Robinson v. Stegall
| Citation | 157 F.Supp.2d 802 |
| Decision Date | 06 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV A 98-CV-72752-DT.,CIV A 98-CV-72752-DT. |
| Parties | Lamont D. ROBINSON, # 232275, Petitioner, v. Jimmy STEGALL, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Lamont Robinson, New Haven, CT, Pro se.
Janet Van Cleve, Michigan Department of Attorney General Habeas Corpus Division, Lansing, MI, for Respondent.
Petitioner, Lamont D. Robinson ("petitioner"), has filed this pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 alleging that he has been convicted and sentenced in violation of his constitutional rights. Petitioner challenges his conviction after a jury trial of involuntary manslaughter, M.C.L. § 750.321. Petitioner then pleaded guilty to being a fourth felony habitual offender, M.C.L. § 769.12. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment for this offense.1 For the reasons set forth below, the petition shall be denied.
This action arises out of the death of a seventeen month old infant child named Lorenzo Merriweather. Petitioner was the mother's boyfriend. The child died on May 29, 1992, and was examined by a medical examiner the next day. The medical examiner gave detailed testimony concerning injuries suffered by the child. The infant had at least four separate bruises on his forehead. The infant also bruises on the top and back of the head and a large abrasion, or scraping of the skin, covering about one and a half inches. There was also a linear abrasion on the back of the head. Transcript Volume IV ("Tr.Vol.IV") at 60-64.
The child had bite marks on the back of his left shoulder which had been made by an adult human. There was a large bruise on the lower right abdomen above the pubic bone and bruises on the upper portion of the front of the chest over the sternum, or breastbone. There were linear marks and abrasions on the front of the child's legs which may have been made with a comb. Id. at 64-69.
Examination of the bruises on the child's head showed sufficient bleeding in the bruised areas to indicate that, while the injuries were fresh (less than twelve hours old) the child had lived for a considerable time after they were inflicted. If the child had died immediately after the trauma to the head, there would not have been time for blood flow into the area to cause the bruising present. Id. 69-74.
Internal examination revealed that the child suffered from an incomplete fracture of the base of the skull near the ears. There was marked swelling of the brain and bruises inside the brain due to external trauma blunt force injury. The doctor opined that the injuries to the child's head were too numerous to have been caused by a fall down a flight of stairs. Id. at 75. The skull fracture, brain bruises, and swelling of the brain were caused by a heavy type of blunt force. Another child could not have caused such injuries. These injuries could have been caused by an adult striking the child with his or her hand. Id. at 75-77.
The child's second and third cervical vertebrae were separated, an injury which would only be caused by a force injury to the head. This injury to the cervical spine could have been caused by a blow to the head from a hand, or from the child falling on his head. In conjunction with the child's other head injuries, the doctor opined that the cervical spine injuries were caused by blunt force injuries or blows to the head. Id. 78-80.
Internally, the chest cavity showed severe lacerations of the lungs. Force so severe had been applied to the chest that the child's lungs were torn at their roots of attachment to the body cavity. Massive blunt trauma would be required to cause these injuries. These injuries to the roots of the lungs were not consistent with injuries caused by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation ("CPR"). The injuries to the surface of the child's chest could have been caused by CPR. However, internal injuries caused by CPR generally involve fractures of the ribs and may involve injuries to the outer portions of the lungs and/or heart, not tears of the lungs' roots. In this case, there were no injuries to the outer portions of the child's lungs and/or heart, but the lungs' roots were torn. The doctor therefore opined that the internal injuries to the child's lungs were consistent with heavy blunt trauma to the chest, but not consistent with CPR. Id. at 80-83.
There were lacerations or tears to the liver and injuries to the bowel and the mesentery, the attachment of the bowel to the body wall. These injuries would only result from intended blunt force injuries to the abdominal region; they would not result from a fall. Id. at 83. There were also injuries to both kidneys. These were deep body injuries involving tearing of the urethra where it attaches to the kidneys. There was also an external tear to the right kidney.
