Case Name: Jessie Derrell WILLIAMS v. STATE of Mississippi
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1987-10-07
Citations: 544 So. 2d 782
Docket Number: No. DP-56
Parties: Jessie Derrell WILLIAMS v. STATE of Mississippi.
Judges: As to Part VI: WALKER, C.J., ROY NOBLE LEE and HAWKINS, P.JJ., and DAN M. LEE, GRIFFIN and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 544
Pages: 782–802

Head Matter:
Jessie Derrell WILLIAMS v. STATE of Mississippi.
No. DP-56.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Oct. 7, 1987.
As Modified On Rehearing June 21, 1989.
Thomas M. Fortner, Pascagoula, for appellant.
Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Atty. Gen. by Marvin L. White, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Opinion:
SULLIVAN, Justice,
for the Court on Parts I-V; ROY NOBLE LEE, Presiding Justice, for the Court on Part VI.
When, on the evening of January 11, 1983, Karon Ann Pierce entered the Scoreboard Lounge in Jackson County, Mississippi, she set in motion the series of events that would lead to her death and the conviction of Jessie Derrell Williams for the crime of capital murder, and his sentence, by a jury in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, of death.
The facts of this case are so bizarre and the methods used to bring about the death of Miss Pierce are so relentlessly savage that no purpose will be served by repeating them here, except where they are essential to the ends of justice in dealing with the issues raised by the appeal.
I.
DID THE PROSECUTOR IMPROPERLY EXTRACT FROM EACH PROSPECTIVE JUROR A PLEDGE OR PROMISE AS TO THE VERDICT EACH WOULD RENDER DURING VOIR DIRE?
The prosecutor asked at least eighteen individual jurors whether or not they would or will vote guilty if the state proved its case against Jessie Derrell Williams, and whether or not the jurors would or will vote for death if the state proved that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances. Williams urges that such questions were in direct violation of our Uniform Criminal Rules of Circuit Court, Rule 5.02, the text of which reads:
In the voir dire examination of jurors, the attorney shall direct to the entire venire questions only on matters not inquired into by the court. Individual jurors may be examined only when proper to inquire as to answers given or for other good cause allowed by the court. No hypothetical questions requiring any juror to pledge a particular verdict will be asked, (emphasis added)
After repeated objections, the first of which was overruled, the trial judge then instructed the prosecutor to offer a complete and accurate statement of the law if he insisted on posing that question. Despite this admonition, the prosecutor continued with the same form of question at which time the trial judge directed the district attorney to use the verb "could" as opposed to the verb "would". Again the district attorney continued with the same form of the question. Another objection was entered by Williams which was overruled, and the district attorney continued with the "would" form of the question through six more jurors.
We have repeatedly admonished district attorneys that their examination during voir dire should be abstract as opposed to what the juror might or might not do in the particular case at bar. Murphy v. State, 246 So.2d 920, 921 (Miss.1971); McCaskill v. State, 227 So.2d 847, 852 (Miss.1969) (reversed on other grounds); Phenizee v. State, 180 Miss. 746, 178 So. 579, 582 (1938). In Phenizee, Justice Griffith explained:
The examination on the question we are here considering should be in the abstract as to the class of cases, one of which is about to be tried; not what the juror or jury might or might not do in a particular case then and there at bar. It is time enough for the district attorney, in the particular case, to call for the death penalty in his argument on the merits after the jury has heard all of the evidence, and can better judge of the weight of that argument and of the justification of the demand for the death penalty, rather than it shall be emphasized upon the voir dire.
178 So. at 582.
Judge Griffith went on to note however: We have concluded that, in the light of the matters last mentioned, a jury of fair intelligence, as we must presume this jury was, could not have understood otherwise than that the penalty, whether of death or of life imprisonment, was solely for them to determine, and that no official of the state had a right to dictate to them about it or to do more than submit to the judgment of the jury on that question. . Thus, in this case we think we may safely rest on the conclusion that this jury was neither misled nor wrongfully or unduly influenced by what happened on the voir dire, particularly in view of the evidence on the merits which so strongly justified the extreme penalty.
