issued an order denying Parker's petition.

Upon receiving the Eighth Circuit's order, the Court proceeded to set this matter for an evidentiary hearing on the remaining issues in Parker's habeas petition. Before selecting a final hearing date, however, the Court was informed that Parker wished to terminate all proceedings in his behalf and that he would refuse to cooperate with his counsel in preparation for the hearing. The Court held a hearing on this matter at which Parker expressed a desire to drop all proceedings and waive both his federal habeas rights and his right to counsel. Because the Court was concerned whether Parker was knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waiving his right to the assistance of counsel and his right to pursue further challenges to his sentence of death (including a complete understanding of the ramifications of waiving these rights), and to assure that Parker was not suffering from any mental disease, disorder, or defect (including organic brain damage) that would affect his competency to waive these rights, the Court ordered that Parker be committed to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, for a complete neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric examination. In addition, the Court ordered that Parker be examined to determine his present competency to be executed.

On August 13, 1993, the Medical Center filed its report on Parker's examination with the Court. In the report, the examining psychologist, Dr. Robert L. Denny, concluded that Parker, while possibly suffering from Cyclothymia,⁴ was competent to waive his federal habeas rights and right to counsel, and was competent to be executed. However, the Court subsequently was informed that Parker had again changed his mind and that he now wished to pursue his federal habeas rights with the assistance of counsel, albeit with the condition that his counsel not call any member of his family as a witness. The Court granted counsel's request for time in which to make an attempt at locating Parker's military records (which apparently had been destroyed in a warehouse fire) and set a final evidentiary hearing on the merits of the petition for the week of May 16, 1994.

Prior to the hearing, Parker filed a pretrial brief in which he asks this Court to reconsider its decision finding that his second trial did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. The Court has again considered Parker's argument on this issue and remains convinced that Parker's second trial did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. See Parker v. Lockhart, 797 F.Supp. 718. The Court will now address the remaining issues presented in Parker's petition.

II.

Parker contends his constitutional rights were violated by the trial court's denial of a psychiatrist to assist him in both the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. In support of this argument, Parker cites Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), and Starr v. Lockhart, 23 F.3d 1280 (8th Cir.1994). The Court has carefully considered the record on this issue and finds no error with respect to the guilt phase of Parker's trial. The Court does conclude, however, that Parker's due process rights were violated in the denial of the aid of a psychiatrist to assist him in evaluating, preparing, and presenting his mental condition as a mitigating circumstance in the penalty phase of his trial.

A.

Parker admitted that he was responsible for the Warrens' deaths in his opening and closing statements in the guilt phase of his trial. Tr. at 1274, 1861. Having admitted to killing the Warrens, Parker's strategy was to place his mental state at issue by demonstrating that the Warrens lost their lives "as a result of a fit of rage that couldn't be controlled," Tr. at 1275, and by claiming that he was acting under some form of "duress" as a result of drugs and alcohol. Tr. at 440-443.

On January 12, 1988, Parker's counsel filed a motion requesting the appointment of a psychiatrist to assist them in developing issues relating to Parker's sanity at the time of the alleged offense. Tr. at 47-57. The state opposed the motion, arguing that the sanity of Parker at the time of the alleged crime was not likely to be a significant factor at trial. Tr. at 58-63.

On February 8, 1988, the trial court held a hearing at which it granted Parker permission to proceed pro se in his forthcoming trial. Tr. at 10-11 (Vol. 10). The court also addressed standby counsels' motion for the appointment of a psychiatrist. In arguing the merits of their motion, Parker's standby counsel emphasized that they believed the psychiatric condition of Parker would be a factor in the trial and that the appointment of an expert therefore was in order. Tr. at 7 (Vol. 10). Parker, who was now representing himself, objected, stating that "I have not brought up my competency, my attorneys have." Tr. at 10 (Vol. 10). Parker's standby counsel then...