State v. Howard

• Decision Date: 23 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-KA-0064.,98-KA-0064.
• Citation: 751 So.2d 783
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Cedric D'Wayne HOWARD.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

751 So.2d 783

STATE of Louisiana v. Cedric D'Wayne HOWARD.

No. 98-KA-0064.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

April 23, 1999.

Nicholas Joseph Trenticosta, Gary Patrick Clements, New Orleans, Paula Mangini Montonye, Hamden, Counsel for Applicant.

Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, Charles F. Wagner, District Attorney, Monique Yvette Metoyer, Thomas Rockwell Willson, James M. Buck, Alexandria, Counsel for Respondent.

TRAYLOR, J.¹

On February 2, 1995, a Rapides Parish grand jury indicted the defendant, Cedric D'Wayne Howard, for the first degree murder of Rita Rabalais in violation of LSA-RS 14:30. After a trial by jury, the defendant was found guilty as charged. After a sentencing hearing, the same jury charged with determining the defendant's guilt unanimously returned a verdict of death. The jury found two aggravating circumstances: (1) the offender had been previously convicted of an unrelated armed robbery; and (2) it was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner.

This matter comes before us on direct appeal under Article V, Section 5(D) of the Louisiana State Constitution. Defendant raises 25 assignments of error, none of which have merit. Therefore, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.²

FACTS

On October 24, 1994, Alexandria police officers, responding to a call from the victim's niece, discovered the severely battered body of 82-year-old Rita Rabalais hidden in her bedroom closet. After the Alexandria police department homicide division secured the scene, detectives took photographs, dusted for fingerprints, and recovered from the kitchen garbage can a knife, a knife sharpening rod, a blue hand towel, and a rubber glove bearing a latent palm print. The officers also recovered a piece of metal tubing, part of a Weedeater, from a wicker basket in the dining room.

An autopsy revealed that Rita had been stabbed multiple times and badly beaten. Her face and head were severely bruised and lacerated and repeated blows to the head had caused massive bleeding to the brain. In addition, Ms. Rabalais had suffered three other potentially fatal knife wounds: One on each side of the neck, severing both the carotid artery and a primary vein, and a stab wound to the left side which had penetrated six inches and lacerated the heart and one lung. The state's forensic pathologist found evidence of multiple blunt trauma, as well as of defensive wounds to the victim's arms. He verified that the victim's wounds were consistent with the type of injuries which would have been inflicted by the instrumentalities recovered at the scene.

During the investigation, the police questioned Ricky Swafford, a 14-year-old boy who lived near the victim. He testified at trial that a couple of nights before the murder he had been outside Lonnie Simmons' house with the defendant and several others as they were planning the crime. He also testified that, although the defendant did not say much in the conversation, he believed that the defendant was willing to assist in the robbery/murder. Ricky further recalled that he did not go to school on the morning of the murder and that as he was walking to his aunt's house, he saw Freddie Gradley in the back alley two houses down from the victim's. He described Gradley as wearing jeans and a white t-shirt which had a big red stain on it. Swafford did not see anyone else in the vicinity. Later, the police came to Ricky's house and interviewed him there, as well as at the detective division. On December 8, 1994, Ricky Swafford gave a statement to police about the conversation he had overheard.

Also on December 8, 1994, Detectives Don Weatherford, Jr. and Gary Billingsley interviewed the defendant, who was in Renaissance Detention Center at the time. The following morning, the same detectives took a taped statement from the defendant as part of the investigation. Defendant did not inculpate himself and was not arrested after his statement. However, on December 9, 1994, the detectives took Fredrick Gradley's statement, who confessed his own involvement, and implicated the defendant and four others. Gradley was arrested and warrants issued for the arrest of Jerry Joseph, Joseph General, Joseph Green, and defendant. These five defendants were indicted for first degree murder on February 2, 1995.

On June 22, 1995, Jerry Joseph entered a plea agreement with the state. The state agreed to reduce the charge against him to manslaughter, in exchange for his truthful testimony against his co-perpetrators. Following Joseph's cooperation with police, four additional perpetrators were implicated and arrest warrants issued for Lonnie Simmons, Joseph Michael Elie, Frederick Demond Bush, and Daveon Deshan McCullough. These four defendants were indicted on the same first degree murder charge on July 20, 1995.

Joseph testified at defendant's trial that he had been present at the Eat A Bite Club when defendant and Fredrick Gradley were planning a break-in at a woman's house on Kelly Street. Joseph disclosed that Ms. Rabalais had been targeted because she was supposed to have a lot of money. He further testified that later that night he met Gradley, Joe General, Ced Howard and Joe Green (Joseph's cousin) on the corner of Chester Street. Also present were Mike Elie, Lonnie Simmons, Daveon McCullough, Fred Bush, and an individual who remains unidentified. While the others entered Ms. Rabalais' house, Joseph testified that he remained on the porch of a house across the street, drinking a 40-ounce beer. Shortly afterward Joseph went inside and saw the victim surrounded by the others. They were beating, kicking and stabbing the victim. At one point, as Ms. Rabalais held onto Gradley, defendant hit her over the head with a pipe. Joseph testified that he left the scene before the others stuffed her in the closet, but that he did observe General and some of the others wiping the walls and cleaning anywhere they had touched. Joseph further admitted that money was taken from the house and that he got $50.00.

Defendant did not testify at trial. However, before the jury entered the court-room to hear opening statements in the guilt phase, defendant addressed the court, claiming that he disagreed with his lawyers' strategy geared to ending trial with a life sentence for a crime he did not commit, and that he would prefer death to a life sentence. He then asked the judge to find him guilty.

PRETRIAL ISSUES

Assignment of Error No. 9

Defendant claims that the trial court erred when it found him competent to stand trial. On June 8, 1995, while detained in pretrial status, defendant suffered a cerebral aneurysm which required surgery. On September 8, 1995, defense counsel filed a motion for appointment of a sanity commission to determine if defendant was competent to assist in his own defense. The trial court appointed Dr. James W. Quillin and Dr. John MacMahon to examine defendant.³ The doctors performed separate examinations on October 9, 1995 and on October 12, 1995.

Generally, a person who suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders him incapable of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him, of consulting with counsel, and of assisting in preparing and conducting his defense may not be subjected to trial. La.C.Cr.P. arts. 641-649.1; State v. Rogers, 419 So.2d 840, 843 (La.1982),citing Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 95 S.Ct. 896, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975), and State v. Bennett, 345 So.2d 1129 (La.1977).⁴ A defendant has the burden to establish his incapacity to stand trial by a preponderance of the evidence. Cooper v. Oklahoma, 517 U.S. 348, 116 S.Ct. 1373, 134 L.Ed.2d 498 (1996) (states may require the accused to prove his incompetency to stand trial only by a preponderance of the evidence; a higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence" violates the Due Process Clause); State v. Frank, 96-1136 (La.10/4/96), 679 So.2d 1365 (Cooper invalidates 1990 La. Acts No. 755, amending La.C.Cr.P. art. 648 to require a finding of incompetency by "clear and convincing evidence.") While the district court may receive expert medical testimony on point, the ultimate decision of competency is for the court alone. La.C.Cr.P. art. 647; Rogers, 419 So.2d at 843; State v. Edwards, 406 So.2d 1331, 1342. "Moreover, the judge's determination of a defendant's present mental capacity is entitled to great weight and his ruling will be reversed only if it is clearly erroneous." Bennett, 345 So.2d at 1132. The determinations of the trial judge as to competency of defendant to stand trial are entitled to great weight on review and will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Brogdon, 426 So.2d 158, 167 (La.1983); State v. Rochon, 393 So.2d 1224, 1228 (La.1981).

Dr. Quillin reported his findings to the court at a hearing held on March 14, 1997. He noted that defendant, as a result of the cerebral aneurysm, had some impairment of his left hemisphere and evidenced some memory dysfunction.⁵ Defendant also suffered from right hemparesis, or difficulty with motor function on the right side. The doctor found defendant's verbal functions showed some mild paraphasic error in his running conversation, which means that defendant would occasionally insert the incorrect word for the meaning he was trying to express. Additionally, defendant's semantic fluency, which tests a person's ability to name contents of a category, was below normal. The doctor found defendant alert and responsive, with no psychotic illness, abnormality of thought, depression, or suicidal thoughts. An intellectual function test placed defendant in the low normal range overall, with no mental retardation. Dr. Quillin assessed defendant's I.Q. at 82, which is in the low normal range.

The doctor did report that defendant may have difficulty listening to the testimony of others and informing his counsel of any misstatements in their testimony. However, the doctor found that defendant clearly understood...