Stallings v. Bagley
| Citation | 561 F.Supp.2d 821 |
| Decision Date | 31 March 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 5:05-CV-722.,5:05-CV-722. |
| Parties | Michael STALLINGS, Petitioner, v. Margaret BAGLEY, Warden, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
Joseph E. Wilhelm, Rachel G. Troutman, Office of the Federal Public Defender State of Ohio, Columbus, OH, for Petitioner.
Anna M. Franceschelli, Thomas E. Madden, Adam M. Van Ho, Charles L. Wille, Stephen E. Maher, Office of the Attorney General, State of Ohio, Columbus, OH, Michael L. Collyer, Office of the U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland, OH, for Respondent.
Michael Stallings petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Stallings challenges the constitutional sufficiency of his conviction by a jury for aggravated capital murder and also challenges the constitutionality of the imposition of a sentence of death.
For the reasons set forth below, Stallings's petition for a writ of habeas corpus will be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Specifically, the Court grants Stallings a writ of habeas corpus as it pertains to his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel at the mitigation phase of trial. The Court denies habeas relief for all other grounds for relief raised in the petition. The Respondent shall either: (1) set aside Stallings's sentence of death; or (2) conduct another penalty phase. This shall be done within 180 days from the effective date of this Order. On this Court's own motion, execution of this Order and, hence, its effective date, is stayed pending appeal by the parties.
On June 3, 1997, Stallings was indicted on five counts. The first count was for aggravated murder in violation of Ohio Revised Code § 2903.01(B)(felony murder). This charge contained two death penalty specifications pursuant to Ohio Revised Code § 2929.04(A)(7): that Stallings killed the victim, Rolisha "Michelle" Shephard, during the commission of an aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary; and, that he was the principal offender of this murder. Stallings was also charged with the following: attempted aggravated murder of Christopher Williams, Jr., in violation of Ohio Revised Code § 2923.02 and § 2903.01(B); two counts of aggravated robbery in violation of Ohio Revised Code § 2911.(A)(1) and (A)(3); and aggravated burglary in violation of Ohio Revised Code § 2911.11(A)(1) and (A)(2). Each charge contained a firearm specification.1 The charges of aggravated attempted murder and one count of aggravated robbery were dismissed prior to trial. Stallings pled not guilty to all charges and specifications in the indictment on June 4, 1997.
On September 11, 1997, Stallings moved and was granted permission to sever his trial from co-defendants Marc Lee and Donzell Lewis. Concurrently, Stallings filed a motion to suppress statements he had previously made. After conducting a hearing on the issue, the trial court denied the motion.
A jury trial began on February 10, 1998. The jury found Stallings guilty of all counts and specifications remaining in the indictment. The penalty phase of trial commenced on February 17, 1998. One day later, the jury found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating factors and recommended a sentence of death. The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation on February 25, 1998. The court also sentenced Stallings to ten years of imprisonment on the aggravated robbery charge, ten years on the aggravated burglary charge, and three years on each of the three firearm specifications.
Stallings appealed the verdict and sentences on April 3, 1998. Represented by Lawrence J. Whitney and Renee W. Green, Stallings filed a brief in the Ohio Supreme Court alleging sixteen propositions of law. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences on July 19, 2000. State v. Stallings, 89 Ohio St.3d 280, 731 N.E.2d 159 (2000).
While his direct appeal was pending, Stallings also filed a petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to Ohio Revised Code § 2953.21. Represented by Laney J. Hawkins and Jonathan A. Woodman of the Ohio Public Defender's Office, Stallings raised twenty grounds for relief. Unpersuaded by Stallings's allegations, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition on April 26, 1999. State v. Stallings, No. CR-97-05-1118(A), 1999 WL 34842362 (Ohio Ct. Common Pleas Apr. 26, 1999). Stallings appealed the post-conviction court's decision to the Ninth District Court of Appeals. That court affirmed the post-conviction court's findings. State v. Stallings, No. 19620, 2000 WL 422423 (Ohio Ct.App. Apr. 19, 2000). Stallings appealed the Ninth District Court's ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court on June 5, 2000. The court declined to exercise jurisdiction. State v. Stallings, 90 Ohio St.3d 1404, 734 N.E.2d 835 (2000)(Table). Stallings petitioned for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, but the Court denied certiorari on February 20, 2001. Stallings v. Ohio, 531 U.S. 1158, 121 S.Ct. 1112, 148 L.Ed.2d 981 (2001).
Alleging that his appellate counsel were ineffective on his first appeal as of right, Stallings filed an application to reopen his direct appeal pursuant to Ohio Rule of Supreme Court Practice XI(6).2 The Ohio Supreme Court denied the application to reopen on February 7, 2001. State v. Stallings, 91 Ohio St.3d 1429, 741 N.E.2d 893 (2001)(Table). Although Stallings appealed this decision to the United States Supreme Court, the Court denied Stallings's petition for a writ of certiorari on October 1, 2001. Stallings v. Ohio, 534 U.S. 836, 122 S.Ct. 89, 151 L.Ed.2d 51 (2001).
Stallings filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on January 14, 2002. Stallings v. Bagley, No. 5:02 CV 24 (N.D.Ohio Jan. 14, 2002)(Doc. No. 10). The parties thereafter filed motions and briefs in this action until June 19, 2002. On that date, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), holding that it is unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded. Asserting his mental disabilities qualified him for this status, Stallings filed a motion to stay his federal habeas action pending a return to state court to pursue a claim under the Atkins holding. (Doc. No. 28). On September 30, 2002, the Court denied Stallings's motion and instead dismissed his petition without prejudice so that he could litigate his mental retardation claim. (Doc. No. 45).
Stallings filed a successor post-conviction petition in state court on July 3, 2002. The post-conviction court held a hearing on the matter on August 28 and September 4, 2003. On January 16, 2004, the post-conviction court denied Stallings's successor post-conviction petition on the merits. State v. Stallings, No. CR 1997 05 1118(A), slip op. (Ohio Ct. Common Pleas Jan. 16, 2004). Stallings appealed the post-conviction court's decision on February 11, 2004. The Ninth District Court of Appeals affirmed the post-conviction court's decision. State v. Stallings, No. 21969, 2004 WL 1932869 (Ohio Ct.App. Sept. 1, 2004). Stallings appealed that decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. That court declined to exercise jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal on January 26, 2005. State v. Stallings, 104 Ohio St.3d 1460, 821 N.E.2d 577 (2005)(Table). Stallings renewed his request for habeas corpus relief in this Court on March 11, 2005. The procedural history of this current action is described in Section III, below.
In its consideration of Stallings's direct appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court set out the factual history of this revealed by the evidence adduced at Stallings's trial. The facts surrounding the underlying incident are as follows:
On December 15, 1996, in Akron, Ohio, Michael Stallings, defendant-appellant, agreed with two gang accomplices, Marc Lee ("Lee") and Donzell Lewis ("Lewis"), to rob Eric Beverly ("Beverly"), a reputed local marijuana dealer. Lee furnished a shotgun to defendant, and defendant went with Lewis to an apartment belonging to Beverly's girlfriend where Beverly was visiting. Defendant entered, demanded money and marijuana from Beverly, and shot sixteen-year-old Rolisha "Michelle" Shephard. Defendant then left Akron and was arrested in May 1997 in Cleveland. The evidence reveals that a few days before December 15, 1996, Stacy Lewis ("Stacy Lewis"), who lived at the Edgewood Apartment complex in Akron, overheard her boyfriend, Marc Lee, age twenty (also known as "Locc Up"), talking with her fourteen-year-old cousin, Donzell Lewis, about a robbery. However, because the intended victim knew both Lewis and Lee, they decided to get somebody else to rob the victim for them.
Coincidentally, on December 15, defendant (also known as "St. Ides") and Clara Redd, his girlfriend, along with another woman, were driving back to Cleveland from Columbus. Around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. that day, defendant and his two friends stopped in Akron at Stacy Lewis's apartment to see Lee, whom defendant knew as a fellow "Crips" gang member from Cleveland. Lee held the rank of an "OG" or "original gangster," a leadership position in the Crips, and Lewis and defendant were "BGs" (baby gangsters), or ordinary soldiers.
After defendant arrived at Stacy Lewis's apartment, he agreed with Lee and Lewis to rob a neighborhood marijuana dealer, Eric Beverly. Lee picked defendant as the gunman because he was unknown in Akron. Their plan was to have Lewis, who had previously purchased marijuana from Beverly, secure entry to the apartment of Erika White, Beverly's girlfriend, on the pretext of wanting to purchase marijuana. Once Lewis got inside, defendant, armed with a...
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