178 So. at 582.
The trial court's discretion in passing upon the extent and propriety of questions addressed to prospective jurors is not unlimited and this Court will take note of abuse on appeal where prejudice to the accused is present. Jones v. State, 381 So.2d 983, 990 (Miss.1980); McCaskill v. State, 227 So.2d 847, 852 (Miss.1969); Leverett v. State, 112 Miss. 394, 404, 73 So. 273 (1916). A comparison of the abuses found in Leverett which led to reversal with the statements made by the district attorney in the case at bar makes it clear that the case at bar falls under the Pheniz-ee no reversible error present line, as opposed to the obvious abuse present in Lev-erett.
The court properly condemned the conduct of the district attorney in seeking to force a committal from the jury, but when we consider that conduct, in context with the jury instructions given to the jury by the trial judge, it is clear that the jury was aware of their proper role in determining guilt and sentence, and, that being true in this case, there is no merit to this assignment of error.
II.
DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN ADMITTING INTO EVIDENCE GRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHS?
Williams objected to the introduction of certain photographs contending that they were unnecessarily enlarged, were gruesome, repetitive and thus prejudicial and inflammatory. The subject matter of those photographs was:
Exhibit 3(A), the heart and larynx of the victim, separated from the body at autopsy;
Exhibit 3(B) and (C), upper portions of the victim's body at autopsy;
Exhibit 4(A), Pierce's body as found at the scene of the murder;
Exhibits 4(B), (C), (D), (E), close up views of the chest area at autopsy;
Exhibits 5(A), (B), (C), (D), enlarged close up views of the wound to the genital area.
While acknowledging that generally the admissibility of photographs is within the sound discretion of the trial judge and the admission is proper, so long as their introduction serves some useful evidentiary purpose. Williams contends that the close-up photographs were not necessary for the jury's understanding of the cause of death nor was the repetitive nature, and the result could only be to inflame and prejudice the jury.
We have repeatedly admitted photographs of every description with the explanation that some "probative value" is present. Johnson v. State, 476 So.2d 1195, 1206 (Miss.1985); Swanier v. State, 437 So.2d 180, 185 (Miss.1985); Cabello v. State, 471 So.2d 332, 341 (Miss.1985); Holliday v. State, 455 So.2d 750, 752 (Miss.1984); Billiot v. State, 454 So.2d 445, 460 (Miss.1984). Abuse of discretion is sometimes explained to be admission of photographs when a killing is not contradicted or denied or the corpus delicti and the identity of the deceased have been established. Sharp v. State, 446 So.2d 1008, 1009 (Miss.1984); Shearer v. State, 423 So.2d 824, 827 (Miss.1982); Williams v. State, 354 So.2d 266, 267 (Miss.1978).
A review of our case law indicates that the discretion of the trial judge runs toward almost unlimited admissibility regardless of the gruesomeness, repetitiveness, and the extenuation of probative value. At this point in the development of our case law, no meaningful limits exist in these so-called balance of probative/prejudicial effect of photographs test.
This assignment of error is no basis for reversal.
III.
DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN THE ADMISSION OF CERTAIN TESTIMONY OF THE STATE'S EXPERT WITNESS, DR. PABLO HERNANDEZ?
The underlying felony the prosecutor sought to prove in this case was kidnapping. He, therefore, relied heavily on the expert medical opinions of Dr. Hernandez to prove that Miss Pierce's inability to consent in her drugged state supported a finding that she had been kidnapped. The subject matter of that testimony included:
(1) The effects of PCP and methaqualone on a person;
(2) The potentiation effect of PCP and methaqualone on a person;
(3) The effect of PCP, methaqualone, alcohol, and marijuana on Karon Pierce;
(4) The ability of Pierce to make rational judgments while under the influence of the above listed substances.
