Price v. State
| Decision Date | 20 June 1997 |
| Citation | 725 So.2d 1003 |
| Parties | Christopher Lee PRICE v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Joel L. Sogol, Tuscaloosa, for appellant.
Bill Pryor, atty. gen., and Thomas Leverette and Steve Willoughby, asst. attys. gen., for appellee.
The appellant was convicted of capital murder, see § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975, for the intentional murder of Bill Lynn during a robbery in the first degree. He was also convicted of robbery in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-8-41, Code of Alabama 1975, for the robbery of Bessie Lynn, Bill Lynn's wife.1 Following the guilt phase of the appellant's trial, a sentencing hearing was held before the jury. The jury returned an advisory verdict on the capital murder conviction recommending that he be put to death by electrocution. Thereafter, a separate sentencing hearing was held before the trial court, wherein the trial court initially sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment without parole2 as to the robbery in the first degree conviction and to death by electrocution as to the capital murder conviction.
Through the testimony of Bessie Lynn and through the admission of a statement the appellant gave to authorities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, approximately one week after the offense, the State established evidence tending to show the following:
On the evening of December 22, 1991, Bill and Bessie Lynn returned to their home following a church service at the Natural Springs Church of Christ, where Bill Lynn had served as minister. The victims' home was located in the Bazemore community of north Fayette County. Bill Lynn had begun assembling Christmas toys for his grandchildren, while Bessie Lynn had dressed for bed and was upstairs in her bedroom watching television. The electricity suddenly failed and, because the security lights outside remained on, and because the electricity was still on in a neighbor's home, Bill Lynn told his wife to call the power company to report the outage. He then walked outside to check the power box. Bessie Lynn heard a noise outside and, upon looking out of her window, saw an individual in what she called a "karate stance," holding what appeared to be a sword in his right hand, high above his head in a striking position. Bessie Lynn testified that the individual was dressed completely in black. Bill Lynn yelled for his wife to telephone the police, and, upon discovering that the telephone lines had been cut, she hurried downstairs, where she picked up a candle and armed herself with a pistol that the Lynns kept in a kitchen drawer by a bank deposit bag. The bank deposit bag contained cash and checks received from an automobile parts business operated by Bill Lynn. Bessie Lynn testified that she then hurried outside and that when she did someone struck her and knocked her to the ground. She testified that she got up and fired a gunshot into the air and began calling for her husband. She found him in the yard and tried to give him the gun, telling him to shoot the people, but Bill Lynn, who had been severely wounded told her there were no bullets left in the gun. She then told her husband that she was going for help; he told her to give the culprits anything that they wanted. Bill Lynn had told his wife at that point that he knew he was going to die. Bessie Lynn, who was in their van and attempting to insert the key into the ignition, became aware of two men, one on each side of the van. They ordered her out of the van, and when she got out she was beaten with an object. One of the individuals was demanding money. They ordered her back into the house, where the two individuals, both dressed in black, demanded her money and jewelry. They took a rifle and shotgun from the house, the pistol that Bill Lynn still had, and the checks and cash from the bank deposit bag. They also ordered Bessie Lynn to give them her jewelry. She responded that she did not wear jewelry other than her two rings and asked if she might keep her wedding ring. She was instructed to take her rings off and to drop them in a bag, which they took. The culprits instructed Mrs. Lynn to remain where she was and they searched for something in the kitchen and then outside the house. Bessie Lynn testified that when the two men came back in the house, a vehicle apparently drove by the house. The two men then went out the back door, and Bessie Lynn testified that she then ran out the front door. She ran back to her husband to tell him that she was going to go for help. He asked her to hurry, and she ran to her father's house, which was located nearby. From her father's house she telephoned for help. Bill Lynn died before he reached the hospital. Bessie Lynn was treated for wounds to her head, her hands, her chest, and her thighs.
Several days later, the appellant was arrested in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he had been visiting friends. He gave a statement to the authorities in Tennessee, admitting his participation in the offenses, but claiming that his accomplice had actually killed Bill Lynn and wounded Bessie Lynn. He subsequently gave another statement to Alabama authorities.
The appellant argues that the trial court improperly failed to ask each prospective juror whether the juror had heard or was influenced by allegedly improper discussions that took place outside the courtroom during jury selection. The appellant argues that the trial court's failure violated his constitutional rights. The portion of the record containing a potential juror's testimony which alluded to the conversation, as well as the action taken by the court in response, is as follows:
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