State v. Spruill
| Decision Date | 30 December 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 404A92,404A92 |
| Citation | 452 S.E.2d 279,338 N.C. 612 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Johnnie Lee SPRUILL. |
Michael F. Easley, Atty. Gen. by Charles M. Hensey, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., for the State.
Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Staples Hughes, Asst. Appellate Defender, and Gretchen M. Engel, Death Penalty Resource Center, for defendant-appellant.
In 1985 defendant was convicted of the first-degree murder of his former girlfriend, Beatrice Williams, and was sentenced to death. On appeal this Court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence. State v. Spruill, 320 N.C. 688, 360 S.E.2d 667 (1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1061, 108 S.Ct. 2833, 100 L.Ed.2d 934 (1988). On 21 February 1992, the trial court granted defendant's motion for appropriate relief, vacated the order sentencing defendant to death, and ordered a new trial. A capital trial began on 12 October 1992, but on 20 October defendant elected to plead guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.
In support of defendant's plea, the prosecutor summarized the State's evidence. In March 1984 defendant and victim, both African-Americans, had been romantically involved; but the victim had ended their relationship. On the night of 31 March, they went separately to a nightclub where defendant attempted to talk to the victim, who decided it would be best for her to leave. Defendant followed her to the door, where he stood very close to her, regarding her steadily. The victim was crying, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and wringing her hands. She walked outside, and defendant followed, his hand in his pocket. A bystander observed the two and decided to try to help the victim to her car. At the car, the victim opened the door, but defendant blocked her way and stabbed at her as she got into the car, cutting her across the chest and on one of her hands. Some bystanders pulled defendant away, and he said he would not bother the victim any more. However, defendant got into the car and slashed the Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, a capital sentencing proceeding was conducted, and both parties offered evidence. State's evidence included testimony from Harold Williams, Joe Louis Jackson, and Corrine Simmons, all of whom were present at the time of the murder. Their testimony was consistent with State's factual summary. Further, Corrine Simmons, Lemile Lockhart, Helen Britton, and Rosa Williams testified about defendant's drinking and his stalking and assaulting of the victim; and their testimony was consistent with the prosecutor's summary. Simmons also testified that in September 1983 she heard defendant threaten to kill the victim. In the same month, she heard defendant threaten to put the victim and her son "six foot [sic] under." In addition to her other testimony, Helen Britton denied seeing defendant use marijuana or other drugs.
victim's throat. Again he was pulled away, and someone asked him why he had killed her. He said, "I meant to do it; I meant to do it." In the summer of 1983 defendant had threatened to kill the victim and had stalked her. About two weeks before her death, defendant had knifed her and on an earlier occasion had attempted to choke her. At the time of the murder, defendant was subject to a court order directing him to stay away from the victim
State Highway Patrolman D.E. Harris testified that he responded to a dispatch about the murder at the nightclub and drove towards the scene. About a mile south of the club, Trooper Harris saw a man who fit the description of the suspect running along the road. Harris stopped his car, got out, and called to the man, who put his hands in the air and began walking towards Harris. The man was defendant, who said he was the one Harris was looking for and the knife he used was in his pants pocket. Defendant appeared calm, his speech was not slurred, and he did not smell of alcohol or marijuana. Chief Deputy Otis Wheeler patted defendant down and advised him of his rights at the Northampton Sheriff's Department. Defendant said he understood his rights. He was calm; nothing appeared to be wrong with him. However, after his arrest, defendant had to be taken to the hospital several times on account of seizures. Eventually he was moved to Central Prison, where appropriate treatment was available.
Defendant's evidence included the testimony of several family members and friends who described his chaotic upbringing. Defendant was one of eight siblings, and his father kept the entire family in poverty and terror by drinking to excess and then striking them, depriving them of food, shooting at them, or driving them away from home. On one occasion when defendant's father attempted to strike defendant's brother with a poker, defendant stepped between the two and took a blow to his head. As an adult, defendant suffered occasional seizures and headaches severe enough to require hospitalization. Nevertheless he could do almost any kind of mechanical work and was steadily employed. He was known to drink to excess, but no witness testified that he was violent when drinking. While working at a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, defendant met Gloria Williams, and they had a son, Sherrod, who was eighteen years old at the time of the sentencing proceeding.
James Odom testified that he ran a service station in Jackson, North Carolina, and had known defendant from defendant's childhood. Defendant worked for Odom for several years, ending in 1978. Defendant changed oil, washed cars, drove a cab, and did mechanical work. He learned to perform minor mechanical work unsupervised; he could change engines in cars under Odom's supervision.
Several witnesses who knew defendant in prison testified in his behalf. Chaplain Michael Smith met defendant in 1986, counselled him, and participated regularly in religious services with him. In Smith's opinion, defendant was sincere in his religious beliefs. Correctional Officer Thomas Humphrey also met defendant around 1986. Humphrey testified that defendant attended religious services regularly and although defendant had committed some disciplinary infractions, Humphrey had never had to report him. Chaplain Luther Pike met defendant in 1985 and since then had made weekly contact with him. Pike testified that defendant had responded Dr. James Groce was accepted by the court as an expert in forensic psychiatry. Sometime around late 1984 he examined defendant at the request of defense counsel. Groce testified that defendant had an IQ of 64 and read at the 5.5 grade level, both being consistent with mild mental retardation. Defendant suffered from a seizure disorder, but his reported actions on the night of the murder were inconsistent with seizure behavior. Defendant's retardation resulted in an impairment of his judgment; and he reported multiple drug use on the night of the murder, which also would have had an impairing effect. Dr. Groce testified he had made three diagnoses: Mild mental retardation, a medical diagnosis of seizure disorder, and a conversion disorder with paralysis of the legs. In Dr. Groce's opinion, at the time of the murder defendant was under a mental disturbance, namely mild mental retardation. Defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or conform it to law was impaired by his retardation and use of drugs, which together produced a negative synergistic effect. Defendant told Dr. Groce that on the night in question he drank three or four beers and smoked marijuana. The marijuana was given to defendant by a friend, who told him it was laced with phencyclidine. Nevertheless, reports of defendant's behavior on the night of the murder were consistent with goal-directed, rational behavior.
positively to programs in which Pike was involved and defendant's behavior never created problems. Like Smith, Pike thought defendant was sincere in his religious beliefs.
Dr. Groce testified further that in February 1985 a psychiatrist at Central Prison noted that defendant's cognition was "fair," his insight was "poor," his judgment was "fair," and his recognition of his personality type was "poor." "Cognition" refers to recognition, general knowledge, and accurate interpretation of general knowledge at the moment. "Insight" means some accurate self-assessment of situations and personal functioning. "Judgment" is the ability to make accurate assessments of situations and appropriate plans based thereon. The psychiatrist's diagnosis was one of mixed personality disorder with inadequate and dependent features. Personality disorder is characterized by a less than usual ability to adjust appropriately to situations. Mixed personality disorder is characterized by several features. "Inadequate and dependent features" refer to (i) a tendency to depend excessively on external sources for emotional support and to weigh reactions of others heavily and (ii) general immaturity and inability to cope with stressful situations. Dr. Groce also testified that the combined effects of such a personality disorder and low IQ are additive, each condition contributing to overall impaired function.
Dr. Groce also examined defendant in 1992 and noted that his full-scale IQ was 73, placing him in the low borderline range of intellectual functioning. The elevation in IQ was consistent with prolonged sobriety. During his 1992 evaluation, defendant stated that at the time of the murder he had also snorted cocaine.
Dr. Claudia Coleman, a specialist in neuropsychology and forensic psychology, examined defendant in October 1992 at the request of defense counsel. In her opinion defendant was in the borderline range of adult intelligence. His school records showed he was a slow learner and was placed in special education classes beginning in ninth grade. He repeated a grade and dropped out of school in eleventh grade. Dr. Coleman considered defendant's head injury significant because...
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