State v Morris

Citation24 S.W.3d 788
Decision Date10 July 2000
Docket Number98-00679
PartiesSTATE OF TENNESSEE v. FARRIS GENNER MORRIS, JR.IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON
CourtSupreme Court of Tennessee
STATE OF TENNESSEE

v.

FARRIS GENNER MORRIS, JR.

No. W1998-00679-SC-DDT-DD

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON

Decided July 10, 2000

An Appeal from the Criminal Court for Madison County No. 94-1481 Franklin Murchison, Judge

FOR PUBLICATION

A jury convicted the defendant of two counts of premeditated first degree murder and one count of aggravated rape. The jury imposed the death penalty for one of the first degree murders after finding that evidence of two aggravating circumstances that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death and that the murder was committed in the course of a first degree murder, rape, burglary or kidnapping outweighed mitigating evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury imposed life without parole for the other first degree murder after finding that evidence of two aggravating circumstances that the defendant knowingly created a risk of death to two or more persons other the victim murdered during the act of murder and that the murder was committed in the course of a first degree murder, rape, burglary or kidnapping did not outweigh mitigating evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court imposed a 25-year sentence for aggravated rape to run consecutively to the sentence of life without parole. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions and the sentences. We hold that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions, that the defendant is not entitled to relief based on the constitutionality of death by electrocution, and that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's determination that evidence of two aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. We also hold that the death sentence is not arbitrary, excessive or disproportionate as applied in this case.

Direct Appeal; Judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals Affirmed

George Morton Googe, District Public Defender, Jackson, Tennessee, (On Appeal and At Trial), and Daniel J. Taylor, Assistant Public Defender, and Jesse H. Ford, III, Jackson, Tennessee, (At Trial), for the appellant, Farris Genner Morris, Jr.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter and Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General and Elizabeth T. Ryan, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee (On Appeal), and James G. (Jerry) Woodall, District Attorney General, and Al Earls, Assistant District Attorney General, Jackson, Tennessee (At Trial), for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Anderson, C. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Birch, holder and barker, j.j., joined. drowota, J., not participating.

OPINION

The defendant, Farris Genner Morris, Jr., was convicted of two counts of premeditated first degree murder and one count of aggravated rape. The jury imposed the death penalty for the premeditated first degree murder of Erica Hurd after finding that evidence of two aggravating circumstances, i.e., the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death and the murder was committed in the course of any first degree murder, rape, burglary or kidnapping,1 outweighed evidence of mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury imposed life without parole for the premeditated first degree murder of Charles Ragland after finding that evidence of two aggravating circumstances, i.e., the defendant knowingly created a risk of death to two or more persons other than the victim during the act of murder and the murder was committed in the course of any first degree murder, rape, burglary or kidnapping,2 did not outweigh evidence of mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court imposed a 25-year sentence for the aggravated rape of Angela Ragland, to be served consecutively to the sentence of life without parole.

After the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions and the sentences imposed, the case was docketed in this Court for automatic review.3 We reviewed the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision, the record, and the applicable law, and entered an order specifying the following issues for argument: whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for premeditated first degree murder; whether electrocution constitutes cruel and unusual punishment; whether the evidence was sufficient to support the aggravating circumstances and the jury's finding that the evidence of the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating evidence beyond a reasonable doubt with regard to the first degree murder of Erica Hurd; and whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases.

We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdicts of premeditated first degree murder and that the defendant is not entitled to relief on the issue of whether electrocution is cruel and unusual punishment. We further conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the two aggravating circumstances with regard to the murder of Erica Hurd, as well as the jury's finding that the evidence of these aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Finally, we hold that the sentence of death is not arbitrary, excessive or disproportionate to the sentence imposed in cases involving similar crimes and defendants. Therefore, we affirm the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment.

BACKGROUND
Guilt Phase

Charles and Angela Ragland lived in a duplex residence in Jackson, Tennessee. The defendant, Farris Genner Morris, lived with his wife in the adjoining residence.

In the early morning hours of September 17, 1994, Angela Ragland arrived at her home along with her 15-year-old cousin, Erica Hurd. Charles Ragland was awake in the bedroom with the light on. Shortly after arriving, Erica went outside to retrieve something from the car. When Erica came back into the house, Angela heard a scream and saw that Morris was holding a shotgun to Erica's head.

Morris pushed Erica onto the bed in the Raglands' bedroom and asked Charles "where the dope was." Charles Ragland replied that he "didn't have any" and asked Morris if he wanted money.4 After Morris responded that he would "find it himself," Morris fired a shot into the floor and ordered Charles Ragland to get on the floor. He placed a pillow on Ragland's head and shot him one time in the head.

Morris ordered Erica to get into a closet by threatening to "blow her head off." He forced Angela into another bedroom, tied her wrists and ankles, and covered the window with a mattress so that "nobody could see if they walked by." Morris then retrieved Erica from the closet. Angela Ragland testified that she heard Erica pleading for Morris not to kill her and that she heard Morris say "shut up." She testified that she heard Erica screaming and gasping for breath, and then silence.

Morris returned to the bedroom and, still holding the shotgun, forced Angela Ragland to bathe him. Afterward he ordered Angela to put on a negligee and make him something to eat, which she did. Morris then forced Angela to have sexual intercourse with him "three or four times" and to perform oral sex upon him. Morris told her that he had once been "accused of raping someone and . . . if he was going to jail, he was going to go to jail for doing something." He told Angela that "society made him the way he was" and "was the reason that he was doing what he did."

Around 6:30 a.m., Morris heard his wife in the adjoining residence and told Angela that he would let her go. He instructed her to tell police that she found the bodies of her husband and cousin when she arrived home that morning. Morris used a cloth to wipe off objects he had touched and he warned Angela not to go to the police. Angela fled to the house of a nearby friend, who drove her to the police station. The police found Morris at his home shortly thereafter and arrested him.

The bodies of Charles Ragland and Erica Hurd were later discovered in the Ragland residence. Charles Ragland had been shot in the head. Erica Hurd had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly. A blood-stained steak knife was found behind a couch and a large butcher knife with traces of blood was found in a chair in the living room. Angela Ragland testified that neither knife belonged to her or her husband. A 12-gauge pistol grip, pump action shotgun was later found underneath Morris's dresser drawer.

After being advised of and waiving his constitutional rights, Morris gave a statement to Officers Patrick Willis and James Golden of the Jackson Police Department.5 Morris said that on the day of the offense he had purchased and smoked $250 worth of cocaine. He admitted that he had an exchange with Charles Ragland at 1:00 a.m., just a few hours prior to the murders, in which he asked Ragland to sell him drugs and, when Ragland declined, told Ragland that "he was going to regret disrespecting me." Morris admitted that he went to his house, got his shotgun, loaded two shells into the shotgun, and waited for Ragland's wife, Angela, to get home. Morris admitted that he entered the Ragland's residence with the shotgun and demanded that Charles Ragland sell him drugs. He admitted that after Ragland said he didn't have any drugs, he fired a shot into the floor, put a pillow over the barrel of the gun and shot him in the head. Morris admitted that he put Erica Hurd in a closet and tied up Angela Ragland. Morris told officers that he intended only to tie up Erica Hurd but that he stabbed her because she acted crazy and they struggled over a knife. Morris admitted he had sexual intercourse and oral sex with Angela Ragland.

Dr. O.C. Smith, the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for West Tennessee, testified that Charles Ragland died from a shotgun wound to the head. Dr. Smith testified that he found evidence of an "intermediate target"...

To continue reading

Request your trial
202 cases
  • State v. Reid
    • United States
    • Tennessee Supreme Court
    • May 24, 2005
    ... ...          State v. Odom, 928 S.W.2d 18, 26 (Tenn.1996) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 11 (6th ed.1990)); see also State v. Morris, 24 S.W.3d 788, 797 (Tenn.2000) ...         In this case, the evidence supports a finding of torture and serious physical injury beyond that necessary to produce death. Both victims were stabbed multiple times. Both victims were stabbed in the throat or neck with such severe force that ... ...
  • State v. Reid
    • United States
    • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
    • May 31, 2001
    ... ... Victim impact evidence may not be introduced if (1) it is so unduly prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair; or (2) its probative value is substantially outweighed by its prejudicial impact. See Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d at 891 (citations omitted); see also State v. Morris, 24 S.W.3d 788, 813 (Tenn. 2000) (Appendix), cert. denied, U.S. , 121 S. Ct. 786 (2001). Additionally, our supreme court has established certain procedural guidelines which must be followed before victim impact evidence may be admitted by the trial court. First, the State must notify the trial ... ...
  • State v Walton
    • United States
    • Tennessee Supreme Court
    • March 15, 2001
    ... ... This case involves a review of the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law in denying a motion to suppress evidence. Because issues of whether a defendant was placed in custody, interrogated, or voluntarily gave a confession are primarily issues of fact, see State v. Morris, 24 S.W.3d 788, 805 (Tenn. 2000); State v. Anderson, 937 S.W.2d 851, 855 (Tenn. 1996); Childs v. State, 584 S.W.2d 783, 786-87 (Tenn. 1979), we review these factual determinations by the trial court according to the standard set forth in State v. Odom, 928 S.W.2d 18 (Tenn. 1996). Under this ... ...
  • State v. Willis
    • United States
    • Tennessee Supreme Court
    • July 6, 2016
    ... 496 S.W.3d 653 State of Tennessee v. Howard Hawk Willis No. E2012-01313-SC-DDT-DD Supreme Court of Tennessee, AT KNOXVILLE. October 1, 2015 Session Heard at Nashville Filed July 6, 2016 Hershell D. Koger, Pulaski, Tennessee (on appeal); Kathleen Morris, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal); and Howard Hawk Willis, pro se (at trial), for the appellant, Howard Hawk Willis. Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Andree Sophia Blumstein, Solicitor General; James E. Gaylord, Senior Counsel (on appeal); and Dennis Brooks, Assistant District ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT