State v. Sanders, 98-1209.

Citation92 Ohio St.3d 245,750 NE 2d 90
Decision Date18 July 2001
Docket NumberNo. 98-1209.,98-1209.
PartiesTHE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. SANDERS, N.K.A. HASAN, APPELLANT.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Ohio

Mark E. Piepmeier, Special Prosecuting Attorney, and William E. Breyer, Assistant Special Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

David H. Bodiker, State Public Defender, Kelly L. Culshaw and Ruth L. Tkacz, Assistant Public Defenders, for appellant.

MOYER, C.J.

During the 1993 prison riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility ("SOCF") at Lucasville, Correctional Officer Robert Vallandingham was murdered on the orders of appellant, Carlos Sanders (n.k.a. Siddique Abdullah Hasan). Sanders was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death.

Facts

In 1993, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction ("DRC") ordered that all prison inmates be tested for tuberculosis. Sanders was the acknowledged imam (spiritual leader) of a group of Muslims at SOCF. He protested DRC's order, claiming that the testing method violated Islamic law. On April 5, 1993, Arthur Tate, Jr., SOCF's warden, met with Sanders. When Tate explained that the test was to be administered to all inmates, Sanders replied: "You do what you have to do and we'll do what we have to do." Shortly thereafter, the warden informed Sanders in writing that all inmates would be tested.

On April 11, 1993, Muslim inmates staged an uprising and took control of unit L-6 of cellblock "L" ("L-Block") of the prison. Sanders planned and led the takeover.

Several guards, including Vallandingham, were taken hostage. Vallandingham had locked himself into a restroom, but inmates battered down the door and captured him. Sanders handcuffed Vallandingham and led him away. Other hostages included Officers Clark, Dotson, Hensley, and Nagel. Sanders ordered that all hostages be taken to Unit L-6 and that captured guards be protected for the time being.

Three factions emerged as the dominant forces in L-Block: the Muslims, led by Sanders; the Aryan Brotherhood, a white racist group, led by Jason Robb and George Skatzes; and the Black Gangster Disciples, a prison gang, led by Anthony Lavelle. Each faction controlled its own section of L-Block; the Muslims controlled unit L-6, and also the hallways.

The rioters held L-Block until they surrendered on April 21. DRC representatives opened negotiations with the inmates, who periodically threatened to kill hostages if their demands were not met.

On Wednesday, April 14, there was a meeting of inmate leaders, including Lavelle, Robb, and Sanders. The group discussed killing a guard and, without dissent, decided to do it. But after the meeting, Lavelle told Sanders that he did not think that killing a guard would accomplish anything. Sanders agreed that they should "hold off' on killing a guard that day.

Later that day, news media quoted a DRC employee's statement suggesting that the inmates were bluffing. This infuriated the inmates. Another leadership meeting followed; Sanders, Robb, Skatzes, and Lavelle were there. Also present were inmate Roger Snodgrass, inmate David Lomache, who helped care for injured guards, and Muslim inmate Reginald Williams. (Lavelle, Snodgrass, Lomache, and Williams later turned state's evidence and recounted the discussion in trial testimony.) To prove that they were serious, the group decided to issue an ultimatum and, if the authorities failed to comply, to kill a guard.

According to Snodgrass and Williams, Sanders and Robb were "the decision makers" and led this meeting. While accounts differed on whether a formal vote was taken, the testimony indicated that Sanders supported killing a guard. According to Lavelle, "[W]e all agreed that a person from each group * * * would participate" in the killing, and Sanders pledged that his security officers would select a Muslim inmate to take part.

On the night of April 14, around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., inmate Miles Hogan overheard Skatzes and inmate Stanley Cummings tell Sanders "about somebody that was supposed to kill a correctional officer [and] had backed out of it." Sanders said he was "sick of the m***********s saying they was going to do something and then back[ing] out of it at the last minute." Cummings said he "would make sure this got done," and Sanders replied: "Well somebody'd better do it." Another meeting was held on Thursday morning, April 15. Reginald Williams did not attend this meeting, but he was nearby when it broke up. He heard Muslim inmate James "Namir" Were proclaim loudly that "he would take care of it." Sanders told Were to calm down.

That morning, inmate Kenneth Law was in L-6 when he saw inmates Alvin Jones and Darnell Alexander escort a bound, blindfolded Vallandingham to the L-6 shower area. Then Law heard Sanders tell Were to "take care of his business" if Sanders "didn't get back with [Were] in half an hour." Sanders then left.

Were, Jones, and Alexander proceeded to the shower area where Vallandingham was being held. Kenneth Law followed them. When they arrived, Were told Jones and Alexander to "take care of your business." As Were and Law looked on, Jones and Alexander strangled Vallandingham. His body was later dumped outside.

After the murder, another meeting was held. Someone reported a rumor that Vallandingham was not dead. Were said that "if it is not done right, you don't have anybody to blame but [Were]." According to Lavelle, Were addressed this remark specifically to Sanders.

Later, Kenneth Law overheard an inmate ask Sanders: "Why was the guard killed?" Sanders said: "It was one or many."

Inmate Bruce Harris had been locked in a cell on Sanders's orders. On April 21, the last day of the takeover, Harris disrupted a prayer session by shouting and throwing things from his cell. According to inmate Stacy Gordon, Sanders ordered Harris killed for this. Gordon, Reginald Williams, and other Muslim inmates proceeded to kill Harris.

On April 21, 1993, the inmates surrendered, bringing the riot to an end.

Indictment, Trial, and Sentence

The Scioto County Grand Jury returned a series of indictments against various inmates for crimes committed during the takeover and siege. One of these indictments charged Sanders with two aggravated murder counts with regard to Robert Vallandingham and one aggravated murder count with regard to Bruce Harris. All three counts carried death specifications. Sanders was also charged with various counts against other officers.

After two changes of venue, the case was tried to a jury in Hamilton County. The state withdrew several felonious assault counts.

The jury convicted Sanders of the aggravated murder of Vallandingham, with three death specifications: murder while under detention, R.C. 2929.04(A)(4); course of conduct, R.C. 2929.04(A)(5); and felony-murder (kidnapping), R.C. 2929.04(A)(7). He was acquitted of the aggravated murder of Harris and of one count of felonious assault upon Dotson, and convicted of all other counts. After a penalty hearing, the jury recommended, and the judge imposed, a death sentence for the aggravated murder of Robert Vallandingham. The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court in all respects.

Sanders's appeal is now before us. We have considered each of his thirty-four propositions of law. We have also independently reviewed his death sentence, as R.C. 2929.05(A) requires, by reweighing the felony-murder aggravating circumstance against the mitigating factors and measuring the sentence in this case against sentences imposed in similar cases. We conclude that Sanders's convictions and death sentence should be affirmed.

I. Jury Issues

In his eighth, ninth, tenth, twelfth, and thirteenth propositions of law, Sanders raises issues pertaining to the selection and conduct of the jury.

A. Motion to Dismiss Venire

On voir dire, a venireman said he could not be fair because Sanders's name and garb reminded him of Louis Farrakhan, whom the venireman regarded as an anti-white, anti-American racist. The venireman was excused for cause. However, when the venireman gave these responses, nine other veniremen were in the courtroom. Four of those nine served on the jury. Sanders's request that the venire be dismissed was overruled. In his eighth proposition, Sanders claims that the venireman's statements biased these jurors, invalidating the jury's verdict.

However, nothing in the record indicates that the statements at issue biased the other veniremen. The usual way to find out whether a venireman harbors bias is voir dire, and Sanders could have asked that the trial court either question the other veniremen on this point, or permit the parties to do so. But Sanders made no such request.

We decline to presume that the other veniremen were biased by hearing the remarks at issue. Although bias was presumed in similar circumstances in Mach v. Stewart (C.A.9, 1997), 137 F.3d 630, we find Mach distinguishable. There, the venireman made repeated, definite statements of opinion concerning a matter germane to the trial—a matter in which she also appeared to be an expert. In this case, the venireman expressed only personal opinions, did not speak at length, and was immediately excused for cause. See State v. Doerr (1998), 193 Ariz. 56, 62, 969 P.2d 1168, 1174; Lucero v. Kerby (C.A.10, 1998), 133 F.3d 1299, 1308-1309. Sanders also argues that the trial court should have given either a cautionary instruction to neutralize the effect of the venireman's statements or questioned the other veniremen to determine whether the comments had affected their impartiality. However, at trial he did not ask the court to take such measures. Thus, he has waived his claim that such measures should have been taken.

Sanders's eighth proposition is overruled.

B. Excusal for Cause

The trial court excused a venireman for cause because she stated on voir dire that she could not do without a cigarette for any length of time. In his ninth proposition, Sanders claims that...

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