Worthington v. State

Decision Date02 August 2005
Docket NumberNo. SC 85783.,SC 85783.
Citation166 S.W.3d 566
PartiesMichael Shane WORTHINGTON, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

William J. Swift, Office of the Public Defender, Columbia, MO, for Appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Adriane D. Crouse, Assistant Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.

STITH, Judge.

Michael Shane Worthington pled guilty to the first-degree murder of Melinda Griffin. Mr. Worthington then chose to try the penalty phase of his trial to the judge rather than to a jury. The judge imposed the death penalty. This Court affirmed his conviction and death sentence, and his related convictions for first-degree burglary and forcible rape, in State v. Worthington, 8 S.W.3d 83 (Mo. banc 1999). Mr. Worthington then sought post-conviction relief, which was denied. Mr. Worthington now appeals that ruling, arguing that the motion court should have found that trial counsel was ineffective in numerous respects, including unreasonable trial strategy in failing to sufficiently investigate and present evidence about certain aspects of his social history, failing to object to certain evidence, failing to object to the trial judge's refusal to recuse herself and failure to call certain witnesses. He further alleges that the sentencing and post-conviction judges were not impartial and that the State does not have the ability to perform constitutional executions. This Court has exclusive jurisdiction because the death penalty was imposed. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10; Order of June 16, 1988. For the reasons set out below, this Court finds that the motion court did not err in denying post-conviction relief. Affirmed.

I. BACKGROUND FACTS

On direct appeal, this Court found the following facts:1

"On September 29, 1995, appellant, Worthington, and a friend from work, Jill Morehead, were at his condominium in Lake St. Louis, watching television. At about 4:00 p.m., they left to pick up their paychecks from their employer, a local supermarket. They returned to the condo and had dinner and drinks. They then went to a nightclub where each had three drinks. After about two hours, Worthington and Morehead drove to Jennings where Worthington told Morehead he had to pick up money owed to him by a friend. Worthington later testified that he actually went to pick up drugs. Morehead stayed in her vehicle, while Worthington was in the house for about 15 minutes. They drove back to his condo where he left Morehead. Morehead left the condo when Worthington did not return after about 45 minutes.

"Later that night, Worthington saw that the kitchen window was open in the condominium of his neighbor, Melinda Griffin. Worthington had seen Ms. Griffin around the condominium complex. He got a razor blade and gloves, and when he returned to her condo, he saw that a bathroom light had been turned on. Worthington cut through the screen. He confronted Ms. Griffin in the bedroom. He covered her mouth to stop her screams and strangled her until she became unconscious. Worthington began to rape her and she regained consciousness. Worthington raped Ms. Griffin with such force that he bruised the inside of her vagina, tore both labia minora, and made a large, deep tear between her vagina and anus. Ms. Griffin fought Worthington, and he beat her and strangled her to death. The wounds on her neck showed that Worthington used a rope or cord in addition to his hands to strangle her. He stole her jewelry, credit cards, mobile phone, keys, and her car.

"The next morning, September 30, 1995, a police officer pulled Worthington over, driving Ms. Griffin's car. The officer noticed a woman's items in the car such as make-up and shoes, but the car had not been reported stolen.

"The next day, October 1, a neighbor discovered Ms. Griffin's body. When police arrived, they found the screen in the kitchen window had been cut to gain entry. They found Ms. Griffin's body lying bruised, bloody, and naked at the foot of the bed, with a lace stocking draped across it. All the bedroom drawers had been pulled open. DNA testing later established that semen found on Ms. Griffin's body came from Worthington.

"Police officers found Worthington that evening, but when he saw the police he pulled out a knife, held it to his throat, and threatened to commit suicide. Police officers convinced him to put the knife down and brought him into custody. Worthington was wearing a fanny pack containing jewelry and keys belonging to Ms. Griffin.

"At the police station, Worthington relayed his story of four days of drinking and getting high. After being presented with the evidence against him, Worthington confessed to the killing but could not remember the details since, he said, he was prone to blackouts when using alcohol and cocaine. At the time the offenses occurred, Worthington said he was extremely high on Prozac, cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol. He also said that two friends, Darick and Anthony, helped him with the burglary. However, this story was inconsistent with the physical evidence and with subsequent statements made by Worthington. Worthington pleaded guilty to the crimes charged. The judge imposed the death penalty for the murder conviction, as well as prison terms for the other offenses."

