Opinion ID: 78335
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Experts Regarding the Murder and Weapon

Text: Parker contends that his trial counsel failed to make proper use of the evidence which showed that Parker, who was in Florence at 11:30 A.M., could not have inflicted the fatal stab wounds, which were inflicted no earlier than 11:42 A.M. He maintains that Veasey's testimony during the post-conviction hearing regarding the time of the fatal attacks bolstered Parker's theory of the crime and was actually consistent with the testimony of prosecution witnesses at trial. Parker also maintains that his attorneys were ineffective for (1) failing to present available evidence that Charles Sennett killed his wife after Parker and Smith left the Sennett residence, and (2) failing to call a qualified expert to address the prosecution's allegations that Parker's survival knife was the murder weapon. He maintains that none of the experts who testified at the trial were qualified to meaningfully address the relationship between Dorlene's wounds and the size and shape of the knife. At trial, all three doctors who testified regarding the pathology of Dorlene's death indicated that the fatal stab wounds appeared to have been inflicted within minutes of the law enforcement officials' arrival at the Sennetts' home at 12:09 P.M. It is uncontested that Parker was not at the residence at that time. Dr. Emily Ward, the forensic pathologist who performed Dorlene's autopsy, described the wounds as rapidly fatal because they would cause death in no more than five minutes from blood loss and the accumulation of air in the chest cavity. Exh. Vol. 6 at 1012-13. Dr. McKinley believed that the primary fatal wounds were made to Dorlene's chest within 30 minutes of the emergency medical team's detection of a pulse. [28] Board certified forensic pathologist Dr. James Allen Barksdale opined that the wounds were inflicted [w]ithin a very few minutes of the emergency medical team's detection of a heartbeat. [29] Exh. Vol. 8 at 1537. May testified that his investigation confirmed that Parker was in Florence at 11:30 A.M. on the morning of the murder, and that it normally took about 30 minutes to drive from the Sennetts' home to Florence. During the trial, there was conflicting testimony presented as to whether Parker's survival knife was the murder weapon. Dr. McKinley did not believe that Parker's knife was the murder weapon. He did not, however, examine the length and widths of the stab wounds to determine whether or not the knife matched the wounds. Dr. Barksdale also reviewed the evidence and did not believe that Parker's knife was the murder weapon. He admitted that he did not participate in the autopsy and that it was hard to make a judgment based solely on the pictures unless the view was straight on. Exh. Vol. 8 at 1540-41, 1544-45. Dr. Ward testified that the size and irregularity of Dorlene's stab wounds matched the irregular, jagged back-side of Parker's survival knife. She testified that Dorlene sustained defensive wounds and did not likely survive more than five minutes after being stabbed. Alabama forensic supervisor John Kilborn testified that Parker's knife contained one colorless wool fiber at the hilt that was similar to the fiber on the afghan found at the Sennetts' home. Exh. Vol. 7 at 1348. At the post-conviction hearing, Parker presented the testimony of board certified forensic pathologist Dr. Sparks P. Veasey. Veasey explained that, in examining a stab wound, a pathologist measures the length of the wound across the skin and the approximate depth of penetration. He said that the approximation of the wound depth could be the same size as the knife that inflicted the wound or vary from shorter to longer based on tissue differences, lung deflation, abdominal and skin flexibility, abdominal or chest wall compression, and the amount of force used. He rejected for lack of medical certainty Ward's statements regarding the correlation between the wound and the knife and the unusual characteristics of the wound as necessarily being caused by a jagged or serrated edge. Exh. PC Vol. 14 at 809-12, 817, 819. Veasey noted that certain characteristics of the knife should have correlated with the wounds but did not. He pointed out that the knife admitted into evidence had a hilt or guard that separated the blade from the handle and that, if thrust forcefully into a victim, it would leave patterned abrasions or contusion injuries around the wound which were not found on Dorlene's wounds. Veasey also explained that the width, or distance between the sharp and dull sides, of the admitted knife was inconsistent with the width of the wounds. Veasey opined that Dorlene's wounds, which consisted of both blunt trauma and cutting injuries, occurred at two separate times: the earlier blunt trauma episode in which she attempted to defend herself and was thus cognizant of the attack, and the later cutting episode, which showed no evidence of defensive actions and occurred within thirty minutes of the emergency medical team arrival. Id. at 835-41. On cross-examination, Veasey admitted that he had trouble seeing certain details from the wound pictures and that Dr. Ward would have been in a better position to see the wound details. Id. at 846-47. He conceded that Parker's knife could have been the murder weapon. The state court noted that Veasey's testimony would not have changed the outcome of the trial but would have supported the prosecution's theory of the crime, and went to the weight of the evidence the jury placed on Ward's testimony. The state appellate court held that Parker was not prejudiced because the additional expert witness's additional testimony was cumulative. Parker's attorneys presented witnesses during the trial who testified that Parker's knife was not the murder weapon. Because Veasley's testimony would have been cumulative, the district court correctly held that the state court reasonably applied Strickland.