People v. Coleman

• Citation: 168 Ill.2d 509,214 Ill.Dec. 212,660 N.E.2d 919
• Decision Date: 02 November 1995
• Docket Number: No. 75902,75902
• Parties: , 214 Ill.Dec. 212 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Alton COLEMAN, Appellant.
• Court: Supreme Court of Illinois

Page 919

660 N.E.2d 919

168 Ill.2d 509, 214 Ill.Dec. 212

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Alton COLEMAN, Appellant.

No. 75902.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Nov. 2, 1995.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 29, 1996.

Mary Elizabeth Kopko, Chicago, Robert P. Davidow, Arlington, VA, for appellant.

Roland W. Burris, Attorney General, Springfield, and Michael J. Waller, State's Attorney, Waukegan (Rosalyn B. Kaplan, Solicitor General, and Arleen C. Anderson and Steven J. Zick, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, and Matthew Chancey and Joy C. Silzer, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Justice NICKELS delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Lake County, defendant, Alton Coleman, was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 10-2) and murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1) in connection with the abduction and death of nine-year-old Vernita Wheat. The jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(b)(3), (b)(7)) and found that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficient to preclude imposition

                [214 Ill.Dec. 218] of the death penalty.  The trial court sentenced defendant to death and to a 15-year term of imprisonment for aggravated kidnapping.  On direct appeal to this court, defendant's convictions and sentence were affirmed.  (People v. Coleman (1989), 129 Ill.2d 321, 135 Ill.Dec. 834, 544 N.E.2d 330, cert. denied (1990), 497 U.S. 1032, 110 S.Ct. 3294, 111 L.Ed.2d 802.)   Defendant subsequently filed a petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill.Rev.Stat.1991, ch. 38, par. 122-1 et seq.) in the circuit court of Lake County.  The circuit court dismissed the majority of the claims in defendant's petition without an evidentiary hearing.  Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied relief on the remaining claims.  Defendant appeals directly to this court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 651 (145 Ill.2d R. 651).  For the reasons set forth below, we affirm
                

BACKGROUND

The factual background of the trial and sentencing is set forth in this court's opinion in defendant's direct appeal (People v. Coleman (1989), 129 Ill.2d 321, 135 Ill.Dec. 834, 544 N.E.2d 330), and only a relatively brief summary is necessary here. We note that although defendant was initially represented by Lake County Public Defender Michael Melius and Assistant Public Defender Joan Pantsios, six days before trial defendant requested to waive the right to counsel and act as his own attorney. The trial court granted defendant's request, and appointed attorneys Melius and Pantsios to act as advisors to defendant during trial.

The following evidence was presented at trial. On June 19, 1984, the body of the victim, Vernita Wheat, was discovered in a bathroom in an abandoned apartment building in Waukegan. Her hands were bound, and a cable was wrapped around her chest and neck. Dr. Larry Blum performed an autopsy and determined that the cause of death was ligature strangulation and that the victim had died about three weeks before the discovery of the body. A forensic entomologist studied the development of fly larvae on the body and concluded that the body had probably been placed in the building on May 29 or May 30. Two fingerprints were found side by side on the lower portion of the door to the bathroom where the body was found. One of the fingerprints matched defendant's, and the other was unidentified.

Juanita Wheat, the victim's mother, testified that at the time of the offense she lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with her children, Vernita and seven-year-old Brandon. Juanita met defendant in late April or early May 1984, and knew him by the name Robert Knight. Defendant had told Juanita that he lived in her neighborhood in Kenosha, although in actuality he lived in Waukegan. He also falsely claimed that he was employed by American Motors. Juanita last saw Vernita alive on May 29, 1984. That evening, defendant stated that he wanted to give Juanita a stereo as a gift. At about 10:15 p.m., with Juanita's permission, Vernita accompanied defendant to pick up the stereo at defendant's apartment. Juanita did not give defendant permission to take Vernita to Waukegan. Defendant failed to return with Vernita, and Juanita contacted the police.