Dr. Hernandez also answered a hypothetical question posed by the prosecutor which Williams maintains contained far too many uncertainties and unknowns to have properly been placed before the jury.
Dr. Hernandez explained that "potentiation" is medical terminology meaning the use of two medications or chemicals in combination, which increased the effect of one or both. When he was questioned about the process of potentiation with use of alcohol and methaqualone, Williams objected on the grounds that there was no evidence of Miss Pierce taking methaqualone on the night of her death or within any reasonable time period prior to her death as the toxicologist had refused to offer any opinion as to the time or amount of any ingestion of that drug by Miss Pierce. Only a trace amount of methaqualone was found in her system, which could have been ingested at any time prior to the incident. This objection was overruled.
Dr. Hernandez was asked the following hypothetical:
I would like to pose a hypothetical, and based on these facts I want to know if you can draw a conclusion. The subject is an 18 year old girl, 5' 4" tall, weighing 118 pounds. She was staggering and her speech was slurred. She was coherent one minute and incoherent the next. She was hollering and telling people to leave her alone. Inside her body was discovered traces of PCP, methaqualone, and al-. cohol. Based on this hypothetical, do you have an opinion, to a reasonable medical certainty, as to the amount of her intoxication or the level of these drugs in her system?
When Williams objected that this hypothetical did not adequately and fully state the facts, the trial judge overruled the objection and allowed the doctor to answer, explaining that the defense could add other facts on cross examination. The doctor's answers to the hypothetical and the followup questions were as follows:
BY THE WITNESS: The physiological response and psychological response of a person to these drugs — PCP, quaalude, alcohol — would depend on and vary greatly upon the amount of the drug ingested, the method of ingestion, and the way and the length in which one unto the other had interacted. Talking about PCP specifically, it has to do with the events that are taking place throughout the process. PCP has a more disturbing effect on people by virtue of situations, events, and circumstances that are going on. A person on PCP will act more agitated, more restless. The "hollering" and running up and down you describe in the hypothetical, this could be an effect upon a person who has a mixture of those drugs.
By MR. GURROLA: Would you have an opinion as to how intoxicated that person would be on those drugs?
BY MR. GAUTIER: Continuing to show our objection.
BY THE WITNESS: In that particular correlation, the person would be in a level of high influence of intoxication upon the combination of the drugs. We don't know the amount of drugs in that person or the amount of drugs that person had taken. There is an indication, hypothetically, that she was in a level of intoxication. I would say this person was in a level of intoxication from which, more likely, probably, impaired judgment may take place, no awareness of components of situations taking place. The person may not be totally in control of the total judgment in that situation. They may not be able to utilize proper judgment according to the situation.
BY MR. GURROLA: In your opinion, would that person, in that state, have been able to make rational judgments based on the situations?
BY MR. GAUTIER: We would show a continuing objection for the reason that the hypothetical has too many uncertainties, ifs, and unknowns in it.
BY THE COURT: Overruled.
BY THE WITNESS: Hypothetically, with that level of disfunction in the picture that I have been given, that person would not have been able to make the proper judgment in the situations and conditions for which a response in that part would be made of that person.
BY MR. GURROLA: Taking the same hypothetical which I have already given you, add to it the fact that this same individual some several hours later is smoking two to six marijuana cigarettes, would you be able to form an opinion as to that person's ability to make rational judgments based on the situation?
BY MR. GAUTIER: We object again for lack of completeness of the hypothetical and for the reason that the witness has not been qualified as an expert on what is rational and what a rational judgment is.
BY THE COURT: If he can answer, I will allow him to answer. Objection overruled.
BY THE WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
[The question was repeated]
BY THE WITNESS: If this person was exhibiting that type of behavior or activity or disruption three to four hours prior to smoking several joints of marijuana, that person still more likely will be in the influence of the previous drug and will not be able to make a good, sound judgment with the added effect of the marijuana. In other words, all of this and the smoking of the marijuana would make me think that this person would be in a deeper state of disfunction than at a more functionable level. They will be much more improbable to make proper judgment because the effect of some of these drugs does not vanish within an hour or two or three.
