State v. Mattheson
| Citation | 407 So.2d 1150 |
| Decision Date | 16 November 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-KA-2082,80-KA-2082 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Howard MATTHESON. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Louisiana |
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Louise Korns, Nick Noriea, Jr., Dennis Waldron, John Craft, Asst. Dist. Attys., for plaintiff-appellee.
Clyde Merritt, and Dwight Doskey of Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.
Howard Mattheson and his wife, Willene I. Mattheson, were jointly indicted by the grand jury for the first degree murder of Mamie Dupaquier on March 9, 1978, in violation of La.R.S. 14:30. The state elected to try them separately and proceeded to trial on the indictment against Howard Mattheson. After trial by jury, Howard Mattheson was found guilty as charged. A sentencing hearing was conducted before the same jury that determined the issue of guilt. The jury unanimously recommended that a sentence of death be imposed on defendant. The trial judge sentenced him to death in accordance with the recommendation of the jury. On appeal, defendant relies on seventeen assignments of error for reversal of his conviction and sentence.
At about 4:30 p. m. on March 9, 1978, defendant and his wife entered the Hair-Wiz beauty salon on Canal Street in New Orleans where eight days earlier (March 1), defendant had had his hair washed and cut and his fingernails manicured. Defendant was armed with a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun. The first person they encountered was Mamie Dupaquier, a 75-year-old woman employed at the salon as a receptionist. Almost immediately, Ms. Dupaquier was shot in the head by defendant. The blast tore away most of her skull and brain tissue resulting in her death. According to the assistant coroner, the victim was shot at "(c)lose range, not more than a foot or two."
The rest of the 20 to 25 people in the salon were located in the main area which was situated several feet higher than the reception area. Following the shooting, defendant ran up the few stairs and commanded everyone to lie down on the floor. He informed them that he had just killed one lady and would kill again if his orders were not followed. Defendant told an employee of the salon to tape everyone's hands behind their backs. The tape was furnished to the employee by defendant. He then reloaded his gun and, with the help of his wife, began searching all of the women's purses. He stated that if he found any guns he would kill the owner with her gun. One woman refused to surrender her purse and told defendant that he would have to kill her first. Defendant responded that instead of killing her, he would shoot the woman next to her. Immediately thereafter, he shot Ms. Laura McGoey, who was lying next to the woman with the purse, in the leg.
In the midst of all this confusion, three more customers tried to enter the salon. Mrs. Mattheson let them in through the locked front door and defendant told them to give him their purses. He repeated his warning that this was not a joke, that one lady had already been killed and that he would not hesitate to kill anyone else. After collecting the money and other valuables from the purses and cash register, defendant and his wife fled the scene. Prior to their departure, defendant and his wife each ripped one of the two telephones off the wall. The couple returned to their apartment located in the vicinity where they changed their clothes before going to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
Police investigating the murder and armed robberies were informed that two people fitting the description of the Matthesons were staying in a boarding house in the vicinity. There, the police learned that the suspects had just inquired about a good place to eat in the area. The officers checked several nearby restaurants and discovered defendant and his wife seated at a table in Ponsaa's restaurant. When the plain-clothed detectives entered the restaurant, the Matthesons became suspicious and Mrs. Mattheson hurried into the restroom. At this point, defendant was arrested and searched. When Mrs. Mattheson exited the restroom, she was also arrested. A search of the restroom turned up evidence in the garbage can. Later that evening, a warrant was issued to search the Matthesons' apartment. Evidence, including the shotgun, was found as a result of that search.
At trial, defendant testified that he was intoxicated and on drugs (LSD) on the day in question (March 9). He admitted having planned and committed the armed robberies but stated that he never intended to kill the receptionist. He further testified that Ms. Dupaquier had pulled the shotgun, as if she did not believe it was real, and it accidentally discharged. He also contended that the shooting of Ms. McGoey was accidental.
Defendant contends the trial judge erred in denying his motion to quash grounded on the claim that La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4(g) as applied to the statutory scheme of first degree murder (La.R.S. 14:30) and second degree murder (La.R.S. 14:30.1) permitted the state to introduce evidence of an aggravating circumstance, that is, the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner, during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. He argues that that made the offense for which he was charged, first degree murder, unconstitutional (Assignment of Error No. 1). He further contends the trial judge erred in excluding from the jury charge section B of La.R.S. 14:30.1 because it denied him the opportunity to have the jury return a second degree murder verdict under that definition (Assignment of Error No. 9).
At the time defendant committed the charged offense, the statutes of first degree murder (La.R.S. 14:30) and second degree murder (La.R.S. 14:30.1) provided as follows:
La.R.S. 14:30. First Degree Murder
First degree murder is the killing of a human being when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm.
Whoever commits the crime of first degree murder shall be punished by death or life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence in accordance with the recommendation of the jury.
Second degree murder is:
A. The killing of a human being when the offender is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated rape, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated escape, armed robbery, or simple robbery, even though he has no intent to kill; or
B. The killing of a human being when the offender has a specific intent to kill, under circumstances that would be first degree murder under Article 30, but the killing is accomplished without any of the aggravating circumstances listed in Article 905.4 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure.
Whoever commits the crime of second degree murder shall be imprisoned at hard labor for life and shall not be eligible for parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for a period of forty years.
Section 2. If any provision or item of this Act or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this Act which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items or applications, and to this end the provisions of this Act are hereby declared severable.
Section 3. All laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4, referred to in La.R.S. 14:30.1(B), provides:
The following shall be considered aggravating circumstances:
(a) The offender was engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, or armed robbery;
(b) The victim was a fireman or a peace officer engaged in his lawful duties;
(c) The offender was previously convicted of an unrelated murder, aggravated rape, or aggravated kidnapping;
(d) The offender knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person;
(e) The offender offered or has been offered or has given or received anything of value for the commission of the offense (f) The offender at the time of the commission of the offense was imprisoned after sentence for the commission of an unrelated forcible felony;
(g) The offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.
In State v. Payton, 361 So.2d 866 (La.1978), decided one month after defendant's trial, we were confronted with the same contention as presented here. We held that, although section B of La.R.S. 14:30.1 had the effect of redefining first degree murder as a specific intent homicide accomplished with a statutorily prescribed aggravating circumstance, sections (c), (f) and (g) of La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4 were to be excluded from the murder definitions so as to prevent improper considerations by the jury during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. However, the jury was to consider all seven of the aggravating circumstances during the sentencing hearing.
In the instant case, the trial judge, faced with the dilemma presented by the aforesaid statutory scheme, chose not to include the aggravating circumstances of La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4 in the definition of first degree murder and to exclude section B of La.R.S. 14:30.1 from the definition of second degree murder. Rather, the jury was only charged that first degree murder was "the killing of a human being with the offender has the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm." This had the effect of excluding La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4(g) from the definition of first degree murder. Moreover, the only evidence introduced at trial relating to the heinous manner in which the offense was committed was descriptions by a police officer and the assistant coroner of the victim after being shot. Their testimony indicated the shotgun...
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...be used to prove the nonexistence of mitigating circumstance (2)(a). Other jurisdictions have considered this issue. In State v. Mattheson, 407 So.2d 1150 (La.1982), the defendant contended the trial judge erred in allowing evidence of his prior convictions at the penalty phase of his capit......
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