Williams v. Cain
| Decision Date | 23 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action 1:20-CV-286-LG-RPM |
| Parties | MERLIN LKENT WILLIAMS, PETITIONER v. BURL CAIN, RESPONDENT |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi |
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
On September 1, 2020, petitioner Merlin LKent Williams (“Williams”) filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Section 2254”), seeking for his state court conviction to be set aside, his sentence to be vacated, and a new trial. Doc. [1]. On February 12, 2021, respondent Burl Cain (“respondent”) filed the present motion to dismiss Williams' habeas petition on the grounds that it is time-barred under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). See Doc. [11].[1]
The following facts are adduced from the petition and documents attached thereto as well as from the state court and appellate record.
On the morning of July 5, 2016, Eddwena Myles (“Myles”) was resting in bed alongside her boyfriend of four years, petitioner Williams, in her roommate's, Freeda Henry (“Henry's”), house. Doc. [13], Ex. 3 (Myles T. 107:18-108:26).[2] A little before 8:00 AM, Myles suddenly awoke, needing to use the bathroom, and she told Williams as much. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 109:1-16); (Henry T. 123:7-10). She made her way to the bedroom door, and, as she was turning the doorknob, Williams jumped off the bed and stabbed her in the chest with a knife. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 109:20-25). When Myles tried to open the door again, Williams repeatedly stabbed her in the arm, successfully thwarting her escape. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 110:1-14). Then, when Myles asked Williams why he was attacking her, Williams exclaimed that he needed to kill her to receive $1, 000, 000.00 and because he “love[d]” her. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 110:1-10, 111:16-26). After attempting to calm Williams down, Myles attempted to escape again-this time through the bedroom window. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 111:16-26). However, Williams prevented her from escaping once more by stabbing her in the side, knee, and back. Ibid. When Myles started to scream, Williams stabbed her in the neck. Ibid.
During the attack, Henry was also at home. Doc. [13], Ex. 3 (Myles T. 108:22-24); (Henry T. 120:23-26). At around 8:00 AM that morning, Henry heard screams emanating through the wall that separated her room from Myles' room. Id., Ex. 3 (Henry T. 122:1-4, 123:7-10). Alarmed, Henry knocked on Myles' locked door, but then heard nothing from the room. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 113:15-25); (Henry T. 123:17-18, 21-24). Upon hearing the knock, Williams whispered to Myles that he was going to walk away and “nobody is going to mess with me.” Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 112:27-113:2). After Henry threatened to “bust in” the door, Williams, shirtless and still holding the knife, abruptly opened the bedroom door and fled from the house. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 113:1-2); (Henry T. 122:21-29). Upon entering the room, Henry saw Myles slumped over the side of the bed and covered in blood. Id., Ex. 3 (Henry T. 122:21-123:17).
Henry promptly called for an ambulance. Id., Ex. 3 (Henry T. 123:26-28). Myles then went out to the porch to wait for the ambulance and passed out shortly thereafter. Id., Ex. 3 (Myles T. 113:10-29). Later that same day, Williams was arrested by the police-he was still covered in blood and had a knife wound on his left hand. Doc. [13], Ex. 3 (Birmingham T. 141:13-142:18). Despite suffering multiple life-threatening stab wounds, Myles ultimately survived the attack. Id., Ex. 4 (Rimmer T. 157:7-158:26).[3]
Testifying in his own defense, Williams told a very different story. First, Williams denied assaulting Myles on July 5, 2016 and claimed that she “fabricated this whole story” about the stabbing because she held an unspecified “personal vendetta” against him. Doc. [13], Ex. 4 (Williams T. 168:3-11, 171:3-8). Nevertheless, Williams neither denied the existence of Myles' stab wounds, claiming someone else caused them, nor that it was his Tennessee identification card that was found in Myles' bedroom. Id., Ex. 4 (Williams T. 171:9-172:2); Ex. 7, at 47-48. On cross-examination, Williams also denied punching a pregnant Myles in the face in the recent past, notwithstanding pleading guilty to that charge. Id., Ex. 4 (Myles T. 116:5-24), (Williams T. 169:14-170:10).[4] Ultimately, Williams was convicted by a jury.
