Roberts v. State

• Decision Date: 23 May 1997
• Citation: 735 So.2d 1244
• Parties: David Lee ROBERTS v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

735 So.2d 1244

David Lee ROBERTS v. STATE.

CR-93-1766.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

May 23, 1997.

Opinion on Return to Remand March 6, 1998.

Opinion on Second Return to Remand May 8, 1998.

Rehearing Denied June 19, 1998.

Samuel L. Masdon, Haleyville, for appellant.

Bill Pryor, atty. gen., Robin Blevins, asst. atty. gen., and Rodger Brannum, deputy atty. gen., for appellee.

COBB, Judge.

David Lee Roberts was convicted by a Marion County jury of two counts of capital murder. One count charged that Roberts murdered Annetra Jones during a robbery, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975, and one count charged that Roberts murdered Annetra Jones during the commission of an arson, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(9), Code of Alabama 1975. The jury recommended that Roberts be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, but the judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Roberts to death. Roberts appeals from his convictions and sentence.

Briefly stated, the evidence at trial tended to show the following. Roberts had been a houseguest of Wendell Satterfield. On April 22, 1992, Satterfield's girlfriend, Annetra Jones, was sleeping on a couch in Satterfield's den. Roberts left his job and went to Satterfield's residence around noon on that day. He packed his belongings, stole money from the victim's wallet, and shot her three times in the head with a .22 caliber rifle while she slept. Jones died within seconds. Roberts poured flammable liquid on her body and on the floor in the den, then set fire to a piece of paper he had placed under the couch. In the bedroom in which Roberts had stayed, which was in the basement of Satterfield's house, Roberts set another fire, causing major damage to the room and sending smoke throughout the house. Roberts left the house, taking with him a variety of items, such as the murder weapon and other guns. He hid this evidence, but later led the police to the hiding place.

Law enforcement authorities questioned Roberts and he gave several statements. He admitted shooting Jones and setting Satterfield's house on fire. In his last statement, Roberts said that he had set the house on fire to get back at Satterfield for threatening his parents; he said that he did not know that Jones would be at the house and he did not know why he shot her.

At the sentencing hearing before the jury, the State presented evidence that Roberts had previously been convicted of second degree burglary and first degree theft, and that he had been on parole for less than two months when he committed this crime. Roberts's brother, Terry, and his mother, Brenda, testified that Roberts was nervous, slept poorly, and had a history of drug abuse. Terry Roberts also testified that two days before the murder, Satterfield made what could be construed as a threat against their father.

At the sentence hearing before the court, Roberts testified that he was sorry about what had happened. He stated that an "older individual" had threatened to kill his parents, that the pressure had built up over time, that he had no one to turn to for help, and that he did what he thought he needed to do at the time. He also testified that the "older individual" told him to burn the house and to shoot Annetra Jones.

After considering the evidence and the jury's sentencing recommendation, the trial court weighed the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and sentenced Roberts to death.

On appeal, Roberts raises 22 issues.

Because this case involves the death penalty, this court is obliged under Rule 45A, Ala.R.App.P., to review the record for any error that may have affected the substantial rights of the appellant. However, in Burton v. State, 651 So.2d 641, 645 (Ala.Cr.App.1993), aff'd, 651 So.2d 659 (Ala.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1115, 115 S.Ct. 1973, 131 L.Ed.2d 862 (1995), this court noted:

"`[T]he plain-error exception to the contemporaneous-objection rule is to be "used sparingly, solely in those circumstances in which a miscarriage of just would otherwise result."' United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 15, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 1048, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985), quoting United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 163, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1592, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982)."

"Plain error is error which, when examined in the context of the entire case, is so obvious that failure to notice it would seriously affect the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of the judicial proceedings." United States v. Butler, 792 F.2d 1528, 1535 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 933, 107 S.Ct. 407, 93 L.Ed.2d 359 (1986).

GUILT PHASE

I.

Roberts argues that the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence photographs showing him, handcuffed, as he gathered for police items that would be used as evidence of the crimes. He alleges that, because he was handcuffed in the photographs, the photographs destroyed the presumption of innocence. He also alleges that the photographs had no probative value. At trial, Roberts objected only on grounds that the photographs removed the presumption of innocence; therefore, the argument regarding the photographs' lack of probative value must be reviewed for plain error.

