Opinion ID: 1134779
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: newly discovered evidence regarding mary heaton

Text: In his second successive postconviction motion, which was filed after the death warrant was signed in November 2005, Rutherford argued that newly discovered evidence showed that Mary Heaton's involvement in the murder entitled him to a new trial. Heaton had testified at trial about the circumstances related to her cashing the check belonging to Mrs. Salamon. The allegedly newly discovered evidence was in the form of two affidavits: Rutherford asserts newly discovered evidence in the form of affidavits by two persons relating statements made by Heaton. In the first affidavit dated December 16, 2005, Heaton's former housemate Alan Gilkerson stated that in the early 1990s, Heaton told him that she once killed an old lady with a hammer and made it look like A.D. Rutherford committed the crime. Gilkerson stated that Heaton told him that her motive for murdering the old lady was to get money. In the second affidavit dated December 23, 2005, defense investigator Michael Glantz stated that in a conversation with Heaton on December 22, 2005, Heaton confirmed that she knew Gilkerson and had previously resided with him. However, Heaton denied having told Gilkerson that she committed the murder in this case. According to Glantz's affidavit, Heaton stated that she knew the victim, had been present at the victim's home at the time of the murder, had witnessed Rutherford strike the fatal blow, and had been present when the victim's belongings were buried. Heaton claimed that she had previously provided this information to law enforcement officers during their investigation of the crime and had also tried to lead the officers to the location where the victim's belongings were buried. Rutherford, 926 So.2d at 1107. This Court affirmed the circuit court's summary denial, stating: Heaton's statements to Gilkerson and Glantz concerning whether she committed the murder are contradictory on their face. In her statement to Gilkerson, Heaton confessed to killing Mrs. Salamon. However, this confession is contradicted by her subsequent statement to Glantz, in which she stated that it was Rutherford who struck the fatal blow, killing Mrs. Salamon. When viewed against the impeachment evidence presented at trial concerning Heaton's mental problems and difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy, Heaton's inconsistent statements to Gilkerson and Glantz would only serve to impeach Heaton's credibility further. Clearly, this evidence does not establish that Heaton committed the crime or that Rutherford is innocent. At most, these conflicting versions of events suggest that Heaton's involvement in the crime may have been greater than was presented at trial. Even assuming that Heaton played a more significant role in the crime than was presented at trial, this evidence fails to satisfy the second prong of Jones [ v. State, 591 So.2d 911 (Fla.1991)] when considered cumulatively with the evidence presented at trial. First, there is no probability that this evidence would produce an acquittal on retrial. Although Heaton's statements could be used to impeach her credibility and her testimony at trial concerning her involvement in the crime, these statements would not have contradicted or provided an innocent explanation for any of the other evidence presented at trial indicating that Rutherford was the perpetrator. Nor would these statements have affected [Elizabeth] Ward's uncontradicted testimony placing Rutherford in possession of the victim's check. Further, there is no probability that this evidence would result in imposition of a sentence less than death on retrial. In this case, there was overwhelming evidence of Rutherford's guilt. Although the affidavits suggest that Heaton may have had greater involvement in the murder than she acknowledged at trial, her statements to Gilkerson and Glantz do not warrant a reasonable belief that Rutherford is less than wholly culpable for the murder. Despite the fact that Heaton stated that she was present at the time of the murder and when the victim's belongings were buried, Heaton does not state that she did anything to assist Rutherford in committing the murder or in disposing of the victim's belongings. In addition, Heaton's statements do not affect the aggravating factors found by the trial court in this case. Based on these circumstances, we conclude that the circuit court did not err in determining that Rutherford was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his newly discovered evidence claim. Id. at 1109-10. In Rutherford's third successive postconviction motion, which is at issue in this appeal, he argues that the statements of another newly discovered witness, when considered in conjunction with Gilkerson's affidavit, entitle him to relief. This new witness, Brian Adkison, gave the following sworn statement in an affidavit on September 30, 2006: 1. My name is Brian Adkison. I currently reside at the Walton County Jail in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. I have known Elizabeth Bevin for years, and we were neighbors in a trailer park in Crestview, Florida in the late 1990s. 2. During the time that Elizabeth Bevin was my neighbor, I visited her home on many occasions. I remember her aunt Mary staying with her from time to time. Mary was always taking pills, rocking, and talking. She often said, Don't mess with me because I've killed people before. She mentioned killing a lady in Milton by beating her to death, with some sort of tool. 3. When Mary would start talking about this, Liz would tell her to shut up and quit running her mouth. Liz did not want her talking about this to me. But, one time when Liz wasn't around to stop her, Mary told me some details about the lady she'd beaten to death and how it happened. She told me that she beat the old lady to death when trying to rob the lady of money and medication. Mary said something about how she had been at the old lady's house before, so she knew what she had. There had been a plan to get the stuff. But when it went down, I guess it went wrong. I remember very clearly Mary saying to me: I beat her to death so she couldn't talk. You don't forget when someone tells you something like that. The circuit court, accepting the allegations contained in the affidavit as true, denied this claim for relief finding that Rutherford had presented nothing new and that the affidavit(s) taken independently or cumulatively [are] insufficient to create a probability of acquittal on re-trial. Because the motion was summarily denied, we must accept that Rutherford could not have known about the evidence at the time of trial by the use of due diligence as required under the first prong of Jones v. State, 591 So.2d 911 (Fla.1991), and that he could not have obtained the evidence earlier by the exercise of due diligence as required by rule 3.851(d)(2)(A). We agree with the trial court that Rutherford has failed to satisfy the second prong of Jones, which requires that the newly discovered evidence must be of such nature that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial. Id. at 915. In determining whether the evidence compels a new trial under Jones, the trial court must consider all newly discovered evidence which would be admissible, and must evaluate the weight of both the newly discovered evidence and the evidence which was introduced at the trial. Id. at 916. This determination includes whether the evidence goes to the merits of the case or whether it constitutes impeachment evidence. The trial court should also determine whether this evidence is cumulative to other evidence in the case. The trial court should further consider the materiality and relevance of the evidence and any inconsistencies in the newly discovered evidence. Jones v. State, 709 So.2d 512, 521 (Fla. 1998) (citations omitted). After reviewing the evidence presented at trial, this Court rejected Rutherford's conten[tion] that when analyzed cumulatively . . . Heaton's subsequent statements to Gilkerson and Glantz would probably produce an acquittal or imposition of a sentence less than death on retrial. Rutherford, 926 So.2d at 1109. Rutherford now contends that when considered together, Adkison and Gilkerson's statements would, if presented to the jury, probably produce an acquittal on retrial or result in a sentence less than death. However, the facts in Adkison's affidavit do not provide any new information and, as the circuit court found, are less specific than those facts contained in Gilkerson's affidavit. Further, in advancing his claim based on Adkison's statements, Rutherford ignores the fact that Heaton's statements to both Adkison and Gilkerson are still contradicted by her statements to Glantz. See id. (Heaton's statements to Gilkerson and Glantz concerning whether she committed the murder are contradictory on their face.). Moreover, the fact that Heaton told Adkison that she killed a lady in Milton by beating her to death, with some sort of tool, does not invalidate this Court's prior determination that [a]lthough Heaton's statements could be used to impeach her credibility and her testimony at trial concerning her involvement in the crime, these statements would not have contradicted or provided an innocent explanation for any of the other evidence presented at trial indicating that Rutherford was the perpetrator. Nor would these statements have affected Ward's uncontradicted testimony placing Rutherford in possession of the victim's check. Id. at 1110. Adkison's affidavit also confirms this Court's prior observation that Heaton has suffered from mental difficulties that have impaired her ability to differentiate fact from fantasya fact that the Court found significant in concluding that a reasonable juror's determination of Rutherford's guilt would not be shaken by the Gilkerson and Glantz affidavits. Id. at 1112. In other words, Heaton is simply not a reliable witness. Finally, even if Heaton was involved in the murder, nothing that has been presented reduces Rutherford's culpability. Cf. Jones, 709 So.2d at 526 (concluding that newly discovered evidence and Brady material linking someone other than the defendant to the murder did not weaken[] the case against [the defendant] so as to give rise to a reasonable doubt as to his culpability) (quoting Jones v. State, 678 So.2d 309 (Fla.1996)). None of the four witnesses who testified regarding Rutherford's highly incriminating statements have recanted. [3] Nor have these statements been contradicted by any subsequent evidence. Ward has not recanted her testimony about the fact that Rutherford was in the possession of the check. The fingerprints and palm prints in the bathtub area belong to Rutherford and his explanation for being in that bathtub area was thoroughly impeached. For all the reasons set forth above, we agree with the circuit court that the Adkison affidavit, when considered cumulatively with all the other evidence, is not such that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial. We also conclude that there is no probability that this evidence would result in the imposition of a life sentence on retrial. Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court's summary denial of relief on this claim and on Rutherford's claim of actual innocence.