Opinion ID: 78553
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Potential Mitigating Evidence

Text: Boyd presented several witnesses at the state habeas hearing to testify about further mitigating evidence that could have been introduced at his original trial. [3] Jan Vogelsang, a clinical social worker with some fifteen years of expertise in victimization and child trauma, testified about the psychosocial assessment she performed on Boyd. Vol. 17 at 171. Her summary of the various risk factors apparent in Boyd's life included the following. First, Boyd's father, Butch, was an alcoholic who was in and out of jail throughout Boyd's childhood, humiliated his children and failed to support them, attacked his aging parents, and when he would return to the house unannounced and raging, he would destroy its contents. Second, Boyd's stepfather, Don Oliver, who married Boyd's mother when Boyd was eight, was a brutal man who beat the children. He regularly assaulted Boyd's mentally disabled sister, Susie, and would lock her in her room for days and weeks. Oliver's beatings of Boyd's sister Cindy ultimately led social services to remove her from the home. On one occasion Oliver struck Boyd with his fists when Boyd sought to intervene in defense of his sister Susie, beat him another time when Boyd tried to protect his mother, and frequently hit Boyd on the head with a rifle butt when they went hunting. However, Oliver's violence toward Boyd was not documented in any social service agency records. In addition, Dr. Karl Kirkland, the psychologist testifying on behalf of the State, said that Boyd had told him that Oliver hit him on the head with a rifle butt on one occasion. Third, Boyd's mother loved her children but was unable either to provide for or to protect them, and attempted suicide when Boyd was eleven. Rats and snakes crawled in and out of the