United States v. Merriweather
| Decision Date | 05 November 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No.: 2:07-CR-243-RDP-JEO |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. WILLIAM MERRIWEATHER, JR., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama |
Before the court is Defendant William Merriweather's second motion to declare him presently incompetent to proceed to trial. Following a second competency hearing, held pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4241(a), the court, having considered all of the evidence and for the reasons set forth below, finds that Defendant is presently competent to stand trial.1
1. Defendant William Merriweather, Jr. is charged with three capital-eligible offenses: one count of killing during the commission of bank robbery and two counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence.2 (Docs. 1; 405 at 1-2). The Government alleges that Merriweather robbed the Bessemer, Alabama branch of Wachovia Bank and during thecommission of that offense, shot four employees, killing two of them and wounding the other two. (Doc. 1 at 1-4). While attempting to flee, Merriweather attempted to take hostage another bank employee but was shot by police officers, immediately apprehended, and given emergency medical care. (Doc. 4, sealed at 2). He has remained in custody since that time.
2. The court has previously ruled that Defendant was competent after conducting a competency hearing in 2011. (See Docs. 160, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and 161, Order (on competency) denying Merriweather's initial competency motion). Thereafter, two developments counseled toward the need to conduct a supplemental competency hearing to determine "if there is reasonable cause to believe that [Merriweather] may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense." 18 U.S.C. § 4241. First, the court learned that the records submitted by the Bureau of Prisons' Federal Medical Center at Butner, North Carolina (FMC Butner), where Merriweather was evaluated pursuant to the initial competency hearing, were incomplete because of the facility's transition from paper to electronic records. Thus, some of the records requested by the Defense from FMC Butner, including a number of nurses' records, were inadvertently omitted from the documents provided to Defense counsel before the 2011 hearing. Those records have now been provided and contain nursing charts called ESH/ADs (Extended Secure Housing/Administrative Services Nurses Flow Sheet)3 and BEMRs (Butner Electronic Medical Records) (see Doc. 554, Second Comp. Hrg. Vol. V at 1130).
3. The second development involved one of the experts who evaluated Defendant at the initial competency hearing. On December 22, 2013, Dr. Christine Pietz contacted the court after Merriweather was housed at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri ("MCFP Springfield") for a criminal responsibility evaluation. (Doc. 549, Second Comp. Hrg. Vol. I at 96). Dr. Pietz told the court that she needed to evaluate Merriweather further because he was presenting in such a way that raised concerns about his competence at that time.
4. After these developments, the Defense moved the court for a second competency hearing, arguing that new evidence and the additional records from FMC Butner cast doubts about Defendant's competency. (Doc. 203).
5. The Supreme Court has not articulated a specific standard for when a second competency hearing is required in a federal case, but the Court has instructed that "[e]ven when a defendant is competent at the commencement of his trial, a trial court must always be alert to circumstances suggesting a change that would render the accused unable to meet the standards of competence." Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 180 (1975). While there are "no fixed or immutable signs which invariably indicate the need for further inquiry to determine fitness to proceed," the court will, when warranted, take commensurate measures to ensure that Defendant has a fair trial. Drope, 420 U.S. at 180 (1975).4 In light of the belated disclosure of the nurses' notes, Dr. Pietz's concerns about Merriweather's mental state, and the fact that this is a capital case, the court found that a supplemental hearing was warranted.
6. In 2007, and in connection with the events leading to these federal charges, Merriweather was also indicted by the State of Alabama on charges of Capital Murder, Attempted Murder, and Kidnapping in the First Degree. (Doc. 4 at 3). During preliminary hearings for the state charges, the Defense notified the court that it intended to retain the services of a mental health professional. (Doc 4 at 3; Doc 22 at 1). Anticipating that the Defense would raise mental health defenses, the United States interviewed Merriweather's family and friends. (Doc. 4 at 3). Based on this investigation, the United States filed a motion on July 13, 2007, requesting that the court order Merriweather to submit to a mental evaluation to determine his mental competency to stand trial and his mental state at the time of the offenses. (Doc. 4, sealed at 3-4; see also Docs. 22 at 2; 152 at 2).
7. By that time, the Defense had already retained Dr. Kimberly Svec Ackerson, a local forensic psychologist, to evaluate Merriweather. (Doc. 22 at 2). Magistrate Judge John E. Ott was aware of this arrangement and deferred ruling on the Government's motion until after Dr. Ackerson's evaluation report was received. (Id.). Dr. Ackerson's evaluation report, which was completed following her last interview with Merriweather on September 24, 2007, was inconclusive. The report noted that Merriweather exhibited strong indicators of mental illness, but commented that Merriweather's self-admitted history of drug use "serves to complicate the clinical picture." (Def. Ex. 34 at 2). Moreover, Dr. Ackerson indicated that she was at an impasse with Merriweather, who refused to participate. (Id.). Dr. Ackerson strongly recommended that further evaluation be conducted at a facility that would be able to provide 24-hour observation with properly-trained mental health professionals available. (Def. Ex. 34 at 2).
8. In light of Dr. Ackerson's recommendations, Judge Ott, in his October 12, 2007 order, referred Merriweather to the Bureau of Prisons for in-patient evaluation and treatment "todiscern competency issues and to afford Defendant appropriate mental health treatment." (Doc. 22 at 3).
9. From November 2, 2007 through January 14, 2008, Merriweather was housed at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri ("MCFP Springfield") where he was evaluated by Dr. Christina Pietz. (Doc. 24, sealed). At the conclusion of Merriweather's stay at MCFP Springfield, Dr. Pietz issued two formal reports: (1) a report regarding Merriweather's competency to proceed to trial (Doc. 24, sealed at 1-17), and (2) a report regarding Merriweather's mental state at the time of the crime. (Id. at 18-27). In Dr. Pietz's report regarding Merriweather's competency to stand trial, she acknowledged testimony from Merriweather's family describing psychotic behavior, but concluded that such symptoms were best explained by Merriweather's illicit drug use. (Id. at 11-12). The report concluded that Merriweather "does not currently suffer from a mental illness" (id. at 13) and that Merriweather "is currently competent to stand trial and make other decisions regarding his case." (Id. at 15).
10. After his mental evaluations were conducted at MCFP Springfield, Merriweather was returned to the Jefferson County Jail. (Doc. 7 at 4).
11. On June 3, 2008, the United States filed its formal Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty. (Doc. 29). Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3005, Judge Ott appointed Richard S. Jaffe and J. Derek Drennan to represent Merriweather. (Docs. 33 and 36).
12. On November 10, 2008, almost a year after Merriweather's evaluation at MCFP Springfield was completed, Jaffe first expressed his concern to the Government that, based on information discovered by the Defense mitigation team, Merriweather was "decompensating"5and would not be competent to assist in his defense. (Doc. 70 at 5). Jaffe repeated his concerns on May 14, 2009, when he again informed the Government that Merriweather was decompensating and having "conversations in his head." (Doc. 70 at 5).
13. On December 9, 2008, Judge Ott granted the Defense's request for a mitigation investigator and a victim liaison. (Doc. 47).
14. On January 26, 2009, Dr. Richard G. Dudley, a psychiatrist retained by the Defense, interviewed Merriweather (Def. Ex. 9 at 2) and later produced an affidavit declaring his belief that Merriweather "is unable to understand the charges against him and is unable to assist his lawyers or [Dudley] with [Merriweather's] case." (Def. Ex. 66 at 1). On April 30, 2009, Dr. James Merikangas, another psychiatrist retained by the Defense, interviewed Merriweather for approximately one and a half hours (Doc. 148, Tr. Vol. VII, 1128) 6 and concluded in a two-sentence letter addressed to the Defense that Merriweather was incompetent to stand trial. (Doc. 66). The Defense did not notify the Government of either of those evaluations. (Doc. 70 at 6-7).
15. Dr. Robert Hunter, a psychiatrist at the Jefferson County Jail, testified that he was called upon to examine Merriweather on two occasions -- in April and July 2009. On April 16, 2009, Dr. Hunter was called to examine Merriweather after he fasted enough to slip through the food door, and was able to slide under the gate. (Doc. 146, Tr. Vol. V, 886, Def. Ex. 36 at 1). After escaping his cell, Merriweather assaulted another prisoner. (Id.). Dr. Hunter testified that Merriweather was calm and cooperative during the interview and did not show...
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