People v. Thomas

• Decision Date: 03 July 1990
• Docket Number: No. 66980,66980
• Citation: 137 Ill.2d 500,561 N.E.2d 57,148 Ill.Dec. 751
• Parties: , 148 Ill.Dec. 751 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Walter THOMAS, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 57

561 N.E.2d 57

137 Ill.2d 500, 148 Ill.Dec. 751

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Walter THOMAS, Appellant.

No. 66980.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

July 3, 1990.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 1, 1990.

Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, and Allen H. Andrews, Asst. Defender, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for appellant.

Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Springfield (Robert J. Ruiz, Sol. Gen., and Terence M. Madsen and Kenneth A. Fedinets, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

Justice RYAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Walter Thomas, was indicted by a Du Page County grand jury on four counts of murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1), two counts of burglary (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 19-1(a)), two counts of arson (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 20-1(a)) and one count of aggravated arson (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 20-1.1). A jury found defendant guilty of each offense. After separate hearings concerning the question of whether to impose the death penalty, the same jury found that Thomas was eligible for the death penalty and found that there were not sufficient mitigating factors to preclude imposing the death sentence (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1). The trial court then sentenced Thomas to death.

The trial court also sentenced defendant to prison terms of seven years for burglary and 50 years for aggravated arson. The arson charge merged with the aggravated arson count. Defendant's death sentence was stayed (107 Ill.2d R. 609(a)) pending direct appeal to this court (107 Ill.2d R. 603). We affirm the convictions and the sentences.

Facts

The facts are essentially as follows. On the morning of November 26, 1986, Detective James Davis of the Aurora police department investigated the scene of an apparent murder and arson at 302 Windstream in Aurora. There he found the body of Sophie Darlene Dudek on the floor of her garage. He observed fire damage in the rear of the garage and in the car that was parked there. He also found a broken perfume bottle. The perfume was used as an accelerant in the fire.

Detective Davis then spoke with Allen Albus, who stated that earlier that morning he saw a black man, wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt, walking in front of Dudek's garage. Albus stated that several minutes later he saw smoke coming from the garage. Donnie Moore, who was defendant's employer, later informed Detective Davis that defendant was the leader of a cleaning crew that was working at Dudek's building on the day of the murder, and that defendant was wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt on that day.

Detective Davis, along with several other officers, later contacted Thomas, brought him to the Aurora police station and questioned him extensively. Defendant was again questioned on a different day. During the second day of interrogation, Thomas orally confessed and then signed a written statement in which he admitted committing the crimes with which he was charged.

Thomas stated in his confession that he had entered Dudek's garage, where she stored a large quantity of perfume that she was in the business of selling. Defendant stated that he opened a bottle of perfume, which he planned to remove from the garage, and that it fell on the floor, at which time Dudek entered the garage. Thomas stated that he tried to leave the garage but Dudek grabbed the back of his sweat shirt and began to scream. Defendant then, according to his written statement, removed a butterfly knife from his pocket and stabbed Dudek repeatedly. One of the stab wounds severed her spinal cord, killing her instantly. Thomas stated that he then poured perfume throughout the garage, in the car and on decedent's body, set it on fire with the hope of concealing the murder, and then left, later disposing of the knife. Based on this confession, and on other physical evidence, the indictments were forthcoming.

The trial court made several rulings before trial that defendant challenges in this appeal. The trial court denied two defense motions to suppress evidence and four motions to declare the Illinois death penalty statute unconstitutional. It granted the State's motion to strike defendant's motion in limine that sought to exclude evidence derived from the process of electrophoresis. The trial court also refused to permit questioning of the panel of prospective jurors regarding any preconceptions they had regarding Illinois parole law.

At trial, the State called Albus and Moore. It also called several law enforcement officials who testified generally as to the condition of the crime scene and decedent's body, and the circumstances surrounding defendant's confession. Following the presentation of the State's and the defendant's evidence, the jury returned guilty verdicts for all the crimes charged.

The court held a sentencing hearing following the trial. After the first phase, the jury found that defendant was eligible for the death penalty because he was 18 years of age or older, and he committed murder in the course of another felony. During the second stage of the sentencing hearing, the State presented the testimony of two women who stated that Mr. Thomas had attacked them in earlier incidents. The court admitted into evidence five certified copies of prior convictions that indicated defendant's prior delinquency adjudications for aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed robbery. As an adult, Thomas had also entered pleas in later cases for rape, attempted rape and armed robbery. Thomas presented testimony from his family, neighbors and friends in mitigation.

Following the second phase of the sentencing hearing, the jury determined that there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to preclude imposition of the death sentence. The trial court sentenced defendant to death for the murder and sentenced defendant to prison terms for the other individual felonies, except for arson, which had merged into the aggravated arson conviction.

Defendant raises 16 issues in this appeal. We will address them serially. The relevant facts will be further adduced as they pertain to the various issues.

Defendant's Confession

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred by not suppressing his confession because, defendant contends, law enforcement authorities obtained it in violation of his fifth and fourteenth amendment rights. The trial court held hearings on defendant's motion to suppress that extended over two months. The State called several law enforcement officials who were present during the interrogation of defendant. These individuals testified generally that they suspected defendant after speaking to Albus and Moore, and after finding that defendant had an extensive criminal record. The police then contacted defendant on November 28, 1986, in the early afternoon, two days following the murder. Thomas was brought to the Aurora police station, where he remained for 12 hours, during which time he was interrogated, his pants were taken from him to be tested for apparent bloodstains, and he was required to wear a paper suit. Defendant also signed a written waiver in which he permitted police to search his residence and specifically allowed police to remove certain enumerated items.

At approximately midnight, several officers, leaving in two squad cars, drove defendant to his apartment. The trip was somewhat delayed because one of the cars experienced mechanical difficulty along the way. When they arrived at defendant's apartment, several officers searched it and removed several items, including some items that were not listed on the waiver. The trial court suppressed the use of these items that were not listed on the waiver.

Thomas returned, without police escort, to the Aurora police station on December 22, 1986, accompanied by his mother and her friend. There, defendant was interrogated extensively, and he provided blood and hair samples. A polygraph examiner, Robert Cummins, was then brought in. Cummins is also a trained interrogator. Defendant was advised of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, and was interrogated repeatedly throughout the day. Additionally, Detective Davis showed Thomas a newspaper clipping about an execution by lethal injection that occurred in Texas.

During the evening, police took defendant, his mother and her friend to a restaurant across the street from the station for dinner. After dinner, Cummins administered a polygraph test of Thomas. Cummins also applied what he calls a "nine stage" interrogation technique, which basically provides an outline for the interrogator's method of questioning. Defendant confessed to commission of the crimes soon thereafter.

The trial court refused to suppress defendant's confession. The court found that, while the interrogations were lengthy, no coercion or threats were involved. Thomas was provided food and drink, and he was told that he could leave if he so wished, although admittedly this would have been difficult during the first day of interrogation when defendant had no transportation and no pants.

This court stated the proper standard of review with regard to questions about the voluntariness of confessions in People v. Prim (1972), 53 Ill.2d 62, 70, 289 N.E.2d 601:

"Whether a statement is voluntarily given depends upon the totality of the circumstances. The test is whether it has been made freely, voluntarily and without compulsion or inducement of any sort or whether the defendant's will was overcome at the time he confessed. [Citation.] In making its decision the trial court need not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, and the finding of the trial court that the statement was voluntary will not be disturbed unless it is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. [Citation.]"

The trial court's finding in this case is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. There is no...