State v. Robinson, 14646

• Decision Date: 27 August 1980
• Docket Number: No. 14646,14646
• Citation: 622 S.W.2d 62
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. James Key ROBINSON, Patricia Ann Patterson and Allen Eugene LeMay, Appellants.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 62

622 S.W.2d 62

STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. James Key ROBINSON, Patricia Ann Patterson and Allen Eugene LeMay, Appellants.

No. 14646.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee.

Aug. 27, 1980.

William M. Leech, Jr., Atty. Gen., John C. Zimmermann, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Charles S. Ramsey, Jr., Dist. Atty. Gen., Manchester, C. Michael Layne, Asst. Dist. Atty. Gen., Manchester, for appellee.

Walter L. Williams, Madison, for Robinson.

James L. Curtis, Nashville, for Patterson.

Robert L. Huskey, Manchester, for LeMay.

ABRIDGED OPINION

O'BRIEN, Judge.

A two count indictment was returned against these defendants by the Grand Jury of Coffee County charging them in the first count with murder during the perpetration of a robbery, and in the second count with armed robbery. Robinson was found guilty of felony murder and sentenced to eighty (80) years in the penitentiary. On his armed robbery conviction he was sentenced to thirty (30) years confinement. Patterson was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to fifty (50) years. She was sentenced to thirty (30) years on her conviction for armed robbery. LeMay was also convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to forty (40) years confinement. He received a sentence of thirty (30) years in the State Penitentiary for armed robbery. A co-defendant, Andrea Rice, entered guilty pleas to second degree murder and armed robbery prior to the trial of these defendants and received respective sentences of twelve (12) years and ten (10) years confinement. All sentences were fixed to be served consecutively.

The incident leading to their convictions involved the homicide of a man named John Holland who resided in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Holland, a bachelor, about sixty years of age, was acquainted with the defendant, Patricia Ann Patterson. He was a man of some wealth. On the evening of April 6, 1977, these three defendants were in the apartment of Andrea Rice, in Nashville, where she and Allen Eugene LeMay lived together. There is some evidence that the other two defendants also inhabited the apartment on an intermittent basis. The four became engaged in a discussion which ultimately led to a comment from Robinson regarding his need for money. Holland's name was brought into the conversation and the view expressed that, due to his living habits and purported wealth, he would be a prime subject for robbery. They prepared themselves for this venture by obtaining some ladies hose, to be cut and used as face masks, gloves, and Mr. Holland's unlisted phone number from the home where Patterson generally resided with her parents. Robinson carried a weapon referred to as a "buck knife", and LeMay was armed with a .22 caliber pistol. They proceeded to Tullahoma where the two women were able to gain entry into Holland's home through the device of pretending to be there for the purpose of Patterson introducing Rice to the victim. Once into the house one of them surreptitiously unlocked the kitchen door. Shortly thereafter the men burst in with stocking masks over their heads and demanded money of Holland. He told them all he had was in his wallet. Robinson then threw him to the floor, his hands were tied behind his back, and all four of the defendants ransacked the house. They found Seventy Dollars ($70) in cash, a number of weapons of various types, and a collection of coins. These items were loaded into the car by Patterson, LeMay and Rice while Robinson stayed behind for the express purpose of doing away with Mr. Holland in order to avoid identification by him of any of the four. The other three became impatient waiting for Robinson and LeMay reentered the house. Both men returned to the car shortly with neither wearing the stocking masks they had used for disguise. The next morning Holland was found dead. He had suffered two stab wounds in the chest and was strangled by a length of pantyhose wound around his neck. The medical proof indicated his death resulted from either or both of these causes.

As the result of some very astute police work the authorities were led first to Patterson. Further investigation uncovered the other defendants and brought about their arrest. Each of these defendants gave a statement implicating themselves in the homicide. Andrea Rice testified for the State and Patricia Patterson testified in her own defense. Both of these witnesses implicated the other defendants as well as themselves by their testimony. Each was thoroughly cross-examined, and their testimony was corroborated by other evidence in the record.

Considering first the conviction of James Key Robinson, who was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to eighty (80) years for that offense, we have concluded his sentence must be modified. In Miller v. State, 584 S.W.2d 758, (Tenn.1979) our Supreme Court held that due to certain court decisions dealing with the constitutionality of the death penalty specifically Collins v. State, 550 S.W.2d 643, (Tenn.1977), that subsequent to January 24, 1977, until the enactment of Chapter 51, Public Acts of 1977, on April 11, 1977, all death penalty provisions of Acts going back to Chapter 181 of the Public Acts of 1915 were effectively invalidated. The Court held that in the interim period, during which the crimes involved in this case were committed, the legally effective punishment for first degree murder was life imprisonment. This being true we hold that so much of the verdict of the jury and judgment of the court in this case imposing upon Robinson a sentence of eighty (80) years in the penitentiary is in contravention of Article 1, Section 11, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, and is invalid in accordance with the ruling in Miller, supra. We modify the sentence imposed to life imprisonment.

Each of the defendants take issue with the admission of a group of photographs depicting the body of Mr. Holland from various angles in the room where he was found. The pictures are, in varying degrees, bloody, gruesome exhibitions of the condition of the room and body of the deceased when it was first discovered. Objection was made to their admission on the basis that witnesses could testify about this evidence and that the enlarged photos had no probative value and would tend to inflame the jury. The trial judge overruled the objections and allowed the admission of the photographs, "in view of the nature of the charges involved" ...

There was absolutely no valid reason given by the District Attorney General for the admission of the photographs in question. They were not relevant to prove any part of the prosecution case and were certainly not probative of any issue in dispute. Since the trial of this case our Supreme Court in State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d 947, (Tenn.1978), has set forth the criteria to be observed for the admission of photographs in trial proceedings. Unquestionably the admission of the photographs in this case was error. Equally without question is the fact that their admission was harmless error in view of the overwhelming evidence of the defendants' guilt. This was indeed a brutal, wanton murder, as the pictures quite vividly reflect. The sentences meted out to the defendants were not inordinately excessive in the light of the gross circumstances of the homicide. As stated in Banks, supra, the circumstances fully explain and support the verdict of guilt and the severity of the sentence.

Each of the defendants object to the admission of statements given by them to the police authorities.

Defendant Robinson contends that the advice given him, prior to a statement taken from him by police officers, was incomplete relative to his rights against self-incrimination. He also says he was incompetent to give his statement because of ingestion of drugs and alcohol on the day he was arrested, and that his statement was taken from him without his having signed a waiver.

There were extensive pre-trial motions heard in this case including motions to suppress statements and confessions of the defendants. Evidence introduced at the pre-trial hearing on the motion to suppress established that Robinson was arrested by two Nashville Vice-Squad officers each of whom testified they saw no evidence that he was under the influence of any drug. They also testified he was advised of his Miranda rights subsequent to his arrest. He was transported from Nashville to Coffee County by another officer who testified he advised defendant of his Miranda rights before they left the Nashville Police Department. He also testified that defendant acted normal. He was again advised of his rights while in the vehicle and responded in the negative to an inquiry to determine if he wanted to answer any questions. At the Coffee County Jail after he had heard a tape recorded statement made by LeMay which implicated him in the murder Robinson made a phone call and then agreed to make a statement. The transcript of the statement includes that portion where he was advised of his rights and indicates he was not warned at that time that anything he said could be used against him. The transcript of his statement indicates he was well aware of his other Miranda rights, which he voluntarily waived, and agreed to make a statement. The officers testified he appeared normal at that time and showed no evidence of intoxication. This defendant presented no evidence at the pre-trial suppression hearing. During the trial, in the course of a discussion among counsel regarding the proper method of redacting the confessions of the co-defendants, a protest was made regarding the admission of his statement because there was no signed waiver. In his motion for new trial Robinson challenged the admission of his statement on the grounds that he had never signed a written waiver and that the Miranda warnings he received were not complete.

The manner of objecting to the admissibility of a confession in this State is a travel-worn path. The proper...