Williams v. Cook

• Decision Date: 26 September 2018
• Docket Number: No.: 3:15-cv-00415 REEVES/GUYTON,: 3:15-cv-00415 REEVES/GUYTON
• Parties: MICKEY LEE WILLIAMS Petitioner, v. DOUG COOK, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee

MICKEY LEE WILLIAMS Petitioner, v. DOUG COOK, Respondent.

No.: 3:15-cv-00415 REEVES/GUYTON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

September 26, 2018

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Acting pro se, Mickey Lee Williams ("Petitioner") - an inmate at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex - brings this pro se Petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging the legality of his confinement pursuant to a 2004 judgment issued by the Grainger County, Tennessee Criminal Court. [Doc. 11-1; see Doc. 1 at 1]. A jury convicted Petitioner of second-degree murder and arson, and he is serving an effective sentence of twenty-four years' imprisonment. Respondent has filed an answer in opposition to the Petition [Doc. 21], Petitioner has replied to the answer [Doc. 22], and this case is now ripe for disposition.

I. BACKGROUND

A. State Court Proceedings

Petitioner was indicted by a grand jury in Grainger County, Tennessee, on August 19, 2002, and on April 21, 2004, his jury trial for first-degree murder, arson, and aggravated assault commenced. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals summarized the evidence produced at trial:

Around 11:30 A.M. on March 12, 2002, the Appellant and his longtime friend, Billy Joe Coffey, purchased three eighteen packs of beer which they began drinking at Coffey's residence in Rutledge. At approximately 2:30 or 3:00 P.M., the two went to the home of the Appellant's brother, Louis Williams, on Poor Valley Road in Grainger County to play cards and continue in their drinking endeavors. While there, the Appellant professed his love for Patricia Johnson. Johnson lived across the street from Louis Williams, and the Appellant made several visits to the Johnson home that afternoon to see Mrs. Johnson. Coffey and his wife returned the Appellant to his home a little after 7:35 P.M. that evening. Coffey testified that the Appellant had drunk at least a case of beer.

Patricia Johnson, the victim's wife, testified that the Appellant came to her home on the afternoon of March 12th while her husband was away and asked whether "God would forgive him of murder." She responded that murder was wrong. Mrs. Johnson explained that she had developed a romantic relationship with the Appellant around October of 2001 when her husband was on the road for long periods of time as a truck driver and that she had tried to end the relationship in January of 2002 when she told her husband about the affair.

Johnny Bowens, who lived on Poor Valley Road near the Johnsons, testified that the Appellant came to his home on the evening of March 12th and cryptically "told [him] to watch and learn" and to "put it in the newspaper" before going up the road toward the Johnson house. Barbara Bowens, who also lived on Poor Valley Road, received a phone call from the Appellant on the night of the incident, inquiring whether the victim was at his house. She testified that she thought the Appellant was joking when he stated during the conversation that he loved Mrs. Johnson and was going to kill Mrs. Johnson's husband.

Around 9:30 P.M., the Appellant returned to the Johnson home. The victim, Terry Johnson, answered the door, and the two began to argue. Mrs. Johnson testified that her husband asked the Appellant to leave and told the Appellant that they would talk the next day. The Appellant walked out the door but quickly reentered with a six pack of beer, pointing his finger at the victim and calling him a son of a bitch. The Appellant then went back outside, and the victim followed. Barbara Bowens, Johnny Bowens, and Shawn Bolen, all neighbors on Poor Valley Road, heard what sounded like "a bunch of dogs fighting." Mrs. Johnson heard "grunting noises and thumping outside" and tried to call the police. Johnny Bowens and Bolen both testified that they saw the victim shove the Appellant first while on the porch. The victim was heard telling the Appellant to stay away from his family and get off of his property. The fight then moved to the yard. Soon thereafter, the victim was seen holding his stomach and retreating to his home with the Appellant following. The Appellant was yelling to the victim that "he [would] put his soul in hell." Mrs. Johnson testified that when her husband came inside, he told her to call the police. "[H]is right arm was cut, and he was holding his arm up, and his left hand was on his chest." Blood was everywhere. The victim went into the bathroom and closed the door. The Appellant then came inside the house and held a knife to Mrs. Johnson's throat and pushed her, along with her fifteen-month-old and five-year-old daughters, into the back bedroom. Afterwards, the Appellant beat on the bathroom door, yelling and screaming. Mrs. Johnson and her two children escaped through a bedroom window and hid in an old truck parked nearby.

Shawn Bolen testified that when he saw what was happening, he went to get the Appellant's brother Steve who lived down the street. The Appellant came out of the Johnson's house, and Steve called out to him. The Appellant walked to Steve's house with blood covering his pants and asked for a cigarette lighter. He made a slicing motion across his throat and said that Terry Johnson was dead and "had gone to hell."

Officer Jeff Daniel with the Rutledge Police Department testified that upon responding to the scene at the Johnson's home, he knocked on the door, but no one answered. There was blood both on the front porch and in the yard. Daniel drove up the road to Steve Williams' house, where Williams and Bolen were on the front porch. The Appellant was standing nearby with a knife in his hand and blood covering his pants. When Officer Daniel asked the Appellant what was going on, the Appellant responded, "I killed him.... He hit me.... I killed him.... And I'm tired of everybody out here." When Daniel tried to question him further, the Appellant walked back across the road to the Johnson's house. Officers at the scene asked the Appellant to come out of the house, but he refused, repeatedly opening and shutting the door. When asked for access to the house to check on the victim, the Appellant replied, "I'll drag him to you." He later announced, "He's too big. I can't drag him." Shortly thereafter, a fire was seen engulfing the interior of the house, and the Appellant was observed running from the residence. Upon exiting the house, the Appellant ran toward Chief Holt, who ordered the Appellant to drop the knife. The Appellant refused and was shot by Chief Holt.

Approximately four hours after the incident occurred, a blood sample was taken from the Appellant which indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent. Special Agent Russell Robinson with the State of Tennessee's Bomb and Arson Section investigated the murder and fire. He testified that the fire had multiple points of origin and concluded that it was "intentionally set." During the investigation, Robinson was forced to enter the bathroom through a window because the victim's body was against the door. Additionally, he noted that there were marks on the bathroom door which appeared to be made by a sharp-bladed tool. He found a Bic lighter on the kitchen table and a twenty-two inch hunting knife on the front porch. The victim's blood was found on the Appellant's pants and on the knife. Doctor Cleland Blake performed an autopsy on the victim. He described five deep stab wounds penetrating into the lungs and the vena cava, and he found the cause of death to be internal and external hemorrhaging.

At trial, the Appellant testified that on the night of the incident, he became intoxicated after drinking beer and did not know his purpose in going to the Johnson residence. He related that the victim hit him with a broom and tried to choke him, and, further, that he "didn't have no choice," that he "had to cut at [the victim]" to get him off. Regarding the fire, the Appellant testified that he was "probably trying to kill [himself]. I's panicked, scared. I don't know, really."

State v. Williams, 2005 WL 2240736, at *4-5 (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 15, 2005). On June 7, 2004, Petitioner was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder and arson, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-four years. [Doc. 12-1 at 111-122; see Doc. 13 at 2].

On June 30, 2004, counsel filed a timely notice of appeal on behalf of Petitioner [Doc. 12-1 at 73]. However, counsel did not filed a motion for new trial within the thirty-day limitations period. On October 4, 2004, counsel filed a motion to set aside and reinstate final judgment in order to give Petitioner an opportunity to file a timely motion for new trial. In the motion, counsel conceded neglect in his failure to timely file a motion for new trial on Petitioner's behalf, acknowledging that his negligence resulted in the waiver of any trial issues "except sufficiency of the evidence and sentencing errors" on appeal [Id. at 74-75].¹ On October 27, 2004, counsel filed an untimely motion for a new trial on Petitioner's behalf, raising, inter alia, the following claims: (1) the trial court erred in allowing Billy Coffey to testify as to Petitioner's propensity for violence during the state's evidence; (2) the trial court erred by allowing Barbara Bowens to testify at trial, despite the fact that Petitioner was not given notice of her testimony until two days before trial; (3) the trial court's instructions to the jury regarding self-defense were erroneous; (4) the trial court's decision to sentence Petitioner above the presumptive minimum sentence based on aggravating factors not found by a jury violated the Supreme Court's recent decision in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004); and (5) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict [Doc. 12-8 at 3-4]. The trial court denied the motion for new trial on November 8, 2004. Nonetheless, the court entered an amended judgment that same day, reducing Petitioner's effective sentence to twenty-three years; however, the record contains...