State v. Mitchell
| Decision Date | 06 April 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 217A99.,217A99. |
| Citation | 543 S.E.2d 830 |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Marcus DeCarlos MITCHELL. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Roy A. Cooper, Attorney General, by G. Patrick Murphy, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State.
Staples Hughes, Appellate Defender, by Mark D. Montgomery, Assistant Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.
Defendant Marcus DeCarlos Mitchell was indicted on 1 April 1997 for three counts of first-degree murder in the killing of victims Dameon Armstrong, Dewayne Rogers, and Robin Watkins. Defendant was tried capitally and found guilty of all three counts of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation and under the felony murder rule. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for each murder conviction; and the trial court entered judgments accordingly.
The State's evidence tended to show that defendant, along with Antonio Mitchell, Durron Ray, and Tildren Hunter, drove to Rogers' home in Zebulon, North Carolina, on the night of 3 March 1997 to steal firearms. Defendant, Mitchell, Ray, and Hunter were each dressed in black and wearing ski masks and gloves. Defendant had a .45-caliber handgun in his possession, while Hunter carried a .40-caliber handgun, and Ray carried a.380-caliber handgun.
Once the group arrived near Rogers' home, Mitchell remained in the car while defendant, Ray, and Hunter approached the house. Defendant knocked on the door, and Ray and Hunter hid from view. When Armstrong, a fourteen-year-old boy, answered the door, defendant pulled him onto the porch. Ray and Hunter came out from their hiding places, and defendant directed Hunter to kick in the door of the house. Defendant and Hunter then entered the house, and Ray stayed on the porch with Armstrong.
Defendant discovered Rogers and Watkins in a bathroom as he and Hunter were searching the house for firearms. Defendant forced Rogers and Watkins to lie on the floor in the living room. Defendant and Hunter then forced Armstrong to assist them in searching for firearms. At the conclusion of the search, Armstrong was brought into the living room and forced to lie on the floor with Rogers and Watkins.
After taking the keys to Watkins' car, defendant indicated to Ray and Hunter that they should kill the victims. Ray took Armstrong to the back of the house while defendant stayed in the living room and shot Rogers and Watkins. Immediately after defendant shot Rogers and Watkins, Ray shot Armstrong five times. Defendant, Ray, and Hunter then took Watkins' car and drove to the location where Mitchell was waiting with the getaway car. Defendant, Ray, and Hunter got into the car with Mitchell. After taking Mitchell home, defendant, Ray, and Hunter drove to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Meanwhile, Armstrong's uncle, Gabriel Miles, heard the gunshots from his nearby home and went to investigate. Once inside Rogers' house, Miles discovered the bodies of Rogers, Watkins, and Armstrong. Miles then called 911 from a neighbor's home.
On 8 March 1997 Raleigh police officers searched a hotel room occupied by defendant. The officers discovered a money bag, two walkie-talkies, several "hoodies" or items that may be worn over the top of the head and pulled down over the face, several gloves, a .380-caliber Lorcin handgun, and a.45-caliber Ruger handgun. Officers found a.40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun in another room in the same hotel. The State's ballistics expert later matched the bullets that killed Watkins and Rogers and the shell casings in the living room to the .45-caliber Ruger handgun found in defendant's hotel room. The ballistics expert also matched the bullets that killed Armstrong and the shell casings in the back bedroom to the .380-caliber Lorcin handgun found in defendant's hotel room. Investigators from the Wake County Sheriff's Department questioned defendant later that day, and defendant confessed to shooting Rogers and Watkins.
The pathologist who performed the autopsies on the victims determined that Watkins and Rogers each died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The pathologist found that Armstrong suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, head, buttocks, back, and right knee. The bullet wound to Armstrong's chest penetrated his lung and caused massive hemorrhaging that would have caused the victim to lose consciousness in two to five minutes. The chest wound caused Armstrong's death within two to ten minutes.
Additional facts will be presented as needed to discuss specific issues.
In his first assignment of error, defendant contends that the trial court erred in excusing for cause prospective jurors Ann Cole, Mark Perisich, and Marlene Lombardo. The test for determining when a juror may be excused for cause is whether his or her views "would `prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath.'" Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 105 S.Ct. 844, 852, 83 L.Ed.2d 841, 851-52 (1985) (quoting Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 2526, 65 L.Ed.2d 581, 589 (1980)). The decision as to whether a juror's views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of the juror's duties is within the trial court's broad discretion. See State v. Gregory, 340 N.C. 365, 394, 459 S.E.2d 638, 655 (1995),
cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1108, 116 S.Ct. 1327, 134 L.Ed.2d 478 (1996). The fact that a prospective juror "voiced general objections to the death penalty or expressed conscientious or religious scruples against its infliction" is not sufficient to support an excusal for cause. Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 522, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 1777, 20 L.Ed.2d 776, 785 (1968). Here, defendant maintains that the excusal of prospective jurors Cole, Perisich, and Lombardo violated the standard in Wainwright in that these prospective jurors expressed general reservations about their ability to impose the death penalty under the reasonable doubt standard of proof. Defendant further argues that application of the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard is subjective with each juror. We disagree.
First, prospective juror Cole testified that she was opposed to the death penalty in most, but not all, cases. Cole further testified that she would require the State to satisfy a higher burden than beyond a reasonable doubt before she would recommend the death sentence. The prosecutor then asked clarifying questions, and Cole unequivocally stated that she could follow the law during the sentencing proceeding and that her views of the death penalty would not substantially impair her ability to serve as a juror. However, in response to additional questioning from the prosecutor, defendant, and the trial court, Cole consistently stated that she would require a higher standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt and that she would apply her standard of proof during the sentencing proceeding. On this record defendant has failed to demonstrate that the trial court abused its discretion in concluding that prospective juror Cole's views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of her duties as a juror in accordance with her instructions and her oath.
Second, prospective juror Perisich testified that, while he was not opposed to the death penalty as a general principle, he was unsure about his ability to recommend the death sentence. Perisich explained that the thought of imposing the death penalty gave him "a sick feeling" and that he was concerned about the long-term effects on him of recommending the death penalty. In response to the prosecutor's questions, Perisich stated that his views on the death penalty would impair his ability to perform his duties as a juror and that he would require a higher standard of proof than reasonable doubt during the sentencing proceeding. The trial court then asked some additional questions; and Perisich ultimately stated that he would not impose the death penalty unless he was "absolutely, positively sure" that defendant committed the murder. On this record we cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the State's challenge for cause as to prospective juror Perisich.
Finally, prospective juror Lombardo initially indicated that she could consider both possible punishments, life imprisonment or the death penalty, and that she did not have strong feelings about the death penalty. However, after the prosecutor explained the capital sentencing process, Lombardo expressed reservations about the finality of the death sentence; and Lombardo testified that her concerns about the possibility that defendant was innocent might substantially impair her ability to perform her duties as a juror during the sentencing proceeding. The trial court asked some additional questions, Lombardo indicated that she would always vote for life imprisonment, and defendant declined the opportunity to attempt to rehabilitate Lombardo. On this record defendant has again failed to demonstrate an abuse of the trial court's discretion in allowing the State's challenge for cause as to prospective juror Lombardo. This assignment of error is, therefore, overruled.
Defendant next assigns error to the trial court's informing prospective jurors during voir dire that a separate jury might be impaneled for the sentencing proceeding. Defendant argues that the trial court's misleading reference to the possibility of a separate sentencing jury violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States by diluting the responsibility of the jury. See Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 328-29, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 2639-40, 86 L.Ed.2d 231, 239 (1985)
. We disagree.
Before jury selection began, the trial court in its remarks orienting the prospective jurors as to procedure made the following statement:
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