Wood v. Thaler

• Decision Date: 10 May 2011
• Docket Number: Civil No. SA–01–CA–423–OG.
• Citation: 787 F.Supp.2d 458
• Parties: Jeffery Lee WOOD, TDCJ No. 999256, Petitioner,v.Rick THALER, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

787 F.Supp.2d 458

Jeffery Lee WOOD, TDCJ No. 999256, Petitioner,
v.
Rick THALER, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent.

Civil No. SA–01–CA–423–OG.

United States District Court, W.D. Texas, San Antonio Division.

May 10, 2011.

[787 F.Supp.2d 460]

J. Scott Sullivan, Law Offices of J. Scott Sullivan, San Antonio, TX, Jared Tyler, Tyler Law Firm, PLLC, Houston, TX, for Petitioner.Eric J.R. Nichols, Beck, Redden, Secrest, LLP, Matthew Dennis Ottoway, Tina J. Miranda, Tomee Morgan Heining, Texas Attorney General's Office, Austin, TX, for Respondent.MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING RELIEF ORLANDO L. GARCIA, District Judge.

Petitioner filed a motion to stay his execution in August, 2008, alleging therein that he was incompetent to be executed under the Supreme Court's holding in Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930, 127 S.Ct. 2842, 168 L.Ed.2d 662 (2007). This Court granted petitioner's motion for stay of execution, appointed counsel and multiple mental health experts to assist petitioner in the preparation of his Panetti claim, and held an evidentiary hearing in November, 2010. Having considered the parties' evidence and the applicable law, this Court finds factually incredible petitioner's claim that he currently suffers from a delusional belief system that renders him incapable of comprehending the true basis for his impending execution. For the reasons set forth at length hereinafter, petitioner's request for federal habeas corpus relief is denied, the stay of execution previously granted is vacated, and petitioner is denied a Certificate of Appealability.

I. Statement of the Case A. Petitioner's Offense, Capital Murder Trial, and State Appeal

The facts of petitioner's capital offense and subsequent trial, direct appeal, and state habeas corpus proceedings are set forth in detail with record citations in this Court's opinion denying petitioner federal habeas corpus relief. Wood v. Dretke, 386 F.Supp.2d 820, 825–35 (W.D.Tex.2005), CoA denied, 214 Fed.Appx. 473 (5th Cir.2007), affirmed, 491 F.3d 196 (5th Cir.2007), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1151, 128 S.Ct. 1087, 169 L.Ed.2d 825 (2008). The evidence at petitioner's trial established petitioner participated in a pair of armed robberies of convenience stores which culminated in the fatal shooting of store clerk Kriss Keeran by petitioner's accomplice Danny Reneau on January 22, 1996.

To summarize the evidence introduced during petitioner's capital murder trial, petitioner and his accomplice Danny Reneau were engaged in a string of armed robberies. Their last robbery took place at a convenience store where Kriss Keeran, who knew both petitioner and Reneau, worked. Reneau fatally shot Keeran during the course of the robbery.¹ After the robbery, Reneau and petitioner removed the store's safe, cash box, and the videotape of the robbery and fatal shooting from the store's video surveillance system. Petitioner drove the get-away vehicle to and from the robbery/murder. There was testimony at trial that Reneau and petitioner showed the video tape of their robbery and the fatal shooting of Keeran to petitioner's younger brother Jonathan before directing Jonathan to destroy the videotape.

After his arrest, petitioner gave two formal tape-recorded statements to law enforcement

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officers. In both his statements petitioner admitted his role in Keeran's murder. In the first, petitioner attempted to downplay his prior knowledge of Reneau's plan to kill Keeran. In his second statement, however, petitioner admitted he knew Reneau planned to kill Keeran if Keeran resisted during the robbery.² In

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fact, petitioner related that he and Reneau returned to their residence the day of the robbery/murder to obtain a gun that would be less noisy when fired.³ Both of petitioner's tape-recorded statements were played in their entirety for the jury during the guilt-innocence phase of petitioner's capital murder trial.

Petitioner argued he was incompetent to stand trial. Based primarily on the testimony of Dr. Michael Roman (that petitioner made many grandiose statements about himself and was, therefore, delusional), in May, 1997, a jury found petitioner incompetent to stand trial. After spending several weeks at the Vernon State Hospital where petitioner was observed and tested by other mental health professionals, in October, 1997, a second jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that the petitioner was competent to stand trial.

A third jury convicted petitioner of capital murder in February, 1998. At that point, petitioner attempted to discharge his trial counsel. After a series of exchanges with the trial judge, however, petitioner was persuaded to allow his trial counsel to continue to represent him; nonetheless, petitioner insisted that his trial counsel introduce no mitigating evidence, cross-examine none of the prosecution's witnesses, and offer no argument during the punishment phase of trial. Wood v. Dretke, 386 F.Supp.2d at 828–33. Petitioner's trial counsel adhered to petitioner's directives. Id. The jury deliberated a little more than an hour before returning its verdict at the punishment phase of trial favorable to the prosecution. Based on the jury's unanimous verdict, the state trial court sentenced petitioner to death.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed petitioner's conviction and sentence. Wood v. State, 18 S.W.3d 642 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). Petitioner did not seek further review of his sentence from the United States Supreme Court. Petitioner did file an application for state habeas corpus relief which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied on May 9, 2001.⁴

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Ex parte Jeffery Lee Wood, App. 45,500–01 (Tex.Crim.App. May 9, 2001).B. Petitioner Attempts to Fairly Present his Panetti Claim

Following the Fifth Circuit's affirmation of this Court's denial of petitioner's original federal habeas corpus petition and the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari, petitioner attempted to return to state court and argue that he is incompetent to be executed. The state trial court refused to appoint counsel to represent petitioner, refused to appoint a mental health expert to assist petitioner in presenting his incompetency claim, and refused to grant petitioner an evidentiary hearing.

More specifically, on or about August 14, 2008, far less than the 20 days prior to his scheduled execution required by applicable state law to obtain review by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,⁵ petitioner filed a motion in his state trial court requesting appointment of counsel and appointment of a mental health expert to assist petitioner in investigating, developing, and presenting evidence supporting a claim that petitioner is currently incompetent to be executed and, thereby, at least temporarily exempt from the death penalty pursuant to the Supreme Court's then-recent decision in Panetti v. Quarterman, supra, and its prior decision in Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986).

On August 17, 2008, the state trial court denied petitioner's motion with the cryptic notation “Motion Denied. Threshold showing required under 46.05 not met.” In a per curiam opinion issued August 19, 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed petitioner's appeal from the trial court's denial of petitioner's motion, explaining it lacked both (1) appellate jurisdiction to review same due to the untimeliness of petitioner's motion and (2) direct authority under applicable state law to appoint counsel or experts to assist petitioner in his post-conviction proceeding. Wood v. State, AP–75,970, 2008 WL 3855534 (Tex.Crim.App. August 19, 2008).

C. Proceedings in this Court1. Motion for Stay

In support of his motion for stay of execution, filed in this Court on August 19, 2008, docket entry no. 37, petitioner argued (1) his school records demonstrate he was diagnosed as exhibiting emotional difficulties as a child, (2) he was determined to be incompetent to stand trial in May, 1997 (but subsequently found competent only a few months later despite receiving no medical treatment or medication during the intervening period), (3) a diagnostician who examined petitioner in connection with petitioner's competency trials concluded petitioner suffered from delusional thought patterns which interfered with petitioner's ability to communicate effectively with his counsel, (4) a mental health evaluation conducted in connection

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with petitioner's original state habeas corpus proceeding shortly after petitioner's 1998 conviction, concluded, in part, “the client's understanding of the upcoming legal process is somewhat sophisticated. However, his ability to appreciate the consequences of those options or behave in a self-protective fashion is profoundly impaired and almost delusional,” (5) various prison medical staff have noted instances of paranoid comments made by petitioner during his current incarceration, (6) petitioner has been treated for suicidal ideation and multiple suicide attempts during his current incarceration, and (7) petitioner has made numerous patently delusional comments to his federal habeas counsel suggesting petitioner possesses a completely unrealistic view of the manner whereby petitioner might one day obtain relief from his death sentence and release from his current custody.

This Court granted petitioner's motion for stay of execution, appointed counsel to represent petitioner herein, and authorized petitioner to retain the services of a mental health professional to help petitioner develop his Panetti claim. Wood v. Quarterman, 572 F.Supp.2d 814 (W.D.Tex.2008).

2. The Dueling Diagnosticiansa. The Report of Petitioner's Mental Health Expert

Petitioner filed his de facto amended petition on March 23, 2009, accompanied by a copy of Dr. Michael A. Roman's 1997 report on petitioner, as well as a 1999 report on petitioner from a Gordon Potter,...