People v. Kinkead

• Decision Date: 21 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 75236,75236
• Citation: 231 Ill.Dec. 136,695 N.E.2d 1255,182 Ill.2d 316
• Parties: , 231 Ill.Dec. 136 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Scotty Lee KINKEAD, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 1255

695 N.E.2d 1255

182 Ill.2d 316, 231 Ill.Dec. 136

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Scotty Lee KINKEAD, Appellant.

No. 75236.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

May 21, 1998.

[231 Ill.Dec. 137] [182 Ill.2d 317] State Appellate Defender, Supreme Court Unit, Springfield, Prof. Thomas F. Geraghty, Northwestern University Legal Clinic, Chicago, for Scotty Lee Kinkead.

Jim Ryan, Attorney General, Criminal Appeals Div., Chicago, State's Attorney Mason County, Havana, Michael A. Hurst, Asst. Attorney General, Chicago, for the People.

Justice McMORROW delivered the judgment of the court:

In a prior decision of this court we ordered a limited remand of this cause to the circuit court of Mason County, but retained jurisdiction over this direct capital appeal. People v. Kinkead, 168 Ill.2d 394, 214 Ill.Dec. 145, 660 N.E.2d 852 (1995) (Kinkead I ). The purpose of the remand was to permit a fuller determination of the circumstances surrounding defendant's ingestion of psychotropic medication during the time of his guilty plea and sentencing.

In the original proceedings in the circuit court, defendant, Scotty Lee Kinkead, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and other offenses. He had initially accepted a plea offer from the State that would have enabled him to plead guilty to felony murder rather than intentional murder and that would have spared him the death penalty. Subsequently, he changed his mind and, despite the advice of counsel, informed the court that he wished to plead guilty to all charges and face the death penalty. Defendant had a history of suicide attempts and self-mutilation, and his presentencing report revealed that while he was in jail, defendant was being administered Thorazine, an antipsychotic medication. During sentencing, defendant asked the court to impose the death penalty, and the court complied. Kinkead I, 168 Ill.2d at 405, 214 Ill.Dec. 145, 660 N.E.2d 852.

In his original appeal to this court, defendant raised several issues, including his alleged lack of mental fitness to make informed decisions about his plea agreement and sentencing. According to defendant, he was denied due process of law because he was convicted and sentenced without a fitness hearing despite the fact that he had been given psychotropic medication during the plea proceedings and during sentencing. See 725 ILCS 5/104-21(a) (West 1994). Although the record in Kinkead I indicated that defendant had been given chloropromazine (brand name Thorazine) during his incarceration, we could not determine with reliability whether his ingestion of the psychotropic medication was near enough in time to his plea and sentencing to trigger the right to a fitness hearing under section 104-21(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. See Kinkead I, 168 Ill.2d at 414, 214 Ill.Dec. 145, 660 N.E.2d 852. We determined that we should not automatically grant a new trial on the record before us, but we also observed that it would be unfair to affirm defendant's conviction and sentence if he had been entitled to a fitness hearing pursuant to section 104-21(a). We concluded that "a limited remand for clarification of the circumstances surrounding defendant's use of psychotropic medications strikes the proper balance in the case at bar." Kinkead I, 168 Ill.2d at 415, 214 Ill.Dec. 145, 660 N.E.2d 852.

On remand, the circuit court conducted a hearing and made certain findings. At the Pursuant to this court's remand order, the circuit court then ordered the clerk of the circuit court of Mason County to certify a copy of the circuit court's memorandum of opinion and findings to this court. We granted both parties leave to file supplemental briefs in this court on the issues raised by the remand hearing.

                [231 Ill.Dec. 138] close of evidence, the judge announced that he was not ruling upon ultimate issues concerning defendant's fitness at the time of his plea and sentencing, or whether the failure of defendant's trial attorney to request a fitness hearing constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.  The judge stated that he would instead "make findings of facts and the [Illinois Supreme Court] can draw what it wants from the findings."   In his written findings, the judge summarized the procedural history of the matter.  Without citing[182 Ill.2d 319]  to specific evidence on which he relied, the judge stated his belief that the effect of the Thorazine administered to defendant during the relevant times "appeared to be not medically significant."
                

