Turner v. State
| Decision Date | 22 November 2002 |
| Docket Number | CR-99-1568. |
| Citation | 924 So.2d 737 |
| Parties | Darryl D. TURNER v. STATE of Alabama. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
James Timothy Kyle, Decatur, for appellant.
William H. Pryor, Jr., atty. gen., and Beth Jackson Hughes, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.
The appellant, Darryl D. Turner, was convicted of two counts of capital murder for murdering Barbara Wilson during the course of a rape and a robbery. See §§ 13A-5-40(a)(3) and 13A-5-40(a)(2), Ala. Code 1975. Turner was also convicted of robbery, theft, burglary, and rape. Turner waived his sentencing hearing before a jury. The trial court held a sentencing hearing and found four aggravating circumstances: that the murder was committed by a person who had previously been convicted of a felony involving the use of force; that the murder was committed during the course of a rape; that the murder was committed during the course of a robbery; and that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel as compared to other capital murders. The trial court then sentenced Turner to death.
The State's evidence tended to show that on February 21, 1996, Angela Anderson discovered the nude body of her mother, Barbara Wilson, in Wilson's home in Limestone County. The coroner testified that Wilson had been smothered to death. There was evidence that intercourse had occurred before the victim's death. Wilson's 1993 Cadillac automobile and a 19-inch Orion brand television were missing from her residence.
Anderson testified that on February 21, 1996, she took her two-year-old daughter, Rosalyn, to stay with her mother while she accompanied a sick friend to a local hospital. Later that same day Anderson attempted to locate her mother but was unsuccessful. She testified that she was not worried because she thought that her mother might have gone to Nashville to visit Wilson's brother, who was sick. Anderson testified that the next morning when she was working she realized that her mother may have left her a note at her home. She left work and went back to her mother's house; as she approached the driveway Rosalyn ran out of the house saying that her grandmother was sleeping. Rosalyn led Anderson to her mother's dead body — Wilson was lying on a bed in one of the bedrooms in the house. Anderson telephoned emergency number 911.
At the time of Wilson's death she had been living with L.T. Southard. Greg Coleman, Turner's uncle and his roommate, was a coworker of Southard's at Stinnett Construction. Southard testified that on the day of Wilson's murder he had been called to a job in Birmingham and Coleman had accompanied him. The two were gone overnight. He identified the television and the Cadillac as belonging to Wilson.
Gail Reasonover, an employee of a pawnshop in Athens, Alabama, identified Turner as the individual who pawned a 19-inch Orion brand television on February 21, 1996. Reasonover testified that Turner said that he was pawning the television because he needed money for gasoline.
Police were able to locate Turner with the help of his mother. Turner was found in Louisville, Kentucky, hiding in a house, in a closet under a pile of clothes and blankets. Turner confessed to police that he was involved in Wilson's murder. He said that Trent Rainey and Chris Harris were his accomplices.1 Turner confessed that the three men walked to Wilson's house and asked if they could use her telephone. He said that as he was walking to the telephone he heard a noise, looked around, and saw Harris standing over Wilson and Rainey "tying Wilson up." Turner said that he did not have sex with Wilson but that he saw Rainey and Harris on top of her. Turner told police that Harris held a pillow over Wilson's head because she was kicking and fighting.
Tavares McCurley, Chris Harris's cousin, testified that on February 21, 1996, Turner came by his house and asked him to go with him to "get a lick" — meaning, he said, to go rob someone. He declined. McCurley said that Turner then walked to the back of the house to talk with Chris Harris. He said that the two talked for about 20 minutes and that they left together. McCurley said that sometime later that same day Turner came back to his house and told him to look out the window. McCurley said when he looked out he saw Wilson's Cadillac parked in front of the house. McCurley testified that Turner told him that he had "killed the bitch." He told McCurley that he killed her because he did not want her to tell police what they had done.
