United States v. Merriweather

• Decision Date: 05 February 2013
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:07–cr–00243–RDP–JEO.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. William MERRIWEATHER, Jr., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

921 F.Supp.2d 1265

UNITED STATES of America,

v.William MERRIWEATHER, Jr., Defendant.

Case No. 2:07–cr–00243–RDP–JEO.

United States District Court,

N.D. Alabama,

Southern Division.

Feb. 5, 2013.

Joyce White Vance, U.S. Attorney, William Russell Chambers, Jr., William Gott Simpson, Michael B. Billingsley, U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Probation, United States Probation Office, USM, United States Marshal, Birmingham, AL, for United States of America.

Emory Anthony, Jr., Richard S. Jaffe, J. Derek Drennan, Jaffe Strickland Drennan & DODDPC, Derrick K. Collins, James L. O'Kelley, Law Offices of James L. O'Kelley, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

R. DAVID PROCTOR, District Judge.

Before the court is Defendant's Motion to Declare the Defendant Currently Incompetent to Stand Trial. (Doc. # 65). After thoroughly considering the exhibits and testimony admitted into evidence during the hearing on Defendant's motion conducted from July 25, 2011 through August 3, 2011, the court file, and each party's written submissions, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding Defendant William Merriweather, Jr.'s (“Merriweather”) competency to proceed to trial.¹

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

A. Background (The Government's Allegations in the Indictment)

1. On May 14, 2007, the Government alleges that Merriweather robbed the Bessemer, Alabama branch of Wachovia Bank. During the commission of that offense, Merriweather shot four women, killing two of them and wounding the other two. (Doc. # 1 at 1–4). Merriweather then grabbed approximately $11,255 in cash and exited the bank with a hostage, whom he used as a human shield. (Doc. # 4 (sealed) at 2). While attempting to flee, Merriweather was shot by police officers, immediately apprehended, and given emergency medical care. (Doc. # 4 (sealed) at 2). Merriweather has remained in custody since that time.

B. Background Regarding Defendant Merriweather

1. William Merriweather was born the youngest of three children on May 20, 1976, in Birmingham, Alabama to William Merriweather, Sr. and On Sun Merriweather. (Tr. Vol. II, 295; Doc. # 24 at 5; Def. Ex. # 7 at 1). His mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died when Merriweather was three years old. (Tr. Vol. II, 296). Reportedly, prior to her death, Merriweather's mother suffered from depression and once attempted suicide. (Tr. Vol. II, 296). Shortly after On Sun's death, Merriweather's father married her younger sister, Kum Cha, and together they raised Merriweather and his siblings, along with two sons born to Kum Cha and Merriweather, Sr. (Doc. # 24 at 7; Def. Ex. # 7 at 2).

2. Despite the death of Merriweather's biological mother, it appears that Merriweather, Sr. and Kum Cha provided Merriweather and his siblings a stable home and childhood. Merriweather, Sr. indicated that Merriweather “was very close to his stepmother.” (Doc. # 24 at 6). When asked to describe his childhood, Merriweather commented that “[e]verything was okay” and that he and his siblings “stayed out in the streets a lot, just playing.” (Doc. # 24 at 5). Merriweather believed that the household was financially “okay” and described his parents as supportive, though not emotionally supportive. (Doc. # 24 at 5). He reported that his parents were strict in their discipline, but denied any form of childhood physical abuse. There were no signs of psychosis or any mental illness throughout Merriweather's childhood and adolescence. (Tr. Vol. II, 335).

3. Merriweather graduated from Jackson Olin High School in 1994, where he participated in football and ROTC. (Tr. Vol. II, 296; Doc. # 24 at 5). After high school, he moved in with his sister, Euknesha Kim Patton (“Patton”), to study at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama. (Tr. Vol. II, 296). While living in Montgomery, Merriweather began dating Latisha Simpson in 1995. (Tr. Vol. III, 552). Merriweather did not complete his education at Alabama State and instead moved back to Birmingham in 1996. (Tr. Vol. II, 297). In 2001, Merriweather enrolled in ITT Technical College in Birmingham, Alabama, where he took courses in electrical work. (Tr. Vol. II, 298; Doc. # 24 at 5).

4. The record evidence demonstrates that Merriweather has used drugs and alcohol consistently since his adolescence. Much of what is known about Merriweather's drug use is self-reported; but there have been enough corroborating sources that the court is convinced that Merriweather has participated in substantial drug use. (Tr. Vol. I, 43; Doc. # 24 at 6).

5. According to Merriweather's testimony during his first mental capacity evaluation with Dr. Pietz, he began consuming alcohol at age 14 and using marijuana at age 17. (Tr. Vol. I, 43). Merriweather reported that his illicit use of marijuana developed into a prolonged and extensive history of substance abuse and addiction, which involved the daily use of marijuana, and the frequent use of cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, alcohol, and ecstacy. (Tr. Vol. I, 43). Merriweather began using cocaine at age 22, and he characterized that controlled substance as his drug of choice. (Tr. Vol. I, 43). Later, at around age 28, he began to use crystal methamphetamine frequently. (Tr. Vol. I, 43). He also acknowledged using “various pills,” “ecstacy,” and shooting heroin intravenously. (Tr. Vol. I, 43; Doc. # 24 at 6). Merriweather would use cocaine up to three times each day when it was available to him. (Doc. # 24 at 6).

6. Merriweather's father described an incident where Merriweather confided in him that he was hearing voices. Suspecting drug use, Merriweather's father asked Merriweather if he had been taking illicit drugs. (Doc. # 24 at 7). Merriweather responded in the affirmative, which prompted Merriweather, Sr. to inform him that the voices should cease if Merriweather would stop taking drugs.² (Doc. # 24 at 7). Merriweather's sister, Euknesha Kim Patton, recalled a similar experience that prompted her to ask Merriweather if he had been using drugs, and Merriweather admitted to her that he was. (Tr. Vol. II, 301).

7. Substances such as marijuana, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, alcohol, and ecstacy can cause psychotic symptoms to develop and persist for years after drug use has ended. (Tr. Vol. I, 40, 43, 121–22, 159, 163; Tr. Vol. IV, 604).

8. While being treated at UAB Hospital for the gunshot wound following his arrest, Merriweather tested positive for opiates. (Tr. Vol. I, 103–04; Def. Ex. # 15 at 18).

9. The earliest account of strange behavior exhibited by Merriweather comes from Latisha Simpson, who started dating Merriweather in 1995 when he moved to Montgomery to study at Alabama State University. (Tr. Vol. III, 552). Simpson testified at the hearing that Merriweather started to act oddly around 1996. (Tr. Vol. III, 553). For example, Simpson noted that Merriweather would laugh “at times when things weren't funny.” (Tr. Vol. III, 554). She also recalled that Merriweather experienced “visions” and “hallucinati[ons].” (Tr. Vol. III, 554). Further questioning revealed, however, that to Simpson's understanding these “visions” and “hallucinati[ons]” meant bad dreams. (Tr. Vol. III, 554). She stated that Merriweather experienced those “all the time.” ( Id.). These bad dreams, Simpson testified, would cause Merriweather to wake up screaming on “several occasions.” ( Id. at 555, 566). Yet, in her affidavit (Def. Ex. # 75 at 1), Simpson stated that Merriweather woke up screaming “on one occasion,” a fact that she did not dispute at the hearing, but insisted that she meant to say “several occasions.” These and other inconsistencies³ lead the court to find Simpson's testimony to be of limited value.

10. Merriweather's family reportedly began observing unusual behavior by Merriweather a few years after he returned to Birmingham in 1996. Between late 2001 and early 2002, Euknesha Kim Patton, Merriweather's sister, received calls from family members informing her that Merriweather was acting strangely. (Tr. Vol. II, 299). This prompted Patton, who by her testimony had traveled to Birmingham to visit her family sometime in late 2001 or early 2002, to meet with Merriweather. ( Id.). Patton testified that, during the meeting, Merriweather informed her that he was hallucinating, and seeing demons in everyone, including family members. ( Id. at 299–300). According to Patton, Merriweather further confided in her that he felt that there was a conspiracy against his life, that he would see signs along the neighborhood and on television directed at him, that he was preoccupied with the letter “C,” that he believed that the government planted a chip in his shoulder, and that he could hear his father's thoughts without his father speaking. (Tr. Vol. II, 300). At the end of their conversation, Patton asked Merriweather if he had been using substances, to which Merriweather responded that he had; however, according to Patton, Merriweather did not associate his experiences with a lack of rest, stress, or drug use. (Tr. Vol. II, 301).

11. Merriweather's family did not pursue medical treatment for Merriweather's behavior or his reported experiences. (Tr. Vol. I, 27–28; Vol. II, 299–300, 335, 349–50; Doc. # 24).

12. Patton and her husband decided that it would be in Merriweather's best interest to invite Merriweather to return with them to Montgomery. (Tr. Vol. II, 302). Merriweather packed a bag and left with them that night. ( Id. at 303). Merriweather left his car in Birmingham. ( Id. at 304).

13. For approximately nine months, Merriweather stayed with his sister in Montgomery, sharing a bunk bed with Patton's two young children. (Tr. Vol. II, 303). During the first six months, Patton and her husband took precautions to restrict Merriweather's exposure to drugs and alcohol. ( Id.).

14. According to Patton, Merriweather's paranoia persisted during his stay in her home. Patton testified that Merriweather told her that he thought her 6 and...