Opinion ID: 1640733
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: whether the state coerced adam ray and curtis lipsey into providing false statements and illegally suppressed lipsey's initial statement.

Text: ¶ 35. Under these three issues, Howell alleges that the State improperly coerced statements from Howell's co-defendants. Howell claims that law enforcement officials improperly threatened Ray and Lipsey and that both Ray and Lipsey were intoxicated at the time their statements were taken. Issues related to the propriety of the interrogations or the admissibility of any statements provided by Ray and Lipsey either were litigated at trial and on appeal or were capable of being raised in previous proceedings. Those claims therefore are barred here. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21 (Rev.2007). Howell presents affidavits from Ray and Lipsey in which both claim that their statements were not freely given. The statements Ray and Lipsey provided to law enforcement officers, which they claim were coerced, were never entered into evidence at trial. Even assuming arguendo that law enforcement officials coerced unused statements from Ray and Lipsey, we find no prejudice to Howell. ¶ 36. Additionally, Ray did not even testify at trial. The only statement attributed to Ray at trial was during Brandon Shaw's testimony that when Ray, Lipsey, and Howell came back to Shaw's house after the shooting, Ray had said that Howell had shot someone. That statement, made in Howell's presence and not denied or discounted by Howell, was admitted into evidence as an adoptive admission. This Court found that Ray's statement was properly admitted pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(B). Howell v. State, 860 So.2d at 736. Ray's statement has been fully reviewed and adjudicated by this Court. Further review is prohibited in post-conviction proceedings. ¶ 37. In his post-conviction affidavit, Ray claims that he was too intoxicated on the night in question to know who shot Pernell and that the police tricked him into implicating Howell. Ray never claims in his affidavit that Howell did not shoot the victim. The only indication of any coercion in Ray's affidavit is his statement that he would not have told the police anything if the police had not told him that Howell was implicating him in the shooting. Even if the police did attempt to trick Ray by claiming that Howell was cooperating with law enforcement officials, this fact alone would not entitle Howell to any relief. There is no requirement that law enforcement officials be absolutely honest when interrogating a suspect. Ploys to mislead a suspect or lull him into a false sense of security are permissible during police questioning, as long as they do not rise to the level of compulsion or coercion. Illinois v. Perkins, 496 U.S. 292, 297, 110 S.Ct. 2394, 110 L.Ed.2d 243 (1990). The statement Ray gave to law enforcement officials was not even introduced into evidence at trial. We find no evidence of any relevant compulsion or coercion, especially in light of the fact that Ray did not testify at trial. Howell also somewhat disingenuously claims that the State took efforts to keep Ray from testifying and being subject to cross-examination. Ray was available to both sides. Howell and his attorneys could have called Ray had they so chosen. ¶ 38. Howell also now claims that Curtis Lipsey was coerced into implicating him. Again, the only evidence offered of any coercion is that law enforcement officials told Lipsey that Howell had given a statement that Lipsey was the shooter. As discussed supra, such action on the part of law enforcement was not impermissible. At the time of the statement, Lipsey signed a waiver of rights in which he claimed that he had not been threatened or coerced. ¶ 39. Howell also claims that the State improperly destroyed Lipsey's initial statement in which he had disclaimed any responsibility for the killing. At trial, Lipsey admitted that his first statement had been untruthful. He testified that he had denied involvement in an attempt to get out of it. This matter was discussed fully at trial and is now procedurally barred. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21 (Rev.2007). Even if it were not barred, we find that no relief is warranted. Lipsey testified that even in his initial statement, he had said that Howell was the shooter. The only change between the first statement and the second statement is related to Lipsey's own culpability as opposed to Howell's culpability.