State v. Courchesne

Decision Date11 March 2003
Docket Number(SC 16665).
CourtConnecticut Supreme Court
PartiesSTATE OF CONNECTICUT v. ROBERT COURCHESNE

Sullivan, C. J., and Borden, Norcott, Katz, Palmer, Vertefeuille and Zarella, Js. Harry Weller, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were John A. Connelly, state's attorney, and Eva B. Lenczewski, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellant (state).

Mark Rademacher, assistant public defender, with whom, on the brief, was Ronald Gold, senior assistant public defender, for the appellee (defendant).

Opinion

BORDEN, J.

Under our statutory scheme, a defendant becomes eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of a capital felony for the "murder of two or more persons at the same time or in the course of a single transaction . . . ." General Statutes (Rev. to 1997) § 53a-54b (8), as amended by No. 98-126, § 1, of the 1998 Public Acts (P.A. 98-126).1 One of the aggravating factors that permits the imposition of the death penalty is that "the defendant committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner . . . ." General Statutes (Rev. to 1997) § 53a-46a (i) (4).2 Although in State v. Breton, 235 Conn. 206, 220 n. 15, 663 A.2d 1026 (1995), we had been asked to decide whether it was necessary for the state, in order to seek the death penalty based on that factor, to prove that the defendant had killed "both . . . of the victims in an especially cruel manner," rather than just one of the victims, we ultimately did not have to answer that question because the evidence was sufficient to show that he had done so with respect to both victims. The present case, however, requires us to decide that question.

Thus, the sole issue of this appeal is whether, when the defendant has been convicted of a capital felony for the murder of two persons in the course of a single transaction, in violation of § 53a-54b (8), the state, in order to establish the aggravating factor defined by § 53a-46 (i) (4), must prove that the defendant murdered both victims in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner.3 We conclude that proof that the defendant committed at least one of the murders in the specified aggravated manner is sufficient. Accordingly, we reverse the ruling of the trial court to the contrary.

The state charged the defendant with capital felony in violation of § 53a-54b (8) by murdering two persons, namely, Demetris Rodgers and Antonia Rodgers, in the course of a single transaction.4 The defendant waived a jury trial on the guilt phase, and elected to be tried by a three judge court.5 The trial court, West, Cofield and D'Addabbo, Js., found the defendant guilty. The defendant then moved to dismiss the aggravating factor and for the court to impose a life sentence without the possibility of release, on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to justify holding a penalty hearing. The trial court, D'Addabbo, J., denied the motion to dismiss, concluding that the defendant was not entitled to a prehearing determination by the court on the sufficiency of the evidence. In the course of its decision, however, the court also ruled that, as a matter of law, the state, in order to prove the noticed aggravating factor, would be required to prove at the penalty hearing that, as to the conviction of capital felony in violation of § 53a-54b (8), both murders were committed in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner. This interlocutory appeal followed.

For purposes of this appeal only, the following facts may be considered as undisputed. In the late evening hours of December 15, 1998, the defendant stabbed Demetris Rodgers to death. At the time she was stabbed, she was pregnant with Antonia Rodgers. Although Demetris Rodgers was dead on arrival at the hospital, the physicians at the hospital performed an emergency cesarean section and delivered Antonia Rodgers, who lived for forty-two days before dying from global anoxic encephalopathy, or deprivation of oxygen to the brain.6

I

The state claims that, when a defendant has been convicted of capital felony for the murder of two persons in the course of a single transaction, the state, in order to prove the aggravating factor that the defendant committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, need only do so with respect to one of the murder victims. We agree.

This claim presents a question of statutory interpretation. "The process of statutory interpretation involves a reasoned search for the intention of the legislature. Frillici v. Westport, 231 Conn. 418, 431, 650 A.2d 557 (1994). In other words, we seek to determine, in a reasoned manner, the meaning of the statutory language as applied to the facts of this case, including the question of whether the language actually does apply. In seeking to determine that meaning, we look to the words of the statute itself, to the legislative history and circumstances surrounding its enactment, to the legislative policy it was designed to implement, and to its relationship to existing legislation and common law principles governing the same general subject matter.. . . Id.; Carpenteri-Waddington, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue Services, 231 Conn. 355, 362, 650 A.2d 147 (1994); United Illuminating Co. v. Groppo, 220 Conn. 749, 755-56, 601 A.2d 1005 (1992). . . . United Illuminating Co. v. New Haven, 240 Conn. 422, 431-32, 692 A.2d 742 (1997)." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Bender v. Bender, 258 Conn. 733, 741, 785 A.2d 197 (2001).

