People v. Lewis

• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: FREEMAN
• Citation: People v. Lewis, 651 N.E.2d 72, 165 Ill.2d 305, 209 Ill.Dec. 144 (Ill. 1995)
• Decision Date: 19 January 1995
• Docket Number: No. 72308,72308
• Parties: , 209 Ill.Dec. 144 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Cinque LEWIS, Appellant.

Page 72

651 N.E.2d 72

165 Ill.2d 305, 209 Ill.Dec. 144

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Cinque LEWIS, Appellant.

No. 72308.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Jan. 19, 1995.

Rehearing Denied May 30, 1995.

[165 Ill.2d 314] [209 Ill.Dec. 148] Rita Fry, Public Defender, Chicago (Emily Eisner, Asst. Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.

Roland W. Burris, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Jack O'Malley, State's Atty., Chicago (Terence M. Madsen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, and Renee G. Goldfarb and Christine Cook, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for the People.

Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Cinque Lewis, was convicted of murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9--1(a)(2)) and armed robbery (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985 1985, ch. 38, par. 18--2(a)). Thereafter, the same jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty and, further, that there were no mitigating facts sufficient to preclude death. Defendant was sentenced to death on the murder conviction and to a term of 30 years' imprisonment for the armed robbery conviction.

Defendant appealed directly to this court (Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); Ill.Rev.Stat.1991, ch. 38, par. 9--1(i); 134 Ill.2d R. 603), and sentence has been stayed pending our review (134 Ill.2d Rules 603, 609(a)). We affirm defendant's convictions and sentence for armed robbery; vacate his death sentence; and remand for a new death sentencing hearing.

Defendant asserts numerous errors at every phase of the proceedings. Rather than list them here, we will state each as it is considered in the opinion.

FACTS

The following evidence was adduced at trial. Brunell Donald, age 15, testified that on November 5, 1985, she lived with her mother, Yvonne Donald, and younger sister, Quiana, in an apartment at 4848 North Winthrop Avenue in Chicago. Brunell was then 10 years old and in the fifth grade. On the afternoon of November 5, she was watching television when someone knocked on the door. Brunell asked and was given permission by her mother to answer. She went to the door, asked who was there, and heard a reply, "C.Q."

Brunell had seen C.Q. in the lobby of the apartment building on prior occasions. She had also heard his voice about 5 or 10 times before, once in her home, and most recently, on the morning of November 5, in the lobby of her apartment building. On that particular morning, Brunell had conversed with C.Q. concerning her mother.

Upon ascertaining C.Q.'s identity, Brunell asked her mother if she wanted her to open the door. Her mother responded affirmatively, reached into her back pants pocket and pulled out a key. Brunell took the key, unlocked the door and opened it. C.Q. was there. Brunell identified defendant in court as the person known to her as C.Q.

Once inside the apartment, defendant went into the living room and sat on the couch next to Yvonne Donald. Quiana, the younger child, lay sleeping next to Yvonne. Brunell continued watching television while defendant and Yvonne talked. Moments later Yvonne told Brunell to take the television and go into the "back room" (one of the bedrooms in the apartment). Brunell complied, leaving the door to the "back room" open.

Brunell continued watching television in the "back room." Upon hearing her mother scream, Brunell ran into the hallway, where she saw "C.Q. over [her] mother stabbing her." As Brunell stood screaming, "C.Q. turn[ed] around and face[d] [her] and told [her] to stop." Brunell stopped screaming and defendant, again, started stabbing Yvonne. When Brunell started screaming again, defendant then told her to go to her room or he would kill both her and her mother. Brunell estimated her distance from defendant and her mother at the time to be about 25 feet.

Defendant turned back to Yvonne, "rolled her up and * * * took the key out of her back pocket." He then went to the door and, with the knife and the key in his right hand, attempted to unlock the door. Unsuccessful in his attempt, he summoned for Brunell to open the door and handed her the key.

Brunell unlocked the door, leaving the key in the lock. Defendant then took the key, "turn[ed] it again," pulled it out of the lock and ran out of the apartment. Defendant took the key with him.

After defendant left, Brunell went over to her mother, and then telephoned her cousin, Tonya Chapman, who also lived in the building. After talking to Chapman, Brunell called the police.

