Pye v. State

• Decision Date: 21 September 1998
• Docket Number: No. S98P0612.,S98P0612.
• Citation: 269 Ga. 779,505 S.E.2d 4
• Parties: PYE v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

505 S.E.2d 4

269 Ga. 779

PYE v. The STATE.

No. S98P0612.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

September 21, 1998.

Johnny Baxter Mostiler, Griffin, for Willie James Pye.

William T. McBroom, III, Dist. Atty., Daniel A. Hiatt, Asst. Dist. Atty., Griffin, Hon. Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Susan V. Boleyn, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Wesley S. Horney, Patricia Beth Attaway, Asst. Attys. Gen., Department of Law, Atlanta, for the State.

Stephen C. Bayliss, Atlanta, Joseph L. Chambers, Sr., Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, Smyrna, Michael Mears, MultiCounty Public Defender, Atlanta, for other interested parties. CARLEY, Justice.

A jury found Willie James Pye guilty of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, rape, armed robbery, and burglary. For the murder, the jury recommended a death sentence, finding as four separate statutory aggravating circumstances that Pye had committed that crime while engaged in the commission of the offenses of kidnapping with bodily injury, rape, armed robbery, and burglary. OCGA § 17-10-30(b)(2). Pye's motion for new trial was denied and he appeals.¹

Jury Selection

1. Pye contends that the State violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) by using four peremptory strikes against black prospective jurors. The record shows that the State gave reasons for these four peremptory strikes, rendering the necessity of a preliminary showing of prima facie discrimination moot. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991); Lewis v. State, 262 Ga. 679, 680(2), 424 S.E.2d 626 (1993). After a hearing, the trial court ruled that Pye did not meet his burden of showing that the State had acted with discriminatory intent. This ruling will be affirmed unless it is clearly erroneous. Turner v. State, 267 Ga. 149, 151(2), 476 S.E.2d 252 (1996).

In one instance, the State exercised a peremptory strike because inquiries in the community led the prosecutor to believe that the prospective juror was argumentative and might prevent the return of a unanimous verdict. The State "may rely on information and advice provided by others so long as this input is not predicated upon the race of the prospective juror." Barnes v. State, 269 Ga. 345, 350(6), 496 S.E.2d 674 (1998). See also Lewis v. State, supra at 681(2), 424 S.E.2d 626. The trial court did not err by accepting the State's reason for the strike of this juror, because there was no discriminatory intent inherent in the State's explanation and it was not so implausible as to render the explanation pretextual. See Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995); Jackson v. State, 265 Ga. 897, 898(2), 463 S.E.2d 699 (1995).

The prosecutor struck another prospective juror who testified that she was conscientiously opposed to the death penalty and believed that life without parole was a greater deterrent than a death sentence. The prosecutor also stated that his assistant had known this juror for years and believed that she would be unable to vote for imposition of the death penalty. These were valid race-neutral reasons sufficient to justify a peremptory strike. See Tharpe v. State, 262 Ga. 110, 112(6), 416 S.E.2d 78 (1992); Barnes v. State, supra. Pye complains that the State did not strike white prospective jurors who testified that they believed that life without parole was a greater deterrent than death. The record reveals, however, that these white jurors did not state, as this prospective juror did, that they were also conscientiously opposed to the death penalty.

The prosecutor struck a third prospective juror because she testified that she was conscientiously opposed to the death penalty, even though she later said that she could vote for a death sentence. As previously stated, this is a valid race-neutral reason sufficient to justify a peremptory strike. Tharpe v. State, supra. The prosecutor further stated that this prospective juror's son was a public defender in Atlanta. This reason is also sufficient to justify a peremptory strike, because the explanation was neither inherently discriminatory nor implausibly pretextual. See Purkett v. Elem, supra; Jackson v. State, supra.

The State struck the fourth prospective juror because he seemed confused by the voir dire questions and repeatedly contradicted himself about his opinion on the deterrent value of a death sentence, his impartiality, and whether he was conscientiously opposed to the death penalty. This explanation is supported by the voir dire transcript and is a valid race-neutral reason. See Purkett v. Elem, supra; Jackson v. State, supra.

In none of the four instances was the trial court's Batson ruling clearly erroneous. Accordingly, this enumeration of error is without merit.

