Wesley v. State

Decision Date31 July 2001
Docket NumberNo. 27A04-0012-PC-531.,27A04-0012-PC-531.
Citation753 N.E.2d 686
PartiesJohn WESLEY, Jr., Appellant-Petitioner, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Respondent.
CourtIndiana Appellate Court

Susan K. Carpenter, Public Defender of Indiana, Amy E. Karozos, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Joseph A. Samreta, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

John Wesley, Jr., appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief raising one issue, which we restate as: Whether Wesley was denied the effective assistance of counsel by trial counsel's failure to obtain and use psychiatric records showing a history of delusional episodes of the victim, who was the sole eyewitness to his alleged crimes. We reverse and remand for new trial.

Facts and Procedural History

In April of 1991, Wesley was sharing a one-room apartment with his girlfriend, Virginia Isom. On the afternoon of April 9, neighbors heard fighting and called the police. When police arrived, they found that Isom had locked herself in a communal bathroom and was bleeding from a cut on her head. Isom told police that Wesley had beaten her and had placed the barrel of his sawed-off shotgun in her vagina. When she was later interviewed at the hospital, she repeated these allegations. Wesley was arrested and charged with criminal confinement, battery with a deadly weapon, criminal deviate conduct, intimidation, and resisting law enforcement.

The case proceeded to trial by jury two months later. On the morning of trial, the State dismissed the criminal deviate conduct count based on Isom's recantation, a week earlier, of the allegation that Wesley had stuck the shotgun in her vagina. Isom then testified at trial that Wesley returned home around 3:30 p.m. and appeared to be under the influence of crack cocaine. He asked her to take him to the bed and fix him a plate of food, which she did. Then, according to Isom, Wesley smacked the plate out of her hands and started kicking and pushing her. She tried to leave the room, but he would not allow her and hit her with a lamp. He told her that his "biggest fantasy" was to kill her and reached under the bed for his gun. R. at 178-79. He then beat her with the gun and threatened to "ram" it up her and "blow [her] away that way." R. at 181. When Wesley heard noise outside the door, he stopped the beating and allowed Isom to go to the bathroom, where she remained until the police arrived.

Wesley offered a different version of events when he testified at trial. According to Wesley, when he arrived home Isom accused him of having an affair with another woman. Wesley denied the allegation and said he was going to the store. While he was retrieving money from under the bed, Isom approached him with a "knife" or "other object" in her hand. R. at 366. Wesley grabbed her by the wrists, told her to sit down, and explained that he had not cheated on her. When he rose to leave, Isom punched him and he fell backward, knocking the lamp down. A struggle ensued on the bed, during which Isom hit her head on the nightstand and the butt of the gun, which was positioned between the nightstand and bed. Isom then grabbed the gun, and a struggle ensued as Wesley attempted to "jerk[ ]" it from her. R. at 373. After Wesley secured the gun, Isom struck him and ran out of the room.

Wesley was convicted of all counts and sentenced to an aggregate term of twenty years imprisonment. His convictions were affirmed on direct appeal in a memorandum decision.

On February 2, 1995, Wesley filed a pro se successive petition for post-conviction relief.1 The State Public Defender entered her appearance and later filed an amended petition on June 12, 2000. The sole issue raised was ineffective assistance of counsel. On August 25, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing on the petition. At the hearing Wesley submitted 277 pages of Isom's certified psychiatric records that showed a history of delusions and false reports of injury. He also presented the testimony of trial counsel, who had not obtained any psychiatric records of Isom before trial, and himself, who had told trial counsel that Isom has a psychiatric history.

The trial court entered findings and conclusions denying the amended petition for post-conviction relief in an October 13, 2000 order that provides in relevant part:

4. Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to present Isom's mental history or alleged pattern of self injury. Petitioner has not demonstrated that such evidence was relevant given the fact that the defense was predicated upon Petitioner's claim that Isom was the aggressor and was injured when Petitioner defended himself. Petitioner did not claim at trial that Isom injured herself and then fabricated or fantasized an attack by her boyfriend. Therefore, Petitioner has not shown that the evidence would have been relevant. Ind. Evid. R. 403. Further, Petitioner has not shown that the mental health records would have been proper impeachment. Ind. Evid. R. 608.

P.C.R. at 144. Wesley appeals.

Standard of Review

In post-conviction proceedings, the petitioner bears the burden of establishing the grounds for relief by a preponderance of the evidence. Ind. Post Conviction Rule 1(5). On appeal from a negative judgment, to the extent the appeal turns on factual issues, the defendant must convince this Court that the evidence as a whole leads unerringly and unmistakably to a decision opposite that reached by the post-conviction court. Trueblood v. State, 715 N.E.2d 1242, 1248 (Ind.1999) (citing Spranger v. State, 650 N.E.2d 1117, 1119 (Ind.1995)).

Discussion and Decision

Wesley contends that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to obtain and use Isom's psychiatric records, which showed a history of delusional episodes and false claims of being physically harmed. Because no one was in the apartment with Wesley and Isom on the afternoon of April 9, 1991, the trial boiled down to a credibility contest. If the jury believed Isom's account—that Wesley, unprovoked and under the influence of drugs, kicked and beat her—convictions for criminal confinement and battery would follow. On the other hand, if the jury believed Wesley's version—that Isom, angered by suspicions of infidelity, physically attacked him and was injured as he repelled her— an acquittal would follow. Although the guilty verdicts strongly suggest that the jury found Isom more credible, the jury was missing some very important information to weigh in its credibility assessment.

Isom's psychiatric records show that she was first hospitalized in 1980 for "inappropriate behavior with delusional thinking." P.C.R. at 67. Three years later, she was again hospitalized when she told hospital staff that her niece had cut her with a razor and she was "bleeding from head to toe." P.C.R. at 90. The staff found no lacerations and only "old abrasions" on her body. P.C.R. at 128. She was diagnosed as "delusional" and admitted for an "acute psychotic episode." P.C.R. at 90, 92, 124. Isom was admitted again in 1989 on a police hold after she was found partially clothed in a McDonald's. She told police that she feared someone was out to hurt her but later told hospital staff that she had similar fears in the past and was delusional. During her 1989 hospitalization Isom attempted to call police to report that her husband had killed five children in Cleveland. She also told hospital staff that her boyfriend was a biker and had threatened to kill her if she pressed charges against him. Finally, she reported to hospital staff that a man named "Epolion Youngblood" was after her and had threatened to kill her. P.C.R. at 166.

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). To establish a claim of ineffective assistance, the defendant must prove that: (1) counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness based on prevailing norms; and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Id. at 687-88, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. "A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

The State correctly points out that counsel is afforded considerable discretion in making strategical and tactical choices, decisions that are given deference on appellate review. See generally Carter v. State, 738 N.E.2d 665, 675 (Ind.2000)

. It contends that counsel's selection of a method of impeachment was a tactical choice. We disagree. Here, counsel made no choice and employed no method of impeachment. Although counsel testified that Wesley told him before trial that Isom had a history of mental illness, trial counsel did not investigate the matter or attempt to obtain the records. "[I]n order to make a reasonable tactical decision, counsel must have adequately investigated the client's case because `strategic choices made after less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgments support the limitations on investigation.'" State v. Holmes, 728 N.E.2d 164, 172 (Ind. 2000) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690-91,

104 S.Ct. 2052). In a case such as this that turned on the victim's credibility, we believe this omission was deficient performance. Cf. Wright v. State, 581 N.E.2d 978, 980 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) ("Due to the fact that the victim's credibility was the major factor in the case, it was crucial for the defense to admit any evidence that would have questioned her credibility.").2

Nevertheless, the State contends, and the post-conviction court found, that the records would not have been admissible under...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases
  • Wesley v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • 30 Mayo 2003
    ...and used Isom's psychiatric records, Wesley would not have been convicted of criminal confinement and battery." Wesley v. State, 753 N.E.2d 686, 692 (Ind.Ct.App. 2001), reh'g denied. Having previously granted transfer we now affirm the post-conviction Standard of Review The petitioner in a ......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT