Wilkins v. Bowersox

• Decision Date: 13 July 1998
• Docket Number: No. 96-2441,96-2441
• Citation: 145 F.3d 1006
• Parties: Heath Allen WILKINS, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Michael BOWERSOX, Respondent-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1006

145 F.3d 1006

Heath Allen WILKINS, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Michael BOWERSOX, Respondent-Appellant.

No. 96-2441.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted March 10, 1997.

Decided June 8, 1998.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied July 13, 1998.

Cassandra Kaye Dolgin, Jefferson City, MO, argued (Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon, Attorney General, on the brief), for Respondent-Appellant.

Sean D. O'Brien, Kansas City, MO, argued (Ellen Y. Suni, Kansas City, MO, on the brief), for Petitioner-Appellee.

Before McMILLIAN and HANSEN, Circuit Judges, and MAGNUSON, ¹ District Judge.

HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

The Superintendent of the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri, Michael Bowersox (Respondent), appeals from the judgment of the district court ² granting Heath Allen Wilkins' petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1994). In 1986, Wilkins pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a death sentence from a Missouri state trial court. The district court granted the writ on multiple grounds, including the court's belief that Wilkins' waiver of counsel, his guilty plea, and his waiver of the right to present mitigating evidence were not entered into knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Wilkins v. Bowersox, 933 F.Supp. 1496 (W.D.Mo.1996). We affirm.

I.

From infancy through his teenage years, Wilkins suffered severe physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his mother and other adults in his life. He began abusing drugs as a kindergartner on his way to school. At the age of 10, he became a ward of the state as a result of his involvement in a burglary. A mental health evaluation at that time described Wilkins as a severely depressed boy with homicidal and suicidal tendencies. During the years that followed, he was transferred in and out of mental health facilities. By the age of 16, Wilkins was living on the streets with three other teenagers.

On July 27, 1985, at the age of 16, Wilkins and his three teenaged companions robbed a liquor store and delicatessen in Avondale, Missouri, and committed a murder during the course of the robbery. According to their plan, which the record shows was primarily formulated by Wilkins, one of Wilkins' companions grabbed the woman working behind the counter, Nancy Allen, and held her while Wilkins viciously inflicted multiple, fatal stab wounds. A few weeks later, the Kansas City Police Department arrested Wilkins and his accomplices.

After questioning by the police, Wilkins confessed to the murder and robbery. A juvenile court, after denying a defense motion for a mental examination, determined that Wilkins could be tried as an adult. At the arraignment, Wilkins' court-appointed counsel, Fred Duchardt, entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Pursuant to that plea, the Missouri trial court ordered Dr. Steven Mandracchia, a psychologist at the Western Missouri Mental Health Center, to examine Wilkins. Dr. Mandracchia initially examined Wilkins on November 27, 1985, and concluded in his subsequent written report that Wilkins was competent to stand trial and that at the time of the offense, Wilkins was not suffering from a mental disease or defect within the meaning of the Missouri statute. (J.A. at 908-14.)

In January 1986, Wilkins informed Mr. Duchardt that he wished to be executed, which prompted Mr. Duchardt to have Wilkins examined a second time. In March 1986, Dr. William Logan, a psychiatrist at the Menninger Foundation, examined Wilkins and found that although Wilkins' mental state at the time of the crime did not meet the legal criteria for insanity under Missouri law, he believed that Wilkins suffered from a mental disease and that his mental functioning was significantly impaired. (Id. at 930.) Dr. Logan did not make a conclusive finding regarding Wilkins' competency to stand trial, but he wrote that "emotional issues may prevent him from acting in his own best interests." (Id. at 928.)

On April 16, 1986, the Missouri trial court conducted a competency hearing at which both Dr. Mandracchia and Dr. Logan testified. Dr. Mandracchia reiterated his earlier findings, explaining that he interviewed Wilkins for approximately 95 minutes and believed that he was competent to stand trial. Dr. Logan's testimony was also consistent with his earlier report. He stated that Wilkins was "psychiatrically ill" with a "plethora of mental difficulties" and was a "very impulsive individual who really doesn't think through the consequences of some of his decisions." (Id. at 627, 637.) Dr. Logan, however, did not make an express finding regarding Wilkins' competency to stand trial. At the competency hearing, neither Dr. Mandracchia nor Dr. Logan offered opinions on Wilkins' capacity to make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision to be executed or to waive constitutional rights. At the conclusion of the testimony, the court found Wilkins to be competent to proceed to trial.

Immediately after the court judged Wilkins competent to stand trial, Wilkins stated that he wished to waive his right to counsel and proceed pro se, because he desired to receive a death sentence and his lawyer would not help him get the death penalty. The court postponed a determination on Wilkins' request and set a hearing date for one week later. On April 23, 1986, after some brief questioning by the court, the court accepted Wilkins' waiver of counsel. The court appointed Mr. Duchardt as "standby counsel" to act as a resource person for Wilkins when and if Wilkins called on him. Wilkins then informed the court that he wished to plead guilty to all of the charges against him. The court deferred action on the proposed guilty plea until May 9, 1986.

At the May hearing, the court questioned Wilkins regarding his decision to plead guilty and encouraged him to accept the assistance of counsel. Wilkins reiterated that he did not want the assistance of counsel and wished to plead guilty. The court accepted Wilkins' pro se guilty pleas ³ and scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 27, 1986.

At the sentencing hearing, the state presented evidence of the crime and contended that because the crime involved depravity of mind and was committed in the course of a robbery, there were sufficient aggravating circumstances to warrant the death penalty. Wilkins continued to proceed pro se, though standby counsel was present. Dr. Logan testified about Wilkins' mental health background at sentencing, but Wilkins objected to some of the mitigating circumstances thus offered. The trial court sustained most of Wilkins' objections. Wilkins explained that he preferred the death penalty over life in prison. At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, the court sentenced Wilkins to death. He was 17. He took no steps to appeal his plea or his sentence.

The Supreme Court of Missouri appointed the state public defender as amicus curiae to brief and argue "any issue subject to review" during the mandatory statutory review of his death sentence. Wilkins, acting as his own attorney, appeared personally and told the Supreme Court of Missouri that he did not want the assistance of an attorney, and he took issue with some of the remarks made by the public defenders arguing the case. He also told the Supreme Court of Missouri that his decision to seek the death penalty was a rational one. Wilkins v. State, 802 S.W.2d 491, 496 (Mo.1991) (en banc). After hearing and observing Wilkins as he attempted to waive counsel at this proceeding, the court ordered Dr. Sam Parwatikar, a psychiatrist with the Missouri Department of Health, to examine Wilkins with respect to his competence to waive counsel on appeal. After examining Wilkins, Dr. Parwatikar concluded that Wilkins was not capable of waiving his right to counsel. Heeding Dr. Parwatikar's determination, the Supreme Court of Missouri set aside its prior proceedings and appointed counsel to represent Wilkins despite his protestations. New briefs were filed and the court heard arguments anew. Nevertheless, the court affirmed Wilkins' conviction and death sentence on a 4-3 vote at the conclusion of its direct statutory review. State v. Wilkins, 736 S.W.2d 409 (Mo.1987) (en banc).

Less than one year later, on June 30, 1988, Wilkins, who was then 19 years old, decided that he did not want to be executed and filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Missouri Rule of Criminal Procedure 24.035 (1988), in an attempt to set aside his conviction and sentence. Among other claims, Wilkins asserted that his waiver of counsel and guilty plea were not knowingly and voluntarily made. The sentencing court held a hearing regarding Wilkins' motion from May 22 through May 26, 1989. At this postconviction hearing, Wilkins, with the assistance of appointed counsel, introduced the testimony of several psychiatrists and psychologists who had examined him. Dr. Dorothy Lewis, a professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, explained that Wilkins' paranoia motivated his decision to waive counsel and that his thought processes were confused and illogical throughout the former proceedings. (State Postconviction Tr. at 27, 47-48.) Dr. William O'Connor, a psychologist, testified that Wilkins' guilty plea was not a voluntary and intelligent decision, but rather an emotionally-driven decision that was the product of his mental disorder. (Id. at 252.) Dr. Logan also testified and agreed with Dr. Parwatikar's earlier conclusion that Wilkins was not "competent" to proceed as his own attorney, even though Dr. Logan was previously ambivalent regarding Wilkins' competence to stand trial. Dr. Logan also believed that Wilkins' waiver of counsel was an emotionally-charged impulsive decision. (Id. at 494.)

In response, the state called Mr. Duchardt and Dr. Mandracchia to testify. Mr. Duchardt stated he did not believe that any of Wilkins' decisions were made knowingly,...