Rogers v. Com.

• Decision Date: 26 September 2002
• Docket Number: No. 1997-SC-0851-MR.,1997-SC-0851-MR.
• Citation: 86 S.W.3d 29
• Parties: John Elvis ROGERS, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

Page 29

86 S.W.3d 29

John Elvis ROGERS, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.

No. 1997-SC-0851-MR.

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

September 26, 2002.

As Modified Oct. 3, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Daniel T. Goyette, Frank William Heft, Jr., Jefferson District Public Defender, Louisville, Counsel for Appellant.

A.B. Chandler, III, Attorney General, Gregory C. Fuchs, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Attorney General, Criminal Appellate Division, Frankfort, Counsel for Appellee.

KELLER, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

A Jefferson Circuit Court jury found Appellant guilty of Murder, First-Degree Robbery, and First-Degree Burglary, and recommended that Appellant serve concurrent prison sentences totaling thirty (30) years. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict, and Appellant thus appeals to this Court as a matter-of-right.¹ After oral argument and a review of the record, we reverse the judgment of the Jefferson Circuit Court and remand this case for a new trial because the trial court erred when it: (1) prohibited Appellant from introducing evidence concerning the circumstances under which Appellant made his incriminating statements; and (2) failed to instruct the jury as to the law of voluntary intoxication and lesser-included criminal homicide offenses justified by the evidence.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On March 17, 1995, Mark Buchter ("Buchter") was found bludgeoned to death in his home in the Portland area of Louisville. An autopsy revealed that Buchter: (1) died as a result of blunt force cranial injuries suffered when he was struck on the back of his head eighteen (18) times with a blunt instrument of linear composition; (2) was also stabbed several times, most likely with the same instrument; and (3) had defensive wounds on his hands and arms.

Following an investigation by the Louisville Police Department, a Jefferson County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Appellant with Murder, First-Degree Robbery, and First-Degree Burglary. Appellant entered a plea of not guilty to the indicted offenses, and the matter was tried before a jury.² At trial, the Commonwealth introduced no physical evidence linking Appellant to the crime scene, and relied upon Appellant's confession to Louisville Police Department officers and separate incriminating statements allegedly made by Appellant to Rhonda Anderson ("Anderson") and her daughter, Wendy. Although Appellant did not testify at trial, he defended against the charges by arguing, that: (1) he falsely confessed to involvement in the crimes only because he, a mentally-retarded eighteen (18) year old, was overwhelmed by the interrogation process and wished to please the authority figures who were performing the interrogation; (2) the other evidence in the case contradicted the details of Appellant's confession, suggesting that Appellant had been coached; (3) Anderson was untruthful when she testified that Appellant admitted his involvement in the crimes; and (4) Appellant was at home, asleep in his bed with his wife, when these crimes occurred.

At trial, Anderson testified that she overheard Appellant tell her daughter not to worry because "They'll never find out who did it." According to Anderson, when she asked Appellant what he was talking about, Appellant told her that: (1) he and three (3) others — Jason Lewis ("Lewis"), Mary Beth Stocking (Lewis's girlfriend), and Rickie Montgomery ("Montgomery") robbed Buchter, but did not mean to kill him; (2) the robbery got out of hand when Buchter began screaming and Appellant then began hitting Buchter with a lugwrench; (3) Montgomery, Lewis, and another person (described as a "black guy") also began hitting Buchter; and (4) they then ran out of the house, down an alley, and Appellant threw the wrench away. Anderson testified that Montgomery, Mike Meredith ("Meredith"), and Brandy Harris ("Harris") were present when Appellant made these statements to her. Anderson's daughter corroborated her mother's statement at trial by testifying that she overheard Appellant's incriminating statements to her mother and that Meredith, Harris, and some other people were also present at the time.

Although the investigating officers had spoken with Appellant earlier in the investigation and Appellant had denied any knowledge of the crimes, Detective Gary Kearney ("Det. Kearney") decided to speak with Appellant again after Anderson implicated Appellant in Buchter's death. On the evening of April 4, 1995, Det. Kearney caught up with Appellant and Appellant agreed to accompany Det. Kearney to the police station. There, Appellant agreed to take a polygraph examination administered by Lieutenant Eddie Payton ("Lt. Payton"). During the examination, Appellant again denied any knowledge of Buchter's death. At the end of the examination, Lt. Payton advised Appellant that he thought Appellant was lying, escorted Appellant back to Det. Kearney, and advised Det. Kearney that Appellant had lied during the polygraph examination.