While on cross-examination, Dr. Hernandez acknowledged that several factors would affect his answer, including the person's experience with drugs, the tolerance level of the person, previous usage, nutritional level, tissue condition and fat distribution, age, racial component, as well as the frame of mind of a person at a given time, influence on the person, situation the person is experiencing, and the desired effect that the person wants. The doctor finally stated that he would really have to see the person before rendering an opinion.
This Court has held that "the interrogator may frame his question on any theory which can reasonably be deduced from the evidence and select as a predicate therefor such facts as the evidence proves or reasonably tends to establish or justify." Carleton v. State, 425 So.2d 1036, 1040 (Miss.1983); Chapman v. Carlson, 240 So.2d 263, 268 (Miss.1970). Whether or not sufficient evidence is present to support the hypothetical question presented to the expert is a question of law for this Court to determine. Strickland v. M.H. McMath Gin Co., Inc., 457 So.2d 925, 928 (Miss.1984); Belesky v. City of Biloxi, 412 So.2d 230, 233 (Miss.1982).. When facts are in dispute the hypothetical question may be stated in terms consistent with the theory of the interrogator. 457 So.2d at 928; Magnolia Hospital v. Moore, 320 So.2d 793, 798 (Miss.1975). The interrogator cannot, however, assume facts unsupported by any evidence, 457 So.2d at 928; Washington v. Greenville Mfg. & Machine Works, 223 So.2d 642, 644 (Miss.1969), nor omit material undisputed facts. 457 So.2d at 928; 320 So.2d at 799. Slight exaggerations of the evidence presented in the hypothetical generally will not require its exclusion. 457 So.2d at 929. If the question posed fairly summarizes the relevant facts, it is not necessary that every minute undisputed detail be included, so long as opposing counsel has an opportunity on cross-examination to bring out the additional details. Gerlach v. State, 466 So.2d 75, 78 (Miss.1985).
The trial court was authorized by our law to overrule the objections to the hypothetical question. 466 So.2d at 78; King v. State, 251 Miss. 161, 174, 168 So.2d 637, 642 (1964). This record shows that on cross-examination Dr. Hernandez freely admitted just exactly how contingent his opinion was upon various factors.
The conclusions of Dr. Hernandez were no more than a layman could determine for himself if presented with the same question. The doctor testified that a person on PCP, Quaaludes, and alcohol would be in a level of intoxication and that smoking two to six marijuana cigarettes would increase that level of disfunction.
There is no error here.
IV.
DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN REFUSING JURY INSTRUCTION D-5?
Sentencing phase instruction D-5 reads:
The Court instructs the jury that you need not find any mitigating circumstances in order to return a sentence of life imprisonment. A life sentence may be returned regardless of the evidence.
Williams contends that reversible error resulted from the trial judge's refusal of the so-called "mercy" instruction.
The theoretical justifications for the mercy instruction have been articulated in Leatherwood v. State, 435 So.2d 645, 660-63 (Miss.1983), and in many cases by Justice Hawkins. See e.g. Cabello v. State, 471 So.2d 332, 352 (Miss.1985). Here we are offered the additional argument that, as the prosecutor was allowed to elicit promises from the jurors during voir dire that they would return a death sentence if they believed that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances, instruction D-5 was necessary to correct this earlier error. Williams argues that Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-19-101 allows a jury to sentence to death under certain circumstances as opposed to requiring such a sentence. The argument is not that a mercy instruction should be given in all cases but that in this case, because of the problems created in voir dire, the mercy instruction is necessary. The Attorney General's response is flatly that there is no right to such an instruction. Our case law supports the Attorney General in this regard. Cabello v. State, 471 So.2d 332, 348 (Miss.1985); Billiot v. State, 454 So.2d 445, 466 (Miss.1984); Hill v. State, 432 So.2d 427, 441 (Miss.1983); Jordan v. State, 365 So.2d 1198, 1205 (Miss.1978).
It does not follow from the state's extracting promises from the jurors during voir dire that a life option instruction such as the one offered here must be granted. The fact that the jury was properly instructed as to their option of either the death penalty or life imprisonment cures any mistakes made during voir dire. Bingham v. State, 434 So.2d 220, 225 (Miss.1983); Matthews v. State, 394 So.2d 304, 307 (Miss.1981).
There is no merit to this assignment.
V.
DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN OVERRULING THE MOTION FOR A DIRECTED VERDICT ON THE CHARGE OF CAPITAL MURDER AND FOR SUBMISSION OF THE CASE TO THE JURY ON THE LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE OF MURDER AND WAS THE VERDICT OF THE JURY FINDING WILLIAMS GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE?
The thrust of this entire assignment of error is that the state failed to prove the underlying felony of kidnapping. In ruling on the motion for a directed verdict, the trial court said:
All right. Let me say that I have heard the testimony here. It is the opinion of the court that there is sufficient evidence to present the question of kidnapping to the jury. Of course, it started with the testimony of Terrell Evans who indicated that, while in the Scoreboard Lounge, he and the defendant observed the victim in this case, who was obviously intoxicated, under the influence of drugs or diminished capacity of some kind, and they hatched a plan that they were going to wait until the other people had their fun, and then they would take her off, and I think it started at that point. And the other matters alluded to by the district attorney, of course, I believe all furnished sufficient evidence for the jury issue. The motion will be overruled.
Kidnapping is defined by Mississippi Code Annotated § 97-3-53 (Supp.1985) as follows:
§ 97-3-53 Kidnapping; capital punishment authorized.
Any person who shall without lawful authority forcibly seize and confine any other person, or shall inveigle or kidnap any other person with intent to cause such person to be secretly confined or imprisoned against his or her will, or shall without lawful authority forcibly seize, inveigle or kidnap any child under the age of ten (10) years and secretly confine such child against the will of the parents or guardian or person having the lawful custody of such child, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for life in the state penitentiary if the punishment is so fixed by the jury in its verdict. If the jury fails to agree on fixing the penalty at imprisonment for life the court shall fix the penalty at not less than one (1) year nor more than thirty (30) years in the state penitentiary.
In Hughes v. State, 401 So.2d 1100 (Miss.1981), this Court explained:
In order to clearly set forth the different elements which may constitute kidnapping under the statute, we restate the statute as follows:
Every person who shall, without lawful authority
(1) forcibly seize and confine any other,
(2) or shall inveigle or kidnap any other
(3) with intent
(a) to cause such person to be secretly confined or imprisoned in the state against his will,
(b) or to cause such other person to be sent out of this state against his will,
(c) or to cause such other person
(1) to be deprived of his liberty,
(2) or in any way held to service against his will .
Under the statute the state must prove that a person, without lawful authority, either (1) forcibly seized and confined another person, or (2) inveigled or kidnapped another person, intending to subject such person to either (a), (b), or (c) above.
401 So.2d at 1105, Cited with approval in Brewer v. State, 459 So.2d 293, 296 (Miss.1984).
In order for this conviction to stand, the prosecutor is required to prove every element of the kidnapping offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Patterson v. York, 432 U.S. 197, 210, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 2327, 53 L.Ed.2d 281, 292 (1977); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 324, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2791, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, 576-77 (1979); Neal v. State, 451 So.2d 743, 757 (Miss.1984).
In Neal, we held that circumstantial evidence such as the victim's dress, location of the body, and bruised condition of the body were sufficient to show involuntary accompaniment and service against one's will. 451 So.2d at 758. The victim in Neal was thirteen, as opposed to eighteen, the age of the victim in this case. See also Fisher v. State, 481 So.2d 203, 212-14 (Miss.1985).
