Seibold v. Daniels, Civ. A. No. 930-E.
| Court | United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Middle District of Alabama |
| Writing for the Court | VARNER |
| Citation | 337 F. Supp. 210 |
| Parties | Edward Albert SEIBOLD, Petitioner, v. Murray DANIELS, Warden of Holman Prison, et al., Respondents. |
| Decision Date | 08 February 1972 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 930-E. |
337 F. Supp. 210
Edward Albert SEIBOLD, Petitioner,
v.
Murray DANIELS, Warden of Holman Prison, et al., Respondents.
Civ. A. No. 930-E.
United States District Court, M. D. Alabama, E. D.
February 8, 1972.
Charles Ingrum and Jacob Walker, Jr., Opelika, Ala., for petitioner.
William J. Baxley, Atty. Gen., and Richard F. Calhoun, Asst. Atty. Gen., Montgomery, Ala., for respondents.
ORDER
VARNER, District Judge.
Petitioner was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama, on January 20, 1968, and the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed on October 7, 1971. On December 3, 1971, this Court, by formal order, granted the motion of the Petitioner for leave to file and prosecute his petition for habeas corpus in forma pauperis. At the same time, the Warden of Holman Prison, and/or any other appropriate official acting for or in behalf of the State of Alabama, was ordered to show cause, if any there be, why the writ should not be issued, and was enjoined, pending further order of this Court, from executing the sentence of death against the Petitioner, then scheduled for December 10, 1971. To the show cause order the State of Alabama, by and through the Attorney General of Alabama, the Honorable William J. Baxley, filed as of December 30, 1971, its return and answer.
It has not been suggested that Petitioner has not exhausted his state remedies as required by Title 28, Section 2254, United States Code, and such an assertion would be in vain. Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 83 S.Ct. 822, 9 L. Ed.2d 837; Whippler v. Balkcom, 342 F.2d 388 (C.A. 5th Cir.1965).
The primary thrust of Petitioner's application for a writ of habeas corpus is that his constitutional right guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was denied to him in that he was not afforded a proper hearing to determine his sanity at the time of his trial. No question is here made that he did not receive a constitutionally proper hearing on the question of his sanity at the time of the offense.
Petitioner herein was scheduled for arraignment on December 22, 1967, but on his own motion arraignment was continued until December 27, 1967. On that date, with his attorneys present, before entering pleas to the merits, Petitioner filed a "Motion for Investigation of Sanity of Defendant", pursuant to the provisions of Section 425, Title 15, Code of Alabama (1958). This motion was accompanied by the affidavit and letters, respectively, of Dr. Charles E. Herlihy and Dr. Hugo Waldheim, Jr., both reputable specialists in mental diseases. Dr. Herlihy's affidavit concluded that the Petitioner was then psychotic and not then capable of competently assisting in the defense of the cases pending against him and suggested that Petitioner be committed to an appropriate mental hospital for further diagnostic procedures. Dr. Waldheim's letter concluded that Petitioner demonstrated evidence of mental illness and was then in need of more extensive evaluation before a definitive diagnosis could be established. Petitioner's motion prayed that a hearing on said motion be continued until a written report could be obtained from another psychiatrist, Dr. Charles H. Smith, and upon the hearing of the motion the Court consider the three reports and deliver Petitioner to the Superintendent of the Alabama State Hospitals for a determination of his mental condition as it would affect his criminal responsibility. Petitioner's motion was overruled by the trial court on December 27, 1967, without hearing any additional testimony, but with leave granted to refile the motion after the
Also on December 27, 1971, the Petitioner filed a plea in abatement setting forth that he was presently incapable of competently assisting in his defense at the present time, and that prosecution should be abated until such time as the Petitioner's sanity had been restored. Petitioner further prayed that said plea be set down for determination by a jury pursuant to Section 426, Title 15, Code of Alabama (1958). On motion of the State said plea was stricken without testimony.
Petitioner thereupon entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. At the time of entering said pleas, Petitioner's counsel stated that such was done without waiving the points raised by the plea in abatement.
