United States v. Coonce

• Decision Date: 25 July 2019
• Docket Number: No. 14-2800,14-2800
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Wesley Paul COONCE, Jr. Defendant - Appellant
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

932 F.3d 623

UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff - Appellee

v.Wesley Paul COONCE, Jr. Defendant - Appellant

No. 14-2800

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: January 15, 2019

Filed: July 25, 2019

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied October 4, 2019^*

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Barry Joseph Fisher, FPD, of Albany, NY. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Shane Cantin, of Springfield, MO., Barry Joseph Fisher, FPD, of Albany, NY., Erica Mynarich, of Springfield, MO.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Francesco Valentini, AUSA, of Washington, DC. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief; Randall D. Eggert, AUSA, of Springfield, MO., James D. Peterson, AUSA, of Washington, DC., Francesco Valentini, AUSA, of Washington, DC.

Before LOKEN, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

GRASZ, Circuit Judge.

Wesley Paul Coonce, Jr. appeals the district court’s¹ judgment sentencing him to death for his role in the murder of Victor Castro-Rodriguez ("Castro"). We affirm.

I. Background

Coonce and Castro were inmates in a locked ward that housed mental health patients at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri ("FMC Springfield"). Coonce was serving a life sentence for kidnapping and carjacking, while Castro was committed due to his mental health and had no projected release date.

Prison officials found Castro dead in his cell on January 26, 2010. The responding staff found Castro unconscious, with his hands tied behind his back with medical tape, feet bound at his ankles with shoelaces, and a brown cloth wrapped around his neck. Medical staff tried to resuscitate him to no avail. Dr. Carl Stacy, the government’s expert pathologist, testified that Castro died from asphyxiation due to a compressed larynx. He opined that the strangulation occurred from a "larger object," not hands, because of blunt force trauma to the neck and the lack of any broken hyoid rings. He also noted blunt force trauma to the chin and injuries to the upper chest, lower neck, and back of the head. He estimated Castro died within three to five minutes.

Physical evidence supported the conclusion that Coonce and another inmate, Charles Hall, had killed Castro by standing on his neck. Both Coonce’s right boot and Hall’s shoes tested positive for a substance containing Castro’s DNA. Coonce had two pairs of shoes in his cell that were missing their shoelaces. Coonce also showed Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") Agent Rick McLain where he had placed his hand on the wall to balance while standing on Castro’s neck.

A camera provided additional circumstantial evidence that Coonce and Hall killed Castro. The prison did not have cameras that could see inside Castro’s cell or the door to his cell at the time of the murder. Nevertheless, a camera showed the only people that approached Castro’s cell during the time of the murder were Coonce and Hall. After a few minutes, Coonce left the cell for about a minute to talk to another inmate. He rejoined Hall in Castro’s cell, and both of them were there for about nine additional minutes. Coonce left again, made a throat-slashing sign to another inmate and then returned to the cell. Both Coonce and Hall left the cell a couple minutes later.

Coonce repeatedly claimed responsibility for Castro’s murder. His first admissions came shortly after FMC Springfield officials discovered Castro’s body. He particularly described that he tied up Castro’s hands and feet and stomped on Castro’s neck. He explained Castro was a snitch. That same night, he told an investigating FBI agent that he kicked Castro in the neck and stood on his throat until he stopped breathing. Coonce also claimed both he and another person, which other evidence showed to be Hall, stood on Castro’s neck until Castro stopped breathing. Coonce explained that interactions with other inmates had upset him and that he decided to retaliate against Castro for previously telling prison staff about a minor offense. The next day, he told a Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") psychologist that he killed a man and that it was by his choice. He told the FBI in a subsequent interview that he had no regrets about killing Castro. Coonce also bragged about the murder to inmates and admitted it in letters and calls to friends and family.

In July 2011, a grand jury indicted Coonce on one count of murder in the first degree within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 2, and one count of murder by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1118. The indictment included special findings of the statutory factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3591 and aggravating factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3592(c) that made the charged offenses eligible for the death penalty.