The record contains certain circumstantial evidence which supports the verdict finding a kidnapping:
Dr. Paul McGarry testified to the abused condition of the body;
Photographs of the wounds were admitted into evidence;
Jenny Cummings testified Miss Pierce appeared to be on drugs, and she saw Terrell Evans place Karon Pierce in the truck;
Terrell Evans testified that he and Williams had agreed to take Karon off and have sex with her;
Terrell Evans testified that Karon wanted to go back to the Scoreboard to get her purse and sandals but they didn't take her;
The toxicologist testified that Karon's blood alcohol sample was .07 and that stomach contents, bile, and blood tests revealed traces of POP and quaaludes. We note further that the jury also had
access to the following:
Karon refused to leave the Scoreboard when her date was forced to leave, saying that someone else would take her home;
Karon's mother's statement that Karon "had pulled these stunts before;"
Once Karon had been put in the truck by Evans she let herself out and voluntarily went back into the Scoreboard Lounge of her own free will;
Karon voluntarily engaged in foreplay, she voluntarily smoked marijuana and drank beer with Evans, Norwood and Williams, she voluntarily had sex with Norwood and Williams;
After protesting sex with Williams for the second time she again smoked marijuana, drank, laughed and joked with all three men;
Karon was able to get out of the truck and go to the bathroom three times under her own power and voluntarily returned to the truck each time;
The testimony further suggested that she was beaten and possibly sexually abused at the Scoreboard Lounge before she left with the three men.
Under the prosecutor's theory of the case, several kidnappings took place: the first, when Karon was taken from the Scoreboard Lounge in the truck; the second, when she requested to get her shoes and was not returned to the Scoreboard Lounge; the third because of her intoxicated condition; and the fourth when she was dragged or carried into the woods from the truck.
Unlike the victim in Haymond v. State, 478 So.2d 297 (Miss.1985), Karon Pierce was never'comandeered against her will in the truck. She apparently was a willing participant until the fourth attempted sex act, at which point she began her protest.
When we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecutor, it is conceivable that a reasonable juror could have found that Karon Pierce was inveigled, i.e., enticed or tricked, with intent to secretly confine her against her will. As kidnapping is not a specific intent crime, it is sufficient that the circumstances resulted in such a manner as to effect a kidnapping as opposed to an actual intent to kidnap, i.e., it is not necessary to establish the mental state of intent by direct evidence. Williams v. State, 445 So.2d 798, 809 (Miss.1984); Voyles v. State, 362 So.2d 1236, 1243 (Miss.1978). The fact that the confinement is minor is of no consequence so long as it is present:
If forcible detention or movement is merely incidental to a lesser crime than kidnapping, such confinement or movement is insufficient to be molded into the greater crime of kidnapping. An illustration might well be a strong-armed robbery where the victim is detained and perhaps moved a few feet while being relieved of his wallet. The detention and movement would not support kidnapping albeit with force and unlawful. On the other hand, if the confinement or aspor-tation be not merely incidental to a lesser crime, but a constitutent part of the greater crime, the fact of confinement or asportation is sufficient to support kidnapping without regard to distance moved or time of confinement.
Cuevas v. State, 338 So.2d 1236, 1238 (Miss.1976).
There is no merit to this assignment of error.
VI.
DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN FAILING TO GRANT DISCOVERY OF ALL EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST KARON ANN PIERCE BY PERSONS OTHER THAN JESSIE DERRELL WILLIAMS ON THE NIGHT OF HER DEATH; IN FAILING TO GRANT DISCOVERY OF ALL STATEMENTS OF PERSONS CHARGED WITH COMMITTING CRIMES AGAINST PIERCE ON THE NIGHT OF HER DEATH; AND IN FAILING TO GRANT DISCOVERY OF ALL EVIDENCE WHICH LED TO THE ARREST OF JOHN PAUL ADAMS AND MITCHELL BYRD FOR THE CAPITAL MURDER OF PIERCE; IN FAILING TO PROVIDE A LIST OF ALL PERSONS WHOSE STATEMENTS WERE PROVIDED TO THE COURT FOR IN-CAMERA INSPECTION?