Rodger Morrison of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences testified that he had conducted DNA testing on the vaginal swabs collected from the victim. He testified that in his opinion, he could exclude Harris, Rainey, or Southard as the source of the sperm, but that he could not exclude Turner.
The jury convicted Turner of two counts of capital murder and of robbery, theft burglary, and rape. After the jury returned its verdicts, Turner became highly emotional and began yelling obscenities in front of the jury. Turner met with his attorney and his family and waived his sentencing hearing before the jury.
The trial court held a separate sentencing hearing and sentenced Turner to death on the two capital-murder convictions. Turner was sentenced to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for his convictions for robbery, burglary, and rape; he was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for his theft conviction. Turner now appeals his convictions and sentences.
Turner was sentenced to death; therefore, according to Rule 45A, Ala. R.App.P., this Court is charged with reviewing the trial court proceedings for plain error. Rule 45A, Ala.R.App.P., states:
"In all cases in which the death penalty has been imposed, the Court of Criminal Appeals shall notice any plain error or defect in the proceedings under review, whether or not brought to the attention of the trial court, and take appropriate appellate action by reason thereof, whenever such error has or probably has adversely affected the substantial right of the appellant."
Pace v. State, 714 So.2d 332, 335 (Ala.1997), quoting United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 15, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985), quoting in turn United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 163 n. 14, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982).
Turner argues that his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was violated because of the unreasonable delay between his arrest and trial. He argues in brief that only one month of the 46-month delay can be attributed to him and that the record fails to disclose the reasons for the other delays.
When determining whether a defendant has been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial an appellate court looks to the four factors articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). Those factors are: (1) the length of the delay, (2) the reasons for the delay, (3) defendant's assertion of his right to a speedy trial, and (4) prejudice to the defendant resulting from the delay.
Length of Delay. When calculating the length of the delay we measure the time from the date of arrest or indictment to the date of trial. "The right to a speedy trial is triggered when a criminal prosecution has begun." Ex parte Carrell, 565 So.2d 104, 107 (Ala.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1040, 111 S.Ct. 712, 112 L.Ed.2d 701 (1991). To trigger an examination of the remaining factors in Barker v. Wingo, the length of the delay must be "presumptively prejudicial." Dority v. State, 586 So.2d 973, 975 (Ala.Crim.App.1991), citing Arnett v. State, 551 So.2d 1158 (Ala.Crim.App. 1989), and Wade v. State, 381 So.2d 1057 (Ala.Crim.App.1980). Turner was arrested in February 1996, indicted in March 1996, and tried in December 1999. There was a 46-month delay between Turner's arrest and his subsequent trial.
We have held the following delays between arrest and trial to be presumptively prejudicial: 60-month delay, see Ex parte Taylor, 720 So.2d 1054 (Ala.Crim.App. 1998); 56-month delay, see Wooden v. State, 822 So.2d 455 (Ala.Crim.App.2000); 42-month delay, see Benefield v. State, 726 So.2d 286 (Ala.Crim.App.1998); 26-month delay, see Mansel v. State, 716 So.2d 234 (Ala.Crim.App.1997); 29-month delay, see Howard v. State, 678 So.2d 302 (Ala.Crim. App.1996); and 31-month delay, see Vincent v. State, 607 So.2d 1290 (Ala.Crim. App.1992). Cf. Ex parte Apicella, 809 So.2d 865 (Ala.2001) ().
Although, "the mere passage of time does not constitute a denial of a defendant's right to a speedy trial," Wooden, 822 So.2d at 457, a finding that the delay was presumptively prejudicial will necessitate the evaluation of the remaining factors in Barker v. Wingo. We note that the Barker court also stated that the complexity of the case has bearing on whether the length of the delay was reasonable. We conclude that the delay of 46 months in this case was presumptively prejudicial; therefore, we will evaluate the remaining factors in Barker.
Reasons for the Delay. After Turner was arraigned he filed over 30 motions. He moved that the indictment be dismissed because, he argued, Limestone County discriminated in the selection of the grand-jury forepersons. This...
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