Stewart v. State

• Decision Date: 29 December 1989
• Docket Number: 8 Div. 258
• Citation: 562 So.2d 1365
• Parties: David STEWART v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 1365

562 So.2d 1365

David STEWART v. STATE.

8 Div. 258.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Dec. 29, 1989.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 23, 1990.

Norman Roby, Decatur, for appellant.

Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and Gilda B. Williams, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

TAYLOR, Presiding Judge.

The appellant, David Stewart, was convicted of murder, in violation of § 13A-6-2, Code of Alabama 1975. He was sentenced to life in the state penitentiary.

This case involves the murder of Debbie Stewart by her husband, David Stewart. Debbie and David began their courtship in 1975 and lived together for three years in Decatur, Alabama, before marrying in August 1978. Debbie was a widow and had a five-month-old daughter when she met David. During the time Debbie lived with David, she became pregnant; however, that pregnancy was terminated by abortion.

Soon after Debbie and David were married, they purchased a house in Southeast Decatur. Debbie had quit her job as a nurse, so the family lived on David's income. David was a psychologist coordinator for a training group at the Wallace Center.

In 1979, the couple had a second child. Around this time, they also began extensive renovation on their home. The remodeling became exceedingly expensive, causing financial difficulty. This seemed to be the beginning of David and Debbie's marital discord.

In February 1984, a third child was born. To better accommodate the children, David and Debbie decided to add a second story to their house, even though they could not afford it. Also, Debbie began to experience emotional problems stemming from the difficult pregnancy and delivery of her last child. The marriage further deteriorated.

July 10, 1984, began just as any other day did for Debbie and David. David left early for work and Debbie and her children visited back and forth all day with her neighbor, Evelyn Grace, and her children. At approximately 6:00 p.m., Evelyn took Debbie's two oldest children to a ball game, leaving Debbie at home with her infant daughter.

Shortly thereafter, David returned home from work to find Debbie sitting in the dark on the sofa in the den. When David asked her what was wrong, she told him that a representative from the utility company had come to their home with a returned check, and that he had come to turn the electricity off. Two of Debbie's neighbors had been there and this had been very embarrassing to Debbie.

An argument ensued. Debbie accused David of being weak for not demanding a larger salary at work. Then, Debbie told David that she was going to leave him. She packed an athletic bag and did, in fact, leave.

Meanwhile, Evelyn returned with the Stewart children at 9:00 p.m. She walked them across the alley to their backyard. David was sitting outside waiting on them. He told his children to stay outside with him for a little while because the baby had been fussing and Debbie was trying to rock her to sleep.

David and the children went to sleep. Around 10:00 p.m., David was awakened by the return of Debbie. She told him that she had decided to take the girls and go live in Texas with her sister. At this, David picked up the book he had been reading earlier and hit Debbie in the head. He then picked up a jump rope that was lying on the floor and strangled her to death.

Because blood was coming out of Debbie's mouth and nose, David moved her body to the shower in the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom. He then addressed the problem of disposing of her body. He later stated that he did not want to go to jail and have his children taken away from him. He said that he knew he could not dispose of a whole body. He used utility razor blades to cut through Debbie's flesh and used a hacksaw to cut her bones. When he was finished, Debbie's body had been dismembered into eight pieces.

David next wrapped each body piece in newspaper and placed each in a plastic bag. He took the bags to an unfinished bathroom upstairs and locked the bathroom door. Then, he checked on the children and went to bed.

The next morning, David took the children to his aunt's house and began considering how to dispose of Debbie's body. After taking three weeks to explore many alternatives, he decided to build a fish pond in his back yard and bury Debbie underneath the fish pond. With the help of Virgil Key, he began construction of the pond. However, when the time came to pour the cement into the pond, he dismissed Virgil from the job. Just before daybreak and for some time thereafter, David moved Debbie's body into the hole, covered it with cement, and finished the pond. From that time on, David continually landscaped the area immediately around the fish pond to keep it pretty.

Also, on the morning after Debbie's brutal murder, David began his attempt to cover up the crime he had committed. He told neighbors and family members that Debbie was suffering from severe post-partum depression and had packed a small suitcase and just vanished into the darkness. David, assisted by Debbie's family, immediately began a search that was to last three years.

David went to great lengths to stage Debbie's flight. He petitioned the probate court, requesting that Debbie be committed to the Department of Mental Health, if found, alleging that she had a mental problem and was a threat to herself. He persuaded Odell Crudden, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, to call him collect from various pay phones around the French Quarter so that when his phone bills came in, he could show them to Debbie's family and the police and tell them that Debbie had called. This farce resulted in an intense search for Debbie in the French Quarter by Debbie's brother and the New Orleans police, "assisted" by David. Posters and fliers were made and were distributed all over the city.

In the meantime, David's life had returned to normal. Approximately six months after Debbie's death, David began a relationship with his fifteen-year-old baby sitter. Six months after the relationship began, the two were sexually involved.

David's financial problems worsened to the point of bankruptcy. When his house was taken away from him, the police got permission from the new owner to dig up the fish pond. It had been rumored among the neighbors for three years that Debbie was dead and was buried under the pond. On August 19, 1987, an excavation yielded the somewhat preserved body of Debbie Stewart, which was later positively identified through dental records. David Stewart was arrested that afternoon.

The appellant raises three issues on appeal.

I

The appellant first contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a psychiatric evaluation. Specifically, the appellant argues that because he was indigent, he was entitled to a psychiatric evaluation to assist in the presentation of his defense. He relies on Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 1097, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), for the proposition "that when a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the appellant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in [the] evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense." Id.

A criminal defendant does not have a right to a mental examination merely because he requests one. Blevins v. State, 516 So.2d 914, 915 (Ala.Cr.App.1987); Marlow v. State, 538 So.2d 804, 807 (Ala.Cr.App.1988). Nor does the fact that an accused is indigent automatically entitle him to a free psychiatric evaluation. Nelson v. State, 405 So.2d 392, 394 (Ala.Cr.App.1980), reversed on other grounds, 405 So.2d 401 (Ala.1980); Bailey v. State, 421 So.2d 1364, 1367 (Ala.Cr.App.1982). An indigent defendant will be entitled to state-funded psychiatric assistance only after he has made a preliminary showing that his sanity at the time of the offense is questionable. Holmes v. State, 497 So.2d 1149, 1151 (Ala.Cr.App.1986); Sabiar v. State, 526 So.2d 661, 663 (Ala.Cr.App.1988).

After carefully reviewing the record, this court finds no error in the trial court's analysis of the evidence presented by the appellant. A defendant bears the burden of persuading the court that a doubt exists as to his or her competency. Miles v. State, 408 So.2d 158, 163 (Ala.Cr.App.1981), cert. denied, 408 So.2d 163 (Ala.1982); Robinson v. State, 428 So.2d 167, 171 (Ala.Cr.App.1982). The trial court held that the appellant did not make a significant preliminary showing of insanity at the time of the offense, and we agree.

The appellant presented absolutely no testimony that he was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of commission of the crime that would support his not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense. The only testimony the appellant put on in support of his motion for a psychiatric evaluation was that of two local attorneys. Clint Brown testified that it had been his experience as a practicing attorney that an examination from Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility was thorough and furnished the court with a detailed report of a person's psychiatric history. Richard Adams, who had previously been involved in the appellant's case, testified that he did not think the appellant was crazy or insane but that he did need a psychiatric examination.

The appellant failed to meet his burden and the trial court's ruling was correct, based on the evidence before the court. Moreover, the trial court is in a far better position to determine a defendant's competency to stand trial than is a reviewing court, which relies only on the record. Anderson v. State, 510 So.2d 578, 580 (Ala.Cr.App.1987). Therefore, "the decision of the trial judge on such a matter is raised on appeal only upon proof of abuse of discretion." Livingston v. State, 419 So.2d 270, 274 (Ala.Cr.App.1982), citing, Williams v. State, 386 So.2d 506, 510 (Ala.Cr.App.1980).

II

Second, the appellant contends that ...