State v. Clayton

• Decision Date: 29 August 1983
• Citation: 656 S.W.2d 344
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Perry CLAYTON, III, Appellant. 656 S.W.2d 344
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 344

656 S.W.2d 344

STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Perry CLAYTON, III, Appellant.

656 S.W.2d 344

Supreme Court of Tennessee at Jackson.

Aug. 29, 1983.

Walker Gwinn, Asst. Public Defender, Memphis, for appellant; A.C. Wharton, Jr., Shelby Co. Public Defender, Memphis, of counsel.

William M. Leech, Jr., Atty. Gen., Jennifer Helton Small, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Joseph L. Patterson, Sidney P. Alexander, Asst. Dist. Attys., Memphis, for appellee.

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

The Defendant, Perry Clayton, III, appeals a conviction of first degree murder for which he received a life sentence in the state penitentiary. At trial, the Defendant relied upon the defense of insanity. The primary issue on appeal is whether the evidence supports the jury verdict that the Defendant was sane at the time the offense was committed. Both the jury and a majority of the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Clayton's insanity defense.

The actual facts of the crime itself are undisputed. On July 2, 1979, the Defendant observed the 12-year-old victim, Preston Porter, and two other children walking by an apartment complex. The victim was separated from his two friends and, for no apparent reason, the Defendant approached the young boy and fatally stabbed him eleven times. The victim was heard to yell, "Hey, man, what you doing?" At one time the knife blade bent and the Defendant placed it on the ground to straighten it out. Then he stabbed the victim again. The Defendant committed the acts in broad daylight, in the presence of witnesses, both children and adults. When shouted at, the Defendant fled until he suddenly stopped and surrendered to the adults who pursued him. He dropped the murder weapon and stood with his foot over it. He told his pursuers that he was "sick, call the police" and "I give up. Don't ya'll kill me." Once apprehended, he obeyed instructions, sat quietly and was no longer violent. His peaceful behavior continued once he was in the custody of the police, where he waived his Miranda rights and gave a signed statement concerning the crime.

The determination as to the manner in which the defense of insanity may be presented to a jury has been left to the States. Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 53 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977); Powell v. Texas, 392 U.S. 514, 88 S.Ct. 2145, 20 L.Ed.2d 1254 (1968); Leland v. Oregon, 343 U.S. 790, 72 S.Ct. 1002, 96 L.Ed. 1302 (1952). The method of presenting the insanity defense to a jury was established in Tennessee over a century ago. In Collins v. State, 506 S.W.2d 179 (Tenn.Cr.App.1973), the court points out that as to the insanity defense

"[t]he applicable principles of law were settled long ago in this State. The presumption of sanity places the burden of showing insanity at the time of commission of a crime upon him who asserts it as a defense. Mullendore v. State 183 Tenn. 53, 60, 191 S.W.2d 149 (1945); Spurlock v. State, 212 Tenn. 132, 134, 368 S.W.2d 299 (1963).

While the State is not bound to establish the defendant's sanity in the first instance, if the defendant's or the State's evidence raises a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's sanity, such evidence relieves the defendant of further proof upon that issue and shifts the burden of proof to the State [Dove v. State, 50 (3 Heis.) 348, 370-374 (1871) ], Stuart v. State, 60 (1 Baxt.) Tenn. 178 (1873); King v. State, 91 Tenn. 617, 648, 20 S.W. 169 (1892).

Whenever testimony is introduced countervailing the presumption of sanity and raising a question of the accused's insanity, the State must then establish his sanity to the satisfaction of the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Jordan v. State, 124 Tenn. 81, 89, 135 S.W. 327 (1910); Davis v. United States, 165 U.S. 373, 378, 17 S.Ct. 360, 362, 41 L.Ed. 750, 754."

506 S.W.2d at 183-184; Covey v. State, 504 S.W.2d 387, 390-391 (Tenn.Cr.App.1973); Accord, Graham v. State, 547 S.W.2d 531, 544 (Tenn.1977). Sanity thus becomes an element of the crime.

In Graham v. State, 547 S.W.2d 531 (Tenn.1977), an opinion authored by the late Justice Joe Henry, this Court adopted the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code formulation of insanity:

"(1) A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law.

(2) As used in this Article, the terms 'mental disease or defect' do not include any abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct. [emphasis added]." 547 S.W.2d at 543.

To prove sanity, the State must show that the Defendant could appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and had the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

Since Clayton has challenged the sufficiency of the State's evidence to convict him, a detailed review of the lay and expert testimony concerning Defendant's lack of mental capacity is deemed necessary because of the reviewing standards mandated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Under Jackson and Rule 13(e), T.R.A.P., we must find sufficient evidence upon which any rational trier of fact could be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the Defendant's sanity. We feel Judge Daughtrey, in her dissenting opinion, accurately and objectively outlined the evidence offered by the defense and the State on the principal issue of Clayton's sanity at the time of the offense. We quote from her dissenting opinion:

"His mother, Vivian Clayton, chronicled a history of bizarre behavior on her son's part, dating back to the night of his father's funeral in 1973, when Clayton, then 17, told her he was afraid to go to bed for fear 'his father's body would get into his.' Clayton apparently joined the Navy shortly after this time, and was away from home in the service until late 1974 or early 1975.

"When he returned to Memphis after his 'unhonorable discharge' from the military, his mother began to notice a change in her son's behavior. He was withdrawn, had no friends, stopped dating, stayed in his room and would not talk to anyone. He developed serious sleep disturbances, pacing through the house all night. Eventually Clayton developed a paranoia about his mother, refusing to eat her cooking for fear she was trying to poison him. Because of his strange behavior with knives, Vivian Clayton took the precaution of hiding all the knives in the house. But to no avail: on one occasion Clayton repeatedly stabbed her in the stomach with a hair pick, as she lay napping on the living room couch; on another occasion he attacked her with a serrated steak knife, slitting her throat.

"At trial Clayton's mother and two of his sisters detailed other bizarre and abnormal behavior on his part: methodically knocking out window panes and crushing light bulbs; going from one door to the next in a pattern, repeatedly slamming each one, including cupboard doors; ritualistically arranging cigarettes around the room; emptying the contents of the refrigerator into the garbage, but telling his mother not to bother the empty milk cartons because 'they were Jesus.' From January 1979 to June 1979, the six months just before Preston Porter's death, Perry Clayton went on what his mother called a 'religious kick,' carrying a Bible with him at all times and refusing to allow any but religious music in the house. Vivian Clayton also described Perry Clayton's trance-like periods and said that he told her of hearing voices that 'tell me to do things.' He also expressed fear that people were talking about him and reading his mind.

"The record shows that between 1975 and 1979, Clayton was repeatedly admitted to at least four different hospitals in the Memphis area. For example, records of the John Gaston Hospital on July 10, 1975, show that Clayton's admission on that date was 'his 3rd known psychiatric hospitalization.' He had previously been prescribed medication (Thorazine) at the VA facility, but had discontinued use of the medication after discharge. At the time of his July 1975 admission to John Gaston [after stabbing his mother with a hair pick], he was experiencing frequent auditory and occasional tactile hallucinations, and gave evidence of developed paranoia. Noting that 'the patient appeared to be struggling to maintain his grasp on reality,' the records show that Clayton was put on daily medication, including Haldol.

"In July 1976, Clayton was transferred to the Tennessee Psychiatric Hospital after another admission to John Gaston Hospital. He had been committed on a lunacy warrant after trying to kill his mother for a third time. The record indicates further that:

He also had approached relatives with obscene talk of sex and asked his own sisters to have sexual relations with him. He was talking to himself, refusing to bathe or change clothes, thinking that everyone turned against him; had withdrawn to his room, sitting on his bed with his head down staring for hours. He had not been taking medication for five months and his condition got progressively worse.... He admitted, upon admission, to having thoughts of hurting people.... He admitted to hearing voices and was obsessed with the thought of sex ... his main concern was hearing female voices making derogatory remarks about him.

Clayton was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic; he was put on an increased dosage of Haldol, and was later switched to Prolixin. The attending physician thought he 'should do well if he continues taking his medicine.' He was discharged after five weeks hospitalization.

"Four months later, in December 1976, Clayton was admitted to the Tennessee Psychiatric Hospital and Institute, again on referral from John Gaston. He reported to the doctors that his mother 'told me to come and seek admission as I was not acting all right.' Clayton was still hounded by a female voice deriding and...