The internal injuries to the child were fresh injuries which occurred less than twelve hours before his death. The last injury the doctor described was a collection of blood in the child's scrotal sac and an injury to the left testicle, indicating that the testicle and scrotum had been struck with a direct blunt force injury.
The doctor concluded his direct testimony by opining that Lorenzo Merriweather "died of multiple inflicted blunt force injuries, and these injuries included the head, chest, and abdomen." Id. at 87.
Marjorie Merriweather testified that she was the mother of Lorenzo Merriweather's mother. Marjorie Merriweather testified that Petitioner was her daughter's boyfriend, but was not Lorenzo's father. Marjorie Merriweather, testified that she last saw the child alive on May 12, 1992. The child appeared to be in good health on that date. The next time she saw the child he was dead.2 Tr. Vol. II at 178-83.
Laverne Robinson, Petitioner's sister, testified that Petitioner and the baby Lorenzo Merriweather were at her house on the night of May 29, 1992, when Lorenzo died. Petitioner was staying at her house in the basement. On the evening of May 28, Petitioner and the baby were watching television alone. The baby had a cold and had a runny nose. The baby did not appear to have any visible bruises or other injuries at that time. Petitioner asked her if she had any cold medicine. Ms. Robinson did not see recall seeing Petitioner give any medicine to the baby.
The next time Ms. Robinson saw Petitioner was the early morning hours of May 29, 1992. At 3:56 a.m., Petitioner came to Ms. Robinson's bedroom door and asked for a diaper. Petitioner came into her bedroom, got a diaper, and left. Shortly thereafter, she heard the basement door open and close. About fifteen or twenty minutes later, Petitioner came upstairs and went into the bathroom. After Petitioner came out of the bathroom, he went into the dining room with the baby. Later that same morning, Petitioner knocked on Ms. Robinson's door again and said he thought that the baby's heart had stopped. When Ms. Robinson went into the dining room and observed the baby, he was still breathing. Ms. Robinson told Petitioner to call 911. Petitioner replied that he already had done so. Petitioner Tr. Vol. III at 4-23.
On cross-examination, Ms. Robinson testified that she had never seen Petitioner abuse or hurt the baby. On the contrary, she had seen Petitioner play with, feed, and dress the child. Petitioner appeared to be upset while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Ms. Robinson did not hear the child cry or observe any other evidence of it being hurt in the evening or night before Petitioner told her he thought the child had stopped breathing and called for emergency assistance. Tr. Vol. III at 23-40.
Charles William Prather testified that he was working as a River Rouge firefighter and EMS technician on May 29, 1992. He and his partner answered a call for assistance received at about 4:23 a.m. The call indicated that a small child was having difficulty breathing. When Prather and his partner arrived, Petitioner was standing in front of his sister's house, holding the child. The child was breathing rapidly and had a bleeding welt or bruise at the base of its skull. The child also had some small puncture wounds on his leg. The child was lethargic and moved very slowly. He would close his eyes and keep them closed for a long time. Petitioner said that the child had stopped breathing and he had shaken it to wake it up. Petitioner told Prather that the baby had gotten the bump on its head by falling down the stairs two days before. However, the bump was still bleeding and did not appear to be two days old. It appeared to be very fresh, perhaps still swelling. Tr. Vol. III at 78-126.
Detective-sergeant William Ellerbrake ("Ellerbrake") of the Dearborn Police Department testified about his interrogation of Petitioner on June 2, 1992, at about 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. and the statement Petitioner made to him. Ellerbrake read Petitioner his Miranda warnings when he came into contact with him.3 Petitioner was born on July 14, 1972, and was nineteen years old at the time of his interrogation. Petitioner was fed just before his interrogation began. Ellerbrake gave Petitioner a written copy of the rights he would read to him, so Petitioner could follow along. After reading Petitioner his rights, Ellerbrake asked Petitioner if he understood each of his rights. Petitioner replied that he did. Ellerbrake asked if Petitioner was willing to give up his rights and make a statement. Petitioner replied that wanted to make a statement. Petitioner signed and dated a form indicating that he understood his rights. Tr. Vol. IV at 114-19.
Ellerbrake informed Petitioner that he was being...
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