When the police arrived Brunell gave them a description of defendant. She was able to describe defendant's height by pointing to an officer whom she perceived to be of comparable height to defendant. She did likewise in describing defendant's weight. Brunell further described for the officers what defendant was wearing, and told them his nickname and that he had a dark complexion. According to Brunell, on the day of the murder, defendant was wearing "a black long coat, blue jeans, black shoes, a white, kind of light shirt and dark glasses" and was carrying a cane. Additionally, defendant had a scar on the right side of his face "and it met his mouth."

Two days later, while at the home of her aunt, Eddie Cathey, Brunell again spoke with police officers. At that time, the officers showed her several photographs and asked if she recognized any of the persons pictured as the person who had stabbed her mother. Brunell chose defendant's picture.

In 1988, Brunell "picked out C.Q." in a police lineup.

On cross-examination, Brunell testified that she told police that her mother's assailant was about 29 or 30 years old. She also told the investigating officers at the crime scene, and the detectives at the police station at a later date, that her mother's assailant had a scar on his face. She denied telling police that the offender had a slight or skinny build; "[a]ll I knew [was] that I pointed to the police officer that looked his weight." Further, she did not recall telling the police that the assailant walked with a limp.

Brunell also testified that she told the officers at the scene that she had seen defendant that morning. However, she did not tell police, until 1988, about her conversation with defendant on the morning of the murder. Neither did she tell them that she had seen defendant on several prior occasions.

Chicago police officers Stephen Stukel and James Gildea arrived at the Donalds' apartment at 5:05 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Officer Stukel noticed that the deadbolt lock on the apartment door was in the locked position. The bolt was down, but the door was open. Lighting conditions in the apartment at that time were good; it was daylight and there was a light turned on in the hallway of the apartment.

Two children were in the apartment. Brunell, the older child, appeared calm and Stukel attempted to obtain a description of the offender from her. Brunell gave police a general description of the offender, which facts, on the police report, reflected "male black" and "scars unknown." Because Brunell did not understand numerical weights and heights, Stukel had her give height and weight descriptions by comparing the weight and height of police officers present during the investigation. Brunell additionally gave Stukel the name "C.Q." as the assailant and a "basic clothing description."

Gildea's testimony was substantially the same as Stukel's. On cross-examination, Gildea testified that in his November 5, 1985, supplemental report he described the offender as a black male, 29 to 30 years old, slender build, who walks with a slight limp. Nothing in his report indicated a scar. On redirect examination, Gildea testified that he did not recall whether he had specifically asked Brunell whether the assailant had scars.

Detective Robert Elmore of the Chicago police department testified concerning Brunell's selection of defendant's photograph from a five-picture array two days after the murder. Elmore's interview of Brunell on November 7 also included a description of the offender as a black male, "thin build," "slight limp," without indicating facial scarring.

Elmore also testified that in an interview with Kevin Keith, defendant's roommate, Keith told him that he had sold Yvonne Donald cocaine and that Donald owed Keith $200.

Officer Thomas Reynolds, a crime scene technician, testified that no weapons or fingerprints were recovered from the murder scene.

Dr. Tae An, an assistant medical examiner for Cook County, testified concerning the autopsy performed on Yvonne Donald. It was his testimony that the victim sustained 31 stab wounds and six cutting wounds, and that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds which lacerated internal organs. Over defense counsel's objection, Dr. An further testified to his internal examination of the decedent's genitalia, which revealed that she was five months pregnant.

Kevin Keith, defendant's roommate, testified that he met defendant during the summer of 1985. In early fall of that year, defendant, after being evicted from his apartment, moved in with Keith. Keith recalled that in 1985 defendant had a prominent scar on his face and periodically walked with a cane, although Keith never saw defendant limp.

Keith was acquainted with Yvonne Donald and had visited her apartment on two or three occasions, including once in October 1985 with defendant. He recalled a conversation with defendant in mid-October 1985 in which defendant told Keith that Yvonne Donald owed defendant $200 for cocaine. During that conversation, defendant claimed to have had difficulty collecting the money and said, "I'll kill the b----." Keith denied that Yvonne Donald owed Keith any money.

On November 3, 1985, Keith was arrested for shooting a hole in the wall of his father's home during an argument. Keith remained in the Cook County jail until November 6. On his arrival home from jail, he met defendant, who was on his way out of the apartment. Defendant was...