The State offered into evidence three photographs of Roberts: Exhibits 64 and 65 depict Roberts touching the butt of a rifle that is partially hidden in some leaves covering the ground; Exhibit 68 depicts Roberts standing in a wooded area. Roberts is handcuffed in each photograph. The trial court sustained the objection to Exhibit 68, and admitted the two photographs showing Roberts and the gun.

The admissibility of photographs showing a defendant handcuffed appears to be an issue of first impression in Alabama. However, several other states have rejected defendants' claims that such photographs were prejudicial because the photographs indicated that the defendants were dangerous and guilty. In Wiley v. State, 449 So.2d 756, 760 (Miss.1984), the defendant, handcuffed and in chains, led police to where he had discarded a money bag. He was photographed as he pointed to the bag, and that photograph was admitted into evidence at his trial. The appellate court stated that the photograph showed no more than the testimony indicated, and that it had probative value in that it corroborated the defendant's confession and showed his cooperation with law enforcement authorities. In State v. Barton, 335 N.C. 696, 710-11, 441 S.E.2d 295, 302-03 (1994), the court upheld the admission into evidence of two photographs of the defendant in handcuffs, one of which depicted him standing next to a sheriff's deputy in the area where the victim's car was located. The court noted that the trial court found that the photographs would assist law enforcement officers in their testimony regarding the defendant's locating evidence from the crime. The jury in that case was instructed that the fact that the defendant was in handcuffs was not evidence of his guilt. In Bryant v. State, 705 S.W.2d 745, 749 (Tex.App.1986), a photograph of the defendant who was being detained by two police officers next to their patrol car was properly admitted, the court held, because it corroborated the officers' testimony about the defendant's appearance when he was arrested. United States v. Mohammed, 27 F.3d 815, 818, 822 (2d Cir.)cert. denied, 513 U.S. 975, 115 S.Ct. 451, 130 L.Ed.2d 360 (1994), is analogous to this case. A photograph of the defendant standing next to a jail cell and wearing a black jacket and a close-up photograph of him were admitted, and the court rejected the claim that the photographs placed "an imprimatur of criminality" upon him. The court held that the photographs corroborated the police officer's testimony, that Mohammed was wearing a black jacket when he was arrested, and that they did not improperly expose the jury to evidence of the defendant's prior record because they were taken at the time of his arrest for the present offense. Clearly, other jurisdictions have allowed the admission into evidence of photographs showing a defendant in custody or otherwise detained.

Although we have not previously addressed this precise issue, our position on the admissibility of photographs is well established. The admission into evidence of photographs is within the trial court's sound discretion, and review of a court's decision on that issue is confined to whether that discretion was abused. See Ex parte Siebert, 555 So.2d 780 (Ala.1989), cert. denied, 497 U.S. 1032, 110 S.Ct. 3297, 111 L.Ed.2d 806 (1990). Photographs are admissible if they tend to illustrate some relevant fact or evidence, or if they corroborate other evidence. See Stanton v. State, 648 So.2d 638, 642 (Ala.Cr.App. 1994). Photographs are admissible even if they are cumulative or demonstrative of undisputed facts. Id.

Investigator C.J. Cox testified without objection that after Roberts was taken into custody, Roberts directed him and a law enforcement officer to the place in the woods where he had hidden the guns (State's Exhibit 49 and State's Exhibit 41) beneath some leaves. He also testified without objection that he photographed Roberts as he retrieved the guns, and he identified State's Exhibits 64 and 65 as those photographs.

Sergeant Ken Mays, an officer with the Department of Public Safety, testified about his interviews with Roberts, and read the statements Roberts had given during those interviews to the jury. In his final statement, Roberts admitted that he had shot the victim and had hidden the guns; he could not describe the hiding place in the woods "because there ain't no directions on how to get there." Sgt. Mays testified that after Roberts made this statement, he was placed in custody. Sgt. Mays also testified that Roberts took him and C.J. Cox to where he had hidden the weapons.

The photographs simply illustrate the testimony, which was not objected to, and they are probative because they corroborate Roberts's statement. The officers testified that Roberts was in...