II. STANDARDS FOR REVIEW OF DENIAL OF POST-CONVICTION RELIEF

This Court's review of the motion court's denial of post-conviction relief is limited to a determination of whether the findings of fact and conclusions of law are clearly erroneous. Moss v. State, 10 S.W.3d 508, 511 (Mo. banc 2000). A judgment is clearly erroneous when, in light of the entire record, "the court is left with the definite and firm impression that a mistake has been made." Id. The motion court's findings are presumed correct. Black v. State, 151 S.W.3d 49, 54 (Mo. banc 2004).

In order to be entitled to post-conviction relief, a movant is required to show by a preponderance of the evidence that: 1) counsel failed to exercise the customary skill and diligence of a reasonably competent attorney under similar circumstances, and 2) counsel's deficient performance prejudiced him. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Deck v. State, 68 S.W.3d 418, 425 (Mo. banc 2002).

Mr. Worthington bears a heavy burden in attempting to satisfy the first prong of the Strickland test, for he must overcome a strong presumption that counsel provided competent representation by showing "that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness." Deck, 68 S.W.3d at 425-426. See also Rule 29.15(i); Middleton v. State, 103 S.W.3d 726, 732 (Mo. banc 2003). This standard is met by identifying specific acts or omissions of counsel that, in light of all the circumstances, fell outside the wide range of professional competent assistance. Id. at 425. It is presumed that counsel's conduct was reasonable and effective. Clayton v. State, 63 S.W.3d 201, 206 (Mo. banc 2001). "Reasonable choices of trial strategy, no matter how ill fated they appear in hindsight, cannot serve as a basis for a claim of ineffective assistance." Cole v. State, 152 S.W.3d 267, 270 (Mo. banc 2004); Knese v. State, 85 S.W.3d 628, 633 (Mo. banc 2002). It is also not ineffective to pursue one reasonable trial strategy to the exclusion of another reasonable trial strategy. Clayton, 63 S.W.3d at 207.

To satisfy the second prong of the Strickland test, a movant must show "there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different." Middleton, 103 S.W.3d at 733. "A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." Id. "In order to show prejudice in a guilty plea case, a defendant must prove that, but for the errors of counsel, he would not have pled guilty and would have demanded a trial." State v. Roll, 942 S.W.2d 370, 375 (Mo. banc 1997).

Because the penalty phase was tried to a judge, it is particularly difficult to meet this standard. In court-tried cases judges are given great latitude in the admission of evidence because of the presumption that they will not give weight to incompetent evidence. Pike v. Pike, 609 S.W.2d 397, 403 (Mo. banc 1980). "Because of this, it is difficult to base reversible error on the erroneous admission of evidence in a court-tried case." Blackburn v. Richardson, 849 S.W.2d 281, 291 (Mo. App. S.D.1993). Erroneous admission of such evidence constitutes harmless error if other properly admitted evidence supports the judgment. Id. Further, because "judges are presumed to not consider improper evidence at sentencing," State v. Carter, 955 S.W.2d 548, 560 (Mo. banc 1997), "this Court presumes that inadmissible evidence" relevant to sentencing "is neither prejudicial nor fundamentally unfair in court-tried matters." Id.

III. GUILT PHASE ERROR — FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE

By pleading guilty, Mr. Worthington waived any claim that counsel was ineffective except to the extent that the conduct affected the voluntariness and knowledge with which the plea was made. Roll, 942 S.W.2d at 375. "In any ineffectiveness case, a particular decision not to investigate must be directly assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances, applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgments." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

Mr. Worthington argues counsel acted unreasonably in not further investigating his social and medical history. In regard to the guilt phase, he alleges that had an adequate investigation been done he would not have pled guilty but would have proceeded to trial using a diminished capacity defense. In support, at the post-conviction hearing, he presented the testimony of three experts, Dr. Jonathan Pincus, Dr. Dennis Cowan, and ...

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