Defendant and the victim were observed entering an establishment in Kenosha known as the "400 Club" at about 11:35 p.m. on May 29. Upon arrival at the 400 Club, defendant used the telephone, and a short time later a cab arrived to pick up defendant and Vernita. One of the patrons of the 400 Club testified that the cab driver's name was Keith. Cab driver Keith Hach testified that at 11:35 p.m. on May 29 he was dispatched to the 400 Club where he picked up a black man and a black girl. Defendant is black, as was Vernita. The man first directed Hach to drive to a location in Zion, Illinois. When they arrived, the man asked Hach to drive to Waukegan. Hach dropped the man and girl off near Slater's Barbeque in Waukegan. James Adams was working in the area near Slater's Barbeque in the early morning hours of May 30. At about 1:30 a.m., he observed a black man wearing a large floppy hat walking with a young girl near Slater's Barbeque. Slater's Barbeque is located about two blocks from the building where Vernita's body was discovered.

On May 31, 1984, a Waukegan police officer observed defendant near defendant's sister's Anna Ross, an acquaintance of the Wheats, testified on defendant's behalf that on the afternoon of May 30, 1984, she saw Vernita and defendant walking together in front of her house in Kenosha. Ross waved to Vernita and Vernita waved back.

[214 Ill.Dec. 219] house. When the officer activated his squad car's lights, defendant fled. The State also presented evidence that subsequent to Vernita Wheat's disappearance, defendant attempted to obtain false identification cards and defendant left the State.

The jury was instructed on theories of intentional murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1)), murder based on knowledge of a strong probability of death or great bodily harm (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(2)) and felony murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(3)) based on aggravated kidnapping. The jury returned general verdicts of guilty of aggravated kidnapping and murder.

Thereafter, a bifurcated death penalty hearing was conducted before the jury that had found defendant guilty. At defendant's request, attorneys Melius and Pantsios were reappointed to represent him at sentencing. At the first stage of sentencing, the jury found that defendant was at least 18 years of age at the time of the murder and was eligible for the death penalty on the basis that he had been convicted of intentional murder in Indiana and Ohio, under laws substantially similar to the laws of the State of Illinois (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, 9-1(b)(3)). The record reveals that the Indiana and Ohio murders occurred after the murder of Vernita Wheat, but defendant was tried for those murders first. The jury also found defendant eligible for the death penalty because the victim was under 12 years of age and death resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(7).) The State also sought to impose the death penalty on the basis that defendant personally killed the victim and acted knowingly or intentionally. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(6)(b).) However, the jury could not reach a verdict finding defendant eligible for the death penalty on this basis.

After the jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty, defendant again requested to act pro se. The trial court granted the request and attorneys Melius and Pantsios were again appointed to act as advisors. At the second stage of the sentencing proceedings, the State introduced evidence that in June and July of 1984, defendant participated in the murders of seven-year-old Tamika Turks and Eugene Scott, whose bodies were discovered in Indiana; 15-year-old Tonnie Storey, Marlene Walters and Virginia Temple and her nine-year-old daughter, Rachelle, whose bodies were discovered in Ohio; and Donna Williams, whose body was discovered in Michigan. At the time of trial in the instant case, defendant had already been found guilty of the murders of Tamika Turks, Marlene Walters and Tonnie Storey. The State also presented evidence of defendant's involvement in other offenses during this time period, including attempted murder, sexual assault, robbery and kidnapping.

As evidence in mitigation, defendant presented the testimony of Reverend Lloyd R. Davis, pastor of the Christian Fellowship Church in Waukegan, who had counselled defendant. According to Reverend Davis, defendant sought spiritual guidance and indicated his desire to find peace with God.

The jury unanimously found that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficient to preclude imposition of the death penalty, and the trial court sentenced defendant to death. As noted above, this court affirmed the conviction and sentence. On May 31, 1991, defendant filed a petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill.Rev.Stat.1991, ch. 38, par. 122-1 et seq.). The circuit court dismissed all of the claims in defendant's petition, as amended, except a portion of defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to trial counsel's performance during the first stage of sentencing (eligibility), and his claim that his waiver of counsel at trial and at the second stage of sentencing (aggravation/mitigation) was invalid. Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied those claims. This appeal followed. ANALYSIS

I

At the outset, we note that the circuit court ruled that numerous claims in defendant's post-conviction petition were waived because they could have been raised in defendant's direct appeal. A proceeding...