Sallie v. Chatman

• Decision Date: 15 July 2014
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 5:11–CV–75 MTT.
• Parties: William Cary SALLIE, Petitioner, v. Bruce CHATMAN, Warden, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Georgia

34 F.Supp.3d 1272

William Cary SALLIE, Petitioner

v.Bruce CHATMAN, Warden, Respondent.

Civil Action No. 5:11–CV–75 MTT.

United States District Court, M.D. Georgia, Macon Division.

Signed July 15, 2014.

John Richard Martin, Atlanta, GA, Joseph John Perkovich, New York, NY, for Petitioner.

Richard Tangum, Office of the Attorney General, Atlanta, GA, for Respondent.

ORDER

MARC T. TREADWELL, District Judge.

Petitioner WILLIAM CARY SALLIE petitions the Court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. For the reasons discussed below, Sallie's original habeas petition (Docs. 1, 9), as supplemented (Docs. 39, 66), and his amended habeas petition (Doc. 67) are dismissed as untimely.¹

I. INTRODUCTION

Sallie's initial habeas petition was not timely filed. (Doc. 21). Raising issues of deceit, disloyalty, breach of professional responsibility, abandonment, and a breakdown of Georgia's death penalty scheme, Sallie argues AEDPA's² one-year statute of limitations should be equitably tolled.³ (Docs. 52–1, 159).

Sallie is pursuing only unexhausted, procedurally defaulted claims from his original and amended habeas petitions. (Docs. 99, 102). Initially, Sallie relied on Martinez v. Ryan,

––– U.S. ––––, 132 S.Ct. 1309, 182 L.Ed.2d 272 (2012), to provide cause to excuse the defaults. (Docs. 99, 102). It seemed clear to the Court that Martinez did not apply in Georgia. See Hittson v. Humphrey, 5:01–CV–384 (MTT), Doc. No. 102 (M.D.Ga. Sept. 25, 2012). Because of this, the Court thought it would be judicially efficient to deny Sallie's claims as procedurally defaulted, rather than tackle the factually-sensitive issue of equitable tolling. Therefore, the Court entered its September 6, 2012 Order (Doc. 103), 2012 WL 3871906, denying without prejudice Respondent's motion to dismiss (Doc. 4) and Sallie's motion for an order ruling his initial habeas petition timely filed or, alternatively, granting an evidentiary hearing (Doc. 52).

Sallie's renewed motion for an order ruling his initial petition timely filed or, alternatively, granting an evidentiary hearing (Doc. 159), coupled with developments in the law, namely Trevino v. Thaler, ––– U.S. ––––, 133 S.Ct. 1911, 185 L.Ed.2d 1044 (2013) and Cadet v. Fla. Dep't of Corr., 742 F.3d 473 (11th Cir.2014), have caused the Court to reconsider this approach. For the reasons discussed below, the Court DENIES Sallies initial and renewed motions (Docs. 52, 159) for an order ruling his initial petition timely filed or, alternatively, granting an evidentiary hearing and GRANTS Respondent's motion to dismiss (Doc. 4).

II. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Facts

The Georgia Supreme Court summarized the facts in Sallie's direct appeal:

William Sallie and his wife, Robin, separated in December 1989 and Robin sought a divorce. Sallie had been physically abusive to Robin during their marriage and his striking her with a belt had precipitated the separation. They had a two-year-old baby named Ryan. Robin and Ryan went to live with her parents, John and Linda Moore, in their rural house in Bacon County. Robin's seventeen-year-old sister, April, and her nine-year-old brother, Justin, also lived there. Shortly thereafter, under the pretense of seeing Ryan at the Moores' house, Sallie abducted Ryan and went to Illinois, where he lived. However, an Illinois court awarded temporary custody of Ryan to Robin, and she returned with him to the Moores' house in February 1990.

In March 1990, Sallie returned to Georgia and rented a mobile home in Liberty County using the name Bill Simons. Also in March, he had a friend purchase a nine millimeter pistol for him in Illinois. On March 28, 1990, Sallie dressed in green camouflage and went to the Moores' house at night; he carried the pistol, a roll of duct tape, and four sets of handcuffs. At approximately 10:00 p.m., April was talking to her boyfriend when the phone line went dead. She did not think this was unusual and went to bed. It was later discovered that Sallie had ripped the wires from the phone box on the outside wall. At 12:45 a.m., after everyone inside was asleep, Sallie pried open the back door and entered the house. He went immediately to the master bedroom, flicked on the lights, and shot John and Linda Moore as they lay in bed. John was struck by six bullets, including two that damaged his heart. He tried to get out of bed, but he collapsed, fell on the floor, and died. Linda was shot in the thumb, the shoulder, and both thighs. Sallie then fled outside and reloaded. When Robin and April were in the master bedroom trying to help their parents, Sallie fired two more shots through the bedroom window, hitting no one. They doused the light and pleaded with Sallie to let them get help for their parents. April tried to leave the house to get help (the nearest neighbor was 1/4 of a mile away), but Sallie confronted her on the porch and told her to stay in the house or he would blow her head off. Sallie eventually re-entered the house and handcuffed Justin and Linda, who was still bleeding from her wounds

, to each other and to a bed rail. He bound Robin and April to each other with handcuffs and duct tape, and he abducted them to his Liberty County mobile home where he raped them both. He left his two-year-old son in the master bedroom. After a few hours, Linda and Justin managed to extricate themselves from the bed rail and reach a neighbor, who summoned the police. Sallie released Robin and April in Bacon County the night of March 29 after asking them not to press charges. He was arrested shortly thereafter. The police found the murder weapon in his mobile home.

