Watson v. State
| Decision Date | 10 January 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 56054,No. 1,56054,1 |
| Citation | 475 S.W.2d 8 |
| Parties | Lee WATSON, alias W. C. Lewis, Movant-Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Thomas P. Baker, Dexter, for movant-appellant.
John C. Danforth, Atty. Gen., John B. Mitchell, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
This is an appeal from the denial of relief in a proceeding under S.Ct. Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R. On April 5, 1950, Lee Watson was sentenced to life imprisonment upon a plea of guilty to a charge of murder in the first degree. In October 1969 movant filed a motion under S.Ct. Rules 27.25 and 27.26 to withdraw his plea of guilty and to have the judgment and sentence vacated. Counsel was appointed for movant and an evidentiary hearing was held at which movant was present and testified.
The judgment and sentence entered April 5, 1950, stated, in part, as follows: 'It is further ordered by the court that said defendant shall never be eligible for parole, and that he be confined to solitary confinement on the 6th day of December of each year as a reminder of the crime he committed on said day. . . .'
At the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing, the court entered findings of fact conclusions of law, and denied relief except that the court held that the sentencing court was without authority to make the order above quoted and modified the judgment and sentence by deleting it from the judgment and sentence.
Movant's rule 27.26 motion, as amended, alleged as grounds for vacating the judgment and sentence that (1) trial counsel was ineffective; (2) the plea of guilty was made by his court-appointed attorney and not by movant and that the plea was involuntary; (3) movant was denied a jury trial even though he requested one, which request was made to the sheriff and his attorneys but not to the court because of movant's lack of knowledge of the law; (4) that movant was denied due process of law and his plea was involuntary because the sentencing court failed to determine that his plea of guilty was voluntarily made; and, (5) movant's constitutional rights were denied him because he was illegally brought from Mississippi to Missouri for trial and, therefore, Missouri either did not acquire jurisdiction of movant or illegally acquired jurisdiction.
There is no transcript of the plea proceedings available because at the time the plea was entered it was not the practice of the sentencing court to make a stenographic or written record of the plea proceedings other than the minutes of the clerk and the record of the judge himself. It was therefore necessary for the trial court to determine the issues raised by the rule 27.26 motion upon evidence adduced at the hearing on the motion. State v. Davis, Mo., 438 S.W.2d 232; Mooney v. State, Mo., 433 S.W.2d 542; State v. Mountjoy, Mo., 420 S.W.2d 316.
Movant testified as follows: He was arrested in the latter part of 1949 in Greenville, Mississippi, for fighting; that about three days later, while still in jail in Mississippi, there was a warrant issued in Missouri for his arrest on a first-degree-murder charge; that he denied the charge to the Mississippi officer, and when he refused to sign certain papers the Mississippi officer whipped him and he then signed the papers; that he did not know what the papers were but thereafter the sheriff of Dunklin County, Missouri, took him back to Missouri; that he told no one about the whipping except the Dunklin County sheriff; that he did not appear before the governor of Mississippi nor before any Mississippi judicial officer.
He was held in jail at Kennett, Dunklin County, Missouri, and while there the court appointed two lawyers, Elbert Ford and another attorney, to represent him. Mr. Ford conferred with movant one time for about fifteen minutes at Kennett. At that time movant asked Mr. Ford about a jury trial and Mr. Ford told him he would seek a change of venue to Stoddard County and said they never sent anyone to the gas chamber from Stoddard County. The change of venue was obtained and movant was thereafter held in Stoddard County jail, and the next and last time he saw his lawyer was on the day the guilty plea was entered.
The guilty plea was entered on April 5, 1950. Movant stated that he and Mr. Ford appeared in court; that the judge asked if defendant was ready and Mr. Ford announced ready; that Mr. Ford took movant out of the courtroom, that movant told Mr. Ford he wanted a jury trial, and Mr. Ford told movant to let him handle it, which movant did. They returned to the courtroom where movant's attorney again announced ready; that Mr. Ford then told the court, 'Your honor, my client pleads guilty'; that movant himself did not plead guilty; that the judge did not ask movant any questions nor tell movant anything except that after his attorney pleaded him guilty the judge asked movant, 'Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence on you?' and movant said, 'No'; that the judge then sentenced him to life imprisonment without a parole or pardon and he was supposed to be put in solitary confinement. Movant stated he did not ask the court for a jury trial and said nothing to the court other than to answer the one question noted above.
According to movant, prior to the plea of guilty, movant's attorney told movant that he could be sentenced to death but that movant would be sentenced to life imprisonment on a plea of guilty, and movant remembers his attorney saying something about putting him on the mercy of the court. After being told this, movant knew he was not going to have a jury trial. Movant also testified that his attorney told him that if he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment that he would serve 'maybe five years and I would be out.'
Elbert Ford was called as a witness by respondent and testified that he was admitted to the bar in 1923; that he was prosecuting attorney of Dunklin County for eight years beginning in 1931; and that he has prosecuted and defended numerous criminal cases, including first-degree-murder cases, in Dunklin, Pemiscot, New Madrid and Stoddard counties over the years. He and another younger attorney, Mr. Neff, were appointed in January 1950 to represent movant. He consulted with movant first in Dunklin County immediately after being appointed to represent movant and began and investigation of the facts. He and Mr. Neff interviewed people who were supposedly witnesses around Rives, Missouri, and Mr. Neff was sent to Blytheville, Arkansas, to interview a certain cab driver and another person who supposedly transported movant to Mississippi. The record reflects attorneys Ford and Neff made an extensive investigation of the case and we will not burden this opinion with the details. Attorney Ford talked to a sheriff and highway patrolman with reference to alleged statements given by movant admitting movant's guilt. Mr. Ford discussed the alleged statements and other details with movant in order to find out how he might keep the statements from being admitted against movant. Following several discussions with movant and the investigation, Mr. Ford believed the only way to save movant from the death sentence was for movant to plead guilty with an understanding that the sentence would be life imprisonment. Mr. Ford discussed this approach with the prosecutor and worked out an agreement that the prosecuting attorney would recommend a life sentence. This was discussed with and approved by movant. Mr. Ford also discussed the matter with the judge and the judge agreed that, if anything happened whereby he decided not to accept the recommendation of a life sentence, the only alternative being a death sentence, he would permit the guilty plea to be withdrawn. All of this was explained to movant and he agreed to plead guilty.
On the day the plea was entered, the case was called routinely and Mr. Ford told the court movant wanted to plead guilty. The judge asked movant if he knew what it meant to plead guilty and what the punishment could be, and movant told the judge he did. The judge asked movant if he, movant, realized the crime he would admit doing by the guilty plea was punishable by death or life imprisonment, and movant replied, 'yes'. The judge asked movant if he pleaded guilty and the movant said, 'I do.' Mr. Ford testified that movant never asked for a jury trial. The facts concerning the method whereby movant was brought back from Mississippi to Missouri were not investigated because movant told Mr. Ford that he had signed the papers for him to be returned to Missouri.
Following the hearing on movant's rule 27.26 motion, the trial court found...
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