On November 21, 2016, Williams was indicted as “Merlin Kent Williams” on one count of aggravated assault, Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-7(2)(a). Doc. [13], Ex. 1, at 16. On November 8, 2017, a jury found Williams guilty of aggravated assault and he was sentenced to twenty-years imprisonment with five years suspended. Id., Ex. 1, at 144-48. His final judgment of conviction was entered on November 14, 2017. Doc. [13], Ex. 1, at 148. Williams appealed to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Id., Ex. 2, at 22; Ex. 5, at 137. His appointed appellate counsel filed a Lindsey brief, Lindsey v. State, 939 So.2d 743 (Miss. 2005), concluding that Williams did not have any arguable grounds for appeal, id., Ex. 6, at 1-9. After his appointed counsel was allowed to withdraw, Williams was authorized to and did file a pro se supplemental appellate brief. Id., Ex. 2, at 25-28; Ex. 6, at 28-50; [13], Ex. 5, at 3-4. On April 16, 2019, the Mississippi Court of Appeals denied his appeal. Williams v. State, 281 So.3d 939 (Miss. Ct. App. 2019). Thereafter, Williams neither moved for a rehearing nor petitioned the Mississippi Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. M.R.A.P. 17(b). Fourteen days later, on April 30, 2019, Williams' conviction became final. Ibid.
While his case was still pending on direct appeal, Williams filed several state-court applications for postconviction relief (“PCR applications”), which he labelled “petitions for a writ of habeas corpus.”[5] Williams filed his first PCR application on February 15, 2018. Doc. [13], Ex. 5, at 58-61. On March 1, 2018, the state trial court dismissed the petition on the grounds that Williams' direct appeal was still pending before the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Id., Ex. 9, at 44-45. Shortly thereafter, Williams filed two more PCR applications with the state trial court in quick succession, on March 5, 2018 and March 13, 2018. Id., Ex. 10, at 26-29, 31-34. On May 4, 2018, the state trial court denied both petitions as premature. Id., Ex. 10, at 35. On April 16, 2018, Williams filed his fourth PCR application. Id., Ex. 10, at 36-40. On May 1, 2018, the state trial denied the PCR application as premature. Id., Ex. 10, at 42. Thereafter, Williams filed his fifth PCR application on June 20, 2018. Id., Ex. 10, at 49-52. On July 24, 2018, the state trial court once again denied his petition as premature. Id., Ex. 10, at 54. On August 1, 2018, Williams filed his sixth PCR application along with a related motion for an evidentiary hearing, id., Ex. 10, at 56-65, both of which the state trial court denied as premature on September 10, 2018, [6] id., Ex. 8, at 34. On November 2, 2018, Williams filed his seventh PCR application with the Mississippi Supreme Court. Id., Ex. 12, 4-14. On January 9, 2019, the Court summarily denied his habeas petition without comment. Id., Ex. 12, at 3. Finally, Williams filed his eighth PCR motion with the Mississippi Supreme Court on June 16, 2020, after his conviction became final on direct appeal. Id., Ex. 11, at 4-33. On August 20, 2020, a quorum of the Court denied his PCR application on the merits. Id., Ex. 11, at 3.
Williams also submitted three free-standing filings prior to the conclusion of his direct appeal. First, on September 4, 2018, Williams filed a “memorandum” with the state trial court. Doc. [12], Ex. 17. Construing the filing as a motion for records, the state trial court denied it as moot on October 9, 2018. Id., Ex. 18. On January 22, 2019, Williams filed a document labelled “proposed corrections to the record” with the state trial court. Id., Ex. 20. On February 26, 2019, the state trial court denied the motion on the grounds that his proposed corrections were “not well-taken.” Id., Ex. 21. Finally, on March 4, 2019, Williams filed a “motion for an indigent appeal bail bond, ” arguing that he should be entitled to postconviction bond for the period that his myriad state appeals were pending. Id., Ex. 22, at 2. On April 3, 2019, the state trial court denied this motion. Id., Ex. 23.
On September 1, 2020, Williams filed the present habeas petition.[7]
Since the present motion addresses the timeliness of Williams' federal habeas petition, 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1) (“Section 2244(d)(1)”) is applicable. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). In full, Section 2244(d) states:
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