State v. Miller
| Decision Date | 16 June 2021 |
| Docket Number | Opinion No. 5824,Appellate Case No. 2017-001347 |
| Citation | 433 S.C. 613,861 S.E.2d 373 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Robert Lee MILLER, III, Appellant. |
Appellate Defender Susan Barber Hackett, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General W. Jeffery Young, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, Assistant Attorney General Sherrie Butterbaugh, and Assistant Attorney General Mark Reynolds Farthing, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Isaac McDuffie Stone, III, of Bluffton; all for Respondent.
Robert Lee Miller, III, a juvenile offender, appeals his sentence of fifty-five years' imprisonment for the murder of Willie Johnson (Victim). Miller argues the trial court erred by imposing what amounted to a de facto life sentence, which he asserts requires a finding of irreparable corruption under Aiken v. Byars .1 Miller also argues the trial court erred in admitting statements he made to officers during a custodial interrogation, contending he did not voluntarily and knowingly waive his Miranda2 rights. We affirm.
On June 17, 2014, fifteen-year-old Miller, Miller's older brother, and his brother's friend, Gabriel, broke into Victim's home in Allendale. After asking Victim if he had any sugar, Miller and his accomplices forced their way into his home. The boys knocked Victim to the ground, bound his hands behind his back, robbed him, and ransacked his home. Victim was beaten so badly that his dentures were scattered about the room. Then a plastic bag was placed over his head so he could not look at them. Victim later died in his home with his hands bound and the bag over his head. An expert who conducted Victim's autopsy testified his cause of death was asphyxia
from the plastic bag wrapped around his head and stated blunt force trauma was a contributing factor.
On June 24, 2014, Chief Marvin Williams, of the Fairfax Police Department, questioned Miller as a suspect in an unrelated crime that occurred in Fairfax. Before questioning Miller, Chief Williams presented him with a Miranda rights acknowledgment and waiver form and asked Miller to read the form to him line-by-line. Chief Williams asked Miller if he understood each right after Miller read them aloud. Miller initialed after each individual right and signed his name at the bottom of the form. Soon after Chief Williams began questioning Miller, Miller stated he did not commit the Fairfax crime, and he thought Chief Williams wanted to question him about Victim's murder. According to Chief Williams, he asked Miller what he was talking about and Miller described his and his accomplices' participation in Victim's murder. Chief Williams and Miller were the only two people in the room during the confession, and Chief Williams did not write a report or summary of the confession, have Miller make a written statement, or record the confession in any manner. Chief Williams testified he did not offer Miller leniency during the interview, did not threaten him, and did not coerce him to confess.
After Chief Williams concluded his interview with Miller, Agents Richard Johnson and Natasha Merrell, both of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), interrogated Miller about Victim's murder. The two agents recorded the interview on Agent Merrell's SLED cell phone. Neither of the agents re-Mirandized Miller before questioning him, and during the first portion of his interview, Miller was accompanied by Tiffany Sabb. Initially, Agent Johnson explained SLED's role as a state investigative agency and asked Miller about his relationship with Sabb. Miller stated Sabb was "like a mother to [him]."3 Agent Johnson also asked Miller where his mother was, and Miller replied she was at home but he was comfortable speaking to SLED without her. Agent Johnson clarified Miller was in the eighth grade and that he could read and write by asking Miller to read a certificate that was in the room. Miller read the first few sentences but could not read the word "contributions" or the cursive portions on the certificate. Agent Johnson then asked Sabb to leave the room, and when she left, Miller expressed apprehension about talking with Agent Johnson, stating he was more comfortable speaking to Agent Merrell instead. Agent Johnson replied, and he exited the room after confirming that Miller was willing to talk to Agent Merrell and that Miller understood it was his decision to speak with her. Miller confirmed that he would talk to Agent Merrell.
When questioned by Agent Merrell, Miller denied any involvement in the murder, stating he was in Fairfax the entire week of the murder until Friday when a bus dropped him off in Allendale. Miller claimed his neighbor, the school bus driver, could confirm his alibi. Agent Merrell stated she was there to help Miller and asked him to be honest with her. She asked Miller if he got a ride from Allendale to Fairfax on the evening of the murder, and Miller explained that he did and that he was in Allendale that day for a school hearing. When asked how he got back to Fairfax that night, Miller did not answer the question.
Miller then told Agent Merrell how the situation was "crazy" and how acquaintances told him that they heard he kicked Victim's door in and that he held Victim while the other boys beat him. Agent Merrell asked which story was true, and Miller again denied involvement in Victim's murder. Agent Merrell asked again about Miller's transportation from Allendale to Fairfax on the day of the murder and whether he could remember what he did between the school hearing and Wednesday morning. Again, Miller failed to answer the question. Agent Merrell then asked Miller about an encounter he had with Allendale police regarding Gabriel, his accomplice. Miller denied knowing Gabriel, but explained the police wanted to talk to his brother about Gabriel. Agent Merrell then existed the room and returned with Agent Johnson.
Agent Johnson immediately explained that he and Agent Merrell were trying to help Miller but also told Miller he was going to jail. Miller asked if he was going to jail that day, and Agent Johnson replied, "Yea, and there ain't nothing we can do to stop it." Miller replied, "I know." The colloquy that proceeded is as follows:
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