BACKGROUND

On March 26 and 27, 1996, pursuant to this court's remand, the circuit court held an evidentiary hearing on the issues relating to defendant's ingestion of psychotropic medication in 1992, while he was incarcerated and awaiting trial and sentencing. Prior to the presentation of witnesses, defense counsel moved for the entry of a directed finding based on the uncontested evidence, found in the jail medication logs and similar documents, that defendant was taking psychotropic medicine during the time he entered his guilty plea and was sentenced. According to this uncontested evidence, defendant was prescribed a dose of 100 milligrams of Thorazine each day from June 20, 1992 through July 17, 1992; from July 20, 1992, through September 26, 1992; from September 28, 1992, through October 31, 1992, and from November 2, 1992, through November 4, 1992. On November 11, 1992, November 13 through 21, 1992, and from November 23 through November 30, 1992, defendant took 50 milligrams of Thorazine daily.

At the time of defendant's original trial proceedings, while he was taking daily doses of 100 milligrams of Thorazine, he initially accepted then rejected the State's offer under which he would plead guilty in exchange for a sentence other than death. On October 19, 1992, defendant informed his counsel he had changed his mind, and, in open court, defendant rejected the State's offer. Two days later, again in open court, defendant repeated his decision to plead guilty to all charges and to receive the death penalty. Although defendant was being administered Thorazine at the jail during this time, such fact was not known to the court or the attorneys. No fitness hearing was requested or ordered. Instead, the trial court stated its belief, based on its in-court observation of defendant, that defendant was competent to proceed with the guilty plea and sentencing. At the sentencing hearing, on November 23, 1992, defendant again asked the judge to impose the death penalty. As the record on remand establishes, defendant was also taking Thorazine at the time of sentencing.

Notwithstanding the above, uncontested evidence, the circuit court denied defendant's motion for a directed finding that he should have received a fitness hearing in 1992 pursuant to section 104-21(a). The court also denied defendant's motion to limit the scope of the remand hearing so as to preclude evidence of the effects of Thorazine. The trial judge stated that he would allow a broad range of evidence because he was uncertain what the Illinois Supreme Court intended for the scope of the hearing to be on remand.

On the first day of the remand hearing, defense counsel moved to exclude one of the State's experts, Dr. Shillcutt, on the ground that the defense had not received notice that he would testify until 30 minutes before the hearing. The witness had not submitted a report and defense counsel had no notice of the substance of his testimony or expert opinion. The trial court recognized that the lack of adequate notice put the defense at a disadvantage, but provisionally denied the motion to exclude, directing that the defense be given an opportunity to interview Dr. Shillcutt before he testified.

The court also denied the defense motion to exclude medical opinion testimony by nonexpert witnesses, such as jail personnel and defendant's trial attorneys. The court permitted the defense request for a standing objection to testimony regarding defendant's demeanor, mood, and mental functioning.

The State's first witness, Curtis Eugene Pierce, was the jail administrator for the Fulton County jail, where defendant was incarcerated from March to November 5, 1992. Pierce had known defendant for several years prior to defendant's arrest for murder. According to Pierce, defendant exhibited no unusual behaviors or physical problems from March to June 20, 1992. Pierce characterized defendant's behavior and demeanor as "normal." However, after June 1992 (the period which corresponds to defendant's receipt of regular doses of Thorazine), Pierce detected a change in defendant's behavior in the form of "cockiness," disrespect, and irritability. Pierce had no involvement in any medical decisions and did not discuss defendant with Dr. Lee, the physician for the Fulton County jail who prescribed the psychotropic medication.

Leland Keith was the chief deputy sheriff for Mason County at the time defendant was transferred from Fulton County to the Mason County jail. Keith testified regarding the medical distribution record which listed the days on which defendant received Thorazine. In Keith's opinion, defendant did not display any unusual or bizarre mannerisms and appeared "normal." However, he admitted he did not know defendant and had nothing against which to compare his behavior. Keith conceded that defendant never was examined by either a medical doctor or a clinical psychologist while at the Mason County jail. Keith stated that he was aware that defendant was a suicide risk based on his past history.

The State's next witness, Gale Carper, was one of defendant's two trial attorneys. Carper, who had assisted Alesia McMillen in the defense, first met defendant in the summer of 1992. She estimated meeting with him at least 10 times for periods of varying duration. Defendant sometimes seemed to understand their discussions and at other times did not seem to understand. Although she did not observe any bizarre behavior, s...