We discuss only that part of Assigned Error VI which involves approximately sixteen (16) statements provided to the court by the State for in-camera inspection, since, in our opinion, there is no merit in the other requests stated in Assignment VI.
Appellant contends that under the holding in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), he was denied due process when the prosecution declined to make available to him statements which were delivered by the prosecution to the trial judge for inspection and determination as to whether or not they were exculpatory. The United States Supreme Court held in Brady v. Maryland, supra, that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused violates due process where the evidence is material, either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of good faith or bad faith of the prosecution. In Brady, the defendant requested that he be permitted to examine the extra-judicial statements made by the defendant's confederate, wherein the confederate admitted he had done the actual killing, and the court ruled that denial of such request denied due process as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
In United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985), the court held that the U.S. Government's failure to assist the defense by disclosing information that might have been helpful in conducting cross-examination amounts to a constitutional violation only if it deprives the defendant of a fair trial; that constitutional error occurs, and a conviction must be reversed, only if the evidence is material in the sense that its suppression undermines confidence in the outcome of the trial; and that evidence withheld by the government is material, as would require reversal of conviction, only if there is reasonable probability, that, had evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.
Mississippi Uniform Criminal Rule 4.06(a)(6) requires disclosure to the defense of a "copy of any exculpatory material concerning the defendant." The trial judge carefully examined the statements provided to him in camera review prior to the trial, and held that they were not exculpatory and thus not discoverable under the rules and law. The question before this Court now, in light of the rules and decisions, is whether the trial judge erred in holding that the material delivered to him and examined by him prior to trial was not exculpatory and not discoverable.
Without question, it is settled that exculpatory evidence in possession of the State must be turned over to the defense prior to a criminal trial, if material, and if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. We are faced with a different situation from that in Hentz v. State, 489 So.2d 1386 (Miss.1986), where the prosecuting attorney stated in response to the request for certain tape recordings that, in his judgment, there was no exculpatory material in the tapes, thus, the reason that disclosure was declined. There, the trial judge did not examine, hear and inspect the evidence, i.e., tapes, while here, the trial judge read the statements, examined them, and made a finding of fact that they were not exculpatory. In Hentz, the defendant could only rely upon the statement made by the prosecuting attorney, which was far from sufficient. In-camera review of the statements and material, as was done here by the trial judge, was sufficient compliance with the rules and with state and federal law. The judgment of the trial judge is subject to the review of this Court only for correctness under the facts and the law.
Now, having stated the narrow question that is before us on this issue, we turn to a review of the trial judge's conclusion that the material in issue was not exculpatory, thus not discoverable. The documents in question are numerous papers, consisting of reports and statements. We have carefully examined these documents and find nothing in them which suggests that they could have been successfully utilized by the defense to create a reasonable doubt as to Williams' guilt. In our opinion, there is no probability, much less the reasonable probability as required by law, that this material would have substantially altered the outcome of the trial. Accordingly, we hold that the trial judge acted within his discretion in finding that the material was not discoverable under state and federal law, and that the appellant's argument to the contrary is without merit.
Finding no reversible error in the trial below, the judgment imposing the death penalty upon appellant is affirmed and the date of his execution is set for Tuesday, November 17, 1987.
CONVICTION FOR CAPITAL MURDER AFFIRMED AND TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1987, SET FOR EXECUTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE MANNER PROVIDED BY LAW.
As to Parts I-V: All Justices concur.
As to Part VI: WALKER, C.J., ROY NOBLE LEE and HAWKINS, P.JJ., and DAN M. LEE, GRIFFIN and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.
As to Part VI: SULLIVAN, PRATHER and ROBERTSON, JJ., dissent.