On January 8, 1968, Petitioner filed a "Second Motion for Investigation of Sanity of Defendant", attaching the affidavits of three reputable specialists in mental diseases. Dr. Herlihy's and Dr. Waldheim's opinions, as previously stated, were joined by Dr. Smith's affidavit that in his opinion Petitioner was now of unsound mind and not able to adequately assist in his own defense. This "Second Motion" prayed that, pursuant to Section 425, Title 15, Code of Alabama (1958), the court appoint three reputable specialists to examine the Petitioner and report to the court, or in the alternative that the court accept the three affidavits attached to the motion, and that upon consideration of said reports deliver the Petitioner to the Superintendent of the Alabama State Hospitals for determination of his present mental condition.
The "Second Motion" was presented to the court on January 12, 1968, and the court heard ore tenus the testimony of Dr. Howard S. Weldon, a general practioner who treated patients in the Lee County Jail. Dr. Weldon testified that the Petitioner's behavior while in jail had "jumped the bounds of conventional and normal behavior". When asked whether in his opinion the Petitioner was suffering from insanity, Dr. Weldon stated: "I had mixed feelings about it and I have to admit that. I couldn't tell the truth and say otherwise * * *." He further recommended that the Petitioner be institutionalized to determine his sanity. The court overruled Petitioner's "Second Motion".
On January 12, 1968, Petitioner filed a "Motion for Inquiry into Mental Condition of Defendant Before Trial" pursuant to Section 426, Title 15, Code of Alabama (1958), attaching the same three affidavits of Drs. Herlihy, Waldheim and Smith, and in addition referring to a report of Dr. Ronald Hamby, a clinical psychologist, who had examined Petitioner and was likewise of the opinion that Petitioner was presently of unsound mind, psychotic and paranoid. This motion prayed that a jury be empanelled to inquire into the mental condition of the Petitioner prior to being put to trial. On the same day the court "refused and denied the motion".
Trial was commenced on January 15, 1968, and on January 20 the jury returned a verdict of murder in the first degree and imposed the death penalty. Judgment and sentence in accordance with the verdict were entered by the court on the same day.
Petitioner's case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama under the automatic appeal statute applicable where a death penalty is imposed. Title 15, Section 382(1) et seq., Code of Alabama (1958). The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed Petitioner's conviction and on October 7, 1971, denied rehearing, Chief Justice Heflin and Justice Lawson, dissenting.
Petitioner avers in this petition that, in denying his motion for a...
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Lokos v. Capps, No. 79-2771
...as to the mental capacity of the accused person, already under indictment in a capital case, to stand trial "); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210, 214 (M.D.Ala.1972) ("while a determination under Section 425 . . . of a defendant's present criminal responsibility may include a determinatio......
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Hopkins v. State, 1 Div. 389
...375, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966); Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210 Section 15-16-22, which applies only in capital cases, provides a method for determining whether the defendant "was insane either at the ti......
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Atwell v. State, 4 Div. 526
...of the proceeding against him. Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210 When the issue of competency to stand trial is properly raised or when facts are present before the trial judge which create a reasonable and bona fid......
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Minniefield v. State, 5 Div. 53
...287 Ala. 693, 255 So.2d 33. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Varner, J., in Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210, Feb. 8, 1972, took the view that our state courts had, in not complying with Pate v. Robinson, supra, denied due process. As we gather, Judge ......
-
Lokos v. Capps, No. 79-2771
...as to the mental capacity of the accused person, already under indictment in a capital case, to stand trial "); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210, 214 (M.D.Ala.1972) ("while a determination under Section 425 . . . of a defendant's present criminal responsibility may include a determinatio......
-
Hopkins v. State, 1 Div. 389
...375, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966); Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210 Section 15-16-22, which applies only in capital cases, provides a method for determining whether the defendant "was insane either at the ti......
-
Atwell v. State, 4 Div. 526
...of the proceeding against him. Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210 When the issue of competency to stand trial is properly raised or when facts are present before the trial judge which create a reasonable and bona fid......
-
Minniefield v. State, 5 Div. 53
...287 Ala. 693, 255 So.2d 33. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Varner, J., in Seibold v. Daniels, 337 F.Supp. 210, Feb. 8, 1972, took the view that our state courts had, in not complying with Pate v. Robinson, supra, denied due process. As we gather, Judge ......