2. Pye complains that the trial court failed to ask prospective jurors on voir dire whether they would consider mitigating circumstances or would automatically impose a death sentence if Pye was convicted of murder. Because Pye did not request the trial court to ask these questions, he cannot now complain. Durham v. State, 239 Ga. 697, 699(2), 238 S.E.2d 334 (1977); Eberheart v. State, 232 Ga. 247, 251(3), 206 S.E.2d 12 (1974), vacated in part on other grounds, Coker v. State, 433 U.S. 584, 97 S.Ct. 2861, 53 L.Ed.2d 982 (1977). Moreover, Pye could have asked the questions himself and, in fact, did so in some instances. Therefore, any error was harmless. Robinson v. State, 238 Ga. 291, 292(2), 232 S.E.2d 561 (1977).

3. Pye urges that the trial court conducted an inadequate investigation into the possible misconduct of alternate juror Alvin Yarbrough. The record shows that, after the jury was seated, two jurors informed the trial court that, on the first day of voir dire, Yarbrough had commented that he was the victim's cousin. The trial court then questioned Yarbrough, who responded that, when he heard the victim's name announced, he said that he was the victim's cousin only because they had the same last name. Yarbrough stated that he was not related to the victim and did not know her. The trial court allowed Yarbrough to remain an alternate juror, and informed the two concerned jurors that it had ascertained that Yarbrough was not related to the victim. Pye did not object to the investigation conducted by the trial court or request further investigation. Bowens v. State, 217 Ga.App. 283, 457 S.E.2d 238 (1995). Moreover, any error was harmless because Yarbrough was not needed to replace any regular jurors and, therefore, did not participate in deliberations or influence the verdict. State v. Newsome, 259 Ga. 187, 188(2), 378 S.E.2d 125 (1989).

The Guilt-Innocence Phase of Trial

4. The evidence presented at trial authorized the jury to find the following: Pye had been in a sporadic romantic relationship with the victim, Alicia Lynn Yarbrough, but, at the time of her murder, Ms. Yarbrough was living with another man, Charles Puckett. Pye and two companions, Chester Adams and Anthony Freeman, planned to rob Puckett because Pye had heard that Puckett had just collected money from the settlement of a lawsuit. Pye was also angry because Puckett had signed the birth certificate of a child whom Pye claimed as his own.

The three men drove to Griffin in Adams' car and, in a street transaction, Pye bought a large, distinctive .22 pistol. They then went to a party where a witness observed Pye in possession of the large .22. Just before midnight, the three left the party and drove toward Puckett's house. As they were leaving, a witness heard Pye say, "it's time, let's do it." All of the men put on the ski masks which Pye had brought with him, and Pye and Adams also put on gloves.

They approached Puckett's house on foot and observed that only Ms. Yarbrough and her baby were home. Pye tried to open a window and Ms. Yarbrough saw him and screamed. Pye ran around to the front door, kicked it in, and held Ms. Yarbrough at gunpoint. After determining that there was no money in the house, they took a ring and a necklace from Ms. Yarbrough and abducted her, leaving the infant in the house. The men drove to a nearby motel where Pye rented a room using an alias. In the motel room, the three men took turns raping Ms. Yarbrough at gunpoint. Pye was angry with Ms. Yarbrough and said, "You let Puckett sign my baby's birth certificate."

After attempting to eliminate their fingerprints from the motel room, the three men and Ms. Yarbrough left in Adams' car. Pye whispered in Adams' ear and Adams turned off onto a dirt road. Pye then ordered Ms. Yarbrough out of the car, made her lie face down, and shot her three times, killing her. As they were driving away, Pye tossed the gloves, masks, and the large .22 from the car. The police later recovered these items and found the victim's body only a few hours after she was killed. A hair found on one of the masks was consistent with the victim's hair, and a ballistics expert determined that there was a 90% probability that a bullet found in the victim's body had been fired by the .22. Semen was found in the victim's body and DNA taken from the semen matched Pye's DNA. When Pye talked to the police later that day, he stated that he had not seen the victim in at least two weeks. However, Freeman confessed and later testified for the State.

The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find proof of Pye's guilt of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape, and burglary beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The evidence was also sufficient to authorize the jury to find that Pye's commission of kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape, and burglary were aggravating circumstances which supported his death sentence for the murder.

5. Freeman's inculpatory testimony was corroborated by other evidence that Pye was seen with the murder weapon shortly before...