Sallie v. State, 276 Ga. 506, 506–07, 578 S.E.2d 444, 448–49 (2003).

B. Procedural History

On March 30, 1991, a jury convicted Sallie of malice murder, burglary, aggravated assault, two counts of kidnaping with bodily injury, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Sallie v. State, 269 Ga. 446, 446 n. 1, 499 S.E.2d 897, 898 n. 1 (1998). The jury recommended death for the murder conviction. Id. At trial, Sallie was represented by Earl McRae and Wendell Boyd English. Id. at 447, 499 S.E.2d at 898. On direct appeal, Sallie was represented by Palmer Singleton and Christopher Johnson, both with the Southern Center for Human Rights (“Southern Center”). Id. at 446, 499 S.E.2d at 898. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed Sallie's convictions “[b]ecause one of [his] trial lawyers was laboring under a conflict of interest” and remanded the case for a new trial. Id.

On June 26, 2000, a grand jury again indicted Sallie, this time for malice murder, felony murder, burglary, aggravated assault, two counts of kidnaping with bodily injury, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Sallie, 276 Ga. at 506 n. 2, 578 S.E.2d at 448 n. 2. Johnson and Singleton continued to represent Sallie. (Doc. 42 at 2).

On February 10, 2001, six days before the start of voir dire, Johnson, Singleton, and Sallie entered into an Agreement on Legal Representation (“Agreement”), which provided:

Because William Sallie has agreed to allow the use of the life without parole third sentencing option at his retrial, Christopher Johnson and Palmer Singleton agree to continue to represent William Sallie, even if he receives a sentence other than death, through direct appeals, through state and federal habeas, and at any subsequent re-trial, even if the charges at subsequent re-trials do not carry a possible death sentence. We also agree that Christopher Johnson and Palmer Singleton will continue to represent William Sallie, if he so desires, for the rest of his life.

(Doc. 40–1) (emphasis added).

On March 5, 2001, a jury found Sallie guilty and recommended a sentence of death for the malice murder charge. Sallie, 276 Ga. at 506 n. 2, 578 S.E.2d at 448 n. 2. On April 3, 2001, Sallie filed a motion for new trial, which was denied on June 17, 2002. (Docs. 68–8 at 109; 68–9 at 62).

Johnson and Singleton continued to represent Sallie in his direct appeal. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Sallie's conviction and sentence on March 24, 2003.

Sallie, 276 Ga. at 506, 578 S.E.2d at 448. The United States Supreme Court denied Sallie's petition for certiorari on October 6, 2003. Sallie v. Georgia, 540 U.S. 902, 124 S.Ct. 251, 157 L.Ed.2d 185 (2003). Sallie petitioned for rehearing and that petition was denied on December 8, 2003. Sallie v. Georgia, 540 U.S. 1086, 124 S.Ct. 954, 157 L.Ed.2d 767 (2003). On December 10, 2003, the Georgia Supreme Court transmitted the remittitur to the trial court. (Doc. 8 at 12).

After December 10, 2003, but before January 2004, Johnson notified Sallie that he and Singleton could no longer represent him. (Docs. 42 at 5; 45 at 2; 99 at 16). According to Sallie, they informed him he would need to raise ineffective assistance of counsel claims during his state and federal habeas proceedings, and they could not raise these claims against themselves. (Doc. 42 at 5).

Sallie, proceeding pro se but with substantial assistance from the Georgia Resource Center, filed his state habeas corpus petition in the Superior Court of Butts County on October 14, 2004. (Doc. 72–18 at 6). According to a footnote in the petition

Mr. Sallie files his state petition for writ of habeas corpus at this time so as to comply with the privisions [sic] of ____ Because the Georgia Resource Center cannot competently and thus, ethically, undertake the representation of more capital habeas petitioners at this time, Mr. Sallie files this petition pro se.... However, Mr. Sallie requests that copies of any pleadings and orders in his case be served on the Georgia Resource Center ... so that it can effectively carry out its duty of monitoring the case.

(Doc. 72–18 at 6) (The blank represents a gap in the original).

After first granting the Georgia Resource Center's motion to be served with all pleadings and orders, the state habeas court reconsidered and denied the request finding the Georgia Resource Center was neither a party to the case...