Det. Kearney then spoke with Appellant and explained to him that the officers had tape-recorded statements implicating Appellant in the crime and informed Appellant that if he wanted to tell the truth, he would have to do it soon. Appellant began to cry during this encounter with Det. Kearney, and soon told Det. Kearney that he wished to speak with Lt. Payton again. While Lt. Payton prepared for another polygraph examination of Appellant, Appellant told Lt. Payton that he was responsible for Buchter's death. After Lt. Payton further interrogated Appellant for approximately two (2) hours, the investigating officers took a videotaped statement from Appellant.

At trial, the Commonwealth's primary evidence against Appellant consisted of this videotaped statement in which Appellant told the investigating officers that, on the night Buchter was killed: (1) he and some friends — Lewis, Mary Beth Stocking, and B.J. Stocking (Mary Beth's brother) — were drinking at Lewis's house; (2) they ran short of money and decided, at Lewis's suggestion, to rob someone; (3) they drove in Lewis's automobile and parked a block down from Buchter's house; (4) Appellant was drunk and unsure how the group gained entry into Buchter's residence, but they got in somehow; (5) Lewis entered first, followed by Mary Beth Stocking, B.J. Stocking, and then Appellant; (6) Lewis was armed with a BB gun that looked like a 9mm handgun and Appellant was armed with a pipe or tire tool or crowbar that Appellant had taken from the back of Lewis's car; (7) Buchter began screaming when Lewis produced his BB gun and announced the robbery; (8) Appellant then "started panicking. I started swinging the tool up and down ... the weapon I had. I think I hit him more than I thought I did";³ (9) Buchter fell to the floor, and Lewis rifled through his pockets; (10) Appellant dropped the "crowbar" beside Lewis, ran out of the house, and went home.

In his defense, Appellant introduced the testimony of (1) Montgomery, to the effect that Anderson had a poor reputation for truthfulness, and that, contrary to Anderson's testimony, he was not at her home when Appellant allegedly told her about the crime; (2) Meredith, who also testified that he was not present at Anderson's home as Anderson alleged; and (3) several of Buchter's co-workers, who testified that they saw Buchter alive in downtown Louisville around lunch time on Friday, March 17, 1995 although the Commonwealth alleged that Buchter was killed, and Appellant confessed to killing Buchter, the night before.

In addition, Appellant's wife, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law all testified that Appellant was at home the night the crimes were committed. Appellant's wife testified that: (1) Appellant was with her at her parents' house where they lived on the evening of March 16, 1995; (2) she sent Appellant to bed at approximately 10:00 p.m., and joined him soon thereafter; (3) Appellant was in bed with her when her mother awakened her at 2:00 a.m. and when she woke up later that morning; (4) Appellant could not have left the house without her knowledge; and (5) she did not see any blood on Appellant's clothes when she washed them. Appellant's sister-in-law corroborated Appellant's wife's testimony that Appellant was at home that evening and that Appellant was sent to bed at approximately 10:00 p.m. Appellant's mother-in-law, Jeanette Ready, verified that Appellant was at home as of midnight and that Appellant did not go out again in the early morning hours.

Appellant also introduced testimony concerning his mental retardation from two (2) mental health professionals. Dr. Peggy Pack ("Dr. Pack"), a psychologist, testified that: (1) she examined Appellant to determine his level of intellectual functioning; (2) although Appellant had no readily identifiable physical characteristics of retardation, testing demonstrated that Appellant was mildly mentally retarded, with an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of 65 and communication and socialization skills far below his actual age; (3) while Appellant pretends to understand what people are talking about, in stressful situations, he would have difficulty comprehending others; and (4) mildly mentally retarded people are generally very compliant, dependent on authority figures for direction and guidance, and very much want to please authority figures. Licensed Clinical Psychologist Marilyn Wagner ("Wagner") testified that she, too, examined Appellant, and that her testing reflected that Appellant was mildly mentally retarded with an IQ of 66 and poor communication skills.

At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court instructed the jury as to the indicted offenses, and the jury returned a verdict finding Appellant guilty of all three (3) counts of the indictment. The trial court entered judgment sentencing Appellant to a thirty (30) year term of imprisonment in accordance with the jury's penalty phase verdict, and this appeal follows. App...