Coonce filed a motion for a separate trial from co-defendant Hall. The district court denied the motion. It concluded that redacting statements with Bruton² risks and properly instructing the jury would resolve any potential prejudice.

During pre-trial disclosures, the government asked for discovery on Coonce’s mental health evidence and for an Atkins³ hearing on whether Coonce was "mentally retarded."⁴ Coonce responded that "the defense will not be asserting Mr. Coonce is mentally retarded" and "no Atkins hearing is necessary."

After an eight-day trial in April and May of 2014, the jury found Coonce guilty on both counts in the indictment. The district court then retained the same jury for the capital sentencing proceeding, where the jury would decide whether to impose the death penalty.

The government alleged Coonce was eligible for the death penalty based on his crime satisfying the required mental state for the death penalty and based on his conduct satisfying eight aggravating factors.⁵ Four of the aggravating factors were from the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 ("FDPA"): (1) causing death during the commission of another crime; (2) having two or more prior convictions for violent felonies; (3) committing murder "in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse;" and (4) committing murder "after substantial planning and premeditation." 18 U.S.C. § 3592(c)(1), (c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(9). The other four aggravating factors were "non-statutory" as they are not listed in the FDPA: (1) future dangerousness, (2) conduct suggesting a grave indifference to human life, (3) lack of remorse about Castro’s death, and (4) obstructing justice by retaliating against Castro for reporting misconduct.

Coonce alleged that thirty-three mitigating factors weighed against the death penalty being an appropriate punishment for him, twenty-six of which were submitted to the jury. The first ten of these factors focused extensively on his chaotic and abusive childhood. Two factors sought to rebut the government’s factors. They alleged Coonce showed remorse for Castro’s death and that he would have help from loving family and foster family relationships. Six factors focused on his mental state and on injuries that may have caused traumatic brain injuries. Three factors alleged he had a lesser role in the murder. One of these factors suggested he killed Castro out of a desire to escape abuse from other inmates due to the sexual offenses in his history. Another noted Coonce’s repeated attempts at suicide. Two factors alleged he had improved in the two years prior to trial. Finally, one catch-all factor allowed the jury to acknowledge "other reasons that weigh against the imposition of a sentence of death for Defendant Coonce."

After hearing all of the penalty phase evidence, the jury unanimously decided the death penalty should be imposed on Coonce. They found the government proved all eight aggravating factors. The entire jury found one mitigating factor: "Defendant Coonce’s childhood was marked by chaos, abuse (both physical and sexual), as well as neglect and abandonment." Individual jurors found other mitigating factors. Eleven jurors found "[t]he chaotic and abusive life that Defendant Coonce endured as a young child increased his risk for emotional and mental disturbances in his adult life." Eight jurors found "[d]efendant Coonce has suffered from mental and emotional impairments from a very young age." One juror found "[d]efendant Coonce’s mother, Linda Coonce, was addicted to illegal drugs and alcohol." In light of those findings, all of the jurors weighed the aggravating factors against the mitigating factors and agreed the death penalty was appropriate.

The district court imposed the death penalty as determined by the jury. Coonce timely appealed.

II. Analysis

The FDPA requires this court to perform three tasks on review: (1) "address all substantive and procedural issues raised on appeal," (2) "consider whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor," and (3) assess "whether the evidence supports the special finding of the existence of an aggravating factor ... under section 3592." 18 U.S.C. § 3595(c)(1). The court may "not reverse or vacate a sentence of death on account of any error which can be harmless," and the government bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless. Id. § 3595(c)(2).

Coonce raises sixteen arguments on appeal. We address them in order.

A. Eligibility for the Death Penalty

Coonce first argues that he meets the "mentally retarded" exception to the FDPA and is not eligible for the death penalty. The FDPA states "[a] sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a person who is mentally retarded." 18 U.S.C. § 3596(c). "[C]linical definitions of mental retardation require not only [1] subaverage intellectual functioning, but also [2] significant limitations in adaptive skills ... that [3] became manifest before age 18." Atkins v. Virginia , 536 U.S. 304, 318, 122...