We have interpreted the aggravating factor involved to mean that "the defendant engaged in intentional conduct that inflicted extreme physical or psychological pain [suffering] or torture on the victim above and beyond that necessarily accompanying the underlying killing, and that the defendant specifically intended to inflict such extreme pain [suffering or] torture . . . or. . . the defendant was callous or indifferent to the extreme physical or psychological pain, suffering or torture that his intentional conduct in fact inflicted on the victim." (Citation omitted; emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Johnson, 253 Conn. 1, 66-67, 751 A.2d 298 (2002). We conclude that, under our death penalty statutory scheme, if the defendant's mental state and conduct meet these requirements with respect to one of his victims, the aggravating factor is satisfied. Put another way, it is not necessary under that statutory scheme that the defendant in the present case intentionally, or callously or indifferently, inflicted extreme pain, suffering or torture on both of his victims, so long as he is shown to have done so with respect to one of his victims.

We begin our analysis with the language of the statutes presently at issue, namely, §§ 53a-46a (f) (2) and (i) (4) and 53a-54b (8). Both parties rely on what each claims to be the plain language of certain of these statutes to support their respective positions.

The state points to the language of § 53a-46a (f) (2), namely, that if "one or more of the aggravating factors set forth in subsection (i) exist"; (emphasis added); the death penalty may be imposed, provided, of course, that the other requirements of the statute are met.7 Thus, the state contends, "the torture of one victim of a capital felony satisfies the plain language of § 53a-46a (f) (2), which demands proof of but one aggravating factor."

The defendant contends, to the contrary, that the plain language of §§ 53a-46a (i) (4) and 53a-54b (8) compels the conclusion that both murders must be committed in the manner proscribed by the aggravating factor in order for the factor to be established. The defendant points to the language of § 53a-46a (i) (4): "[T]he defendant committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner . . . ." (Emphasis added.) He then points to the language of § 53a-54b (8) defining the relevant capital felony as the "murder of two or more persons at the same time or in the course of a single transaction . . . ." (Emphasis added.) Thus, the defendant argues, "the essential gravamen of the offense set forth at § 53a-54b (8) that must be `especially heinous' is the `murder of two or more persons,' not the murder of one person."

We acknowledge that, if we were to apply the applicable language literally, as a purely linguistic matter the defendant's contention probably carries more weight than that of the state. It would be linguistically appealing to adopt the syllogism embodied in the defendant's contention, namely, that: (1) § 53a-46a (i) (4) requires that "the offense" be committed in the aggravated manner; (2) the likely referent of "the offense" is the capital felony of which the defendant has been convicted; (3) that capital felony at issue in the present case is the "murder of two or more persons," as defined in § 53a-54b (8); and (4) therefore, the murder of two persons must be committed in the aggravated manner. Thus, under the defendant's position, there is a direct linguistic line between the language, "the offense," contained in § 53a-46a (i) (4), and the definition of the capital felony as the "murder of two . . . persons," contained in § 53a-54b (8).

The state's plain language argument is not as linguistically appealing. There is no direct linguistic line between the language, "one or more aggravating factors set forth in subsection (i) [of § 53a-46a]," contained in § 53a-46a (f) (2), and the definition of the capital felony, contained in § 53a-54b (8). Subsection (i) of § 53a-46a lists seven potential aggravating factors, of which the commission of the offense in a cruel manner is only one. The likely reference of "one," in the language, "one or more of the aggravating factors," contained in § 53a-46a (f) (2), is to that set of seven factors, and provides no more than that the state must prove at least one, and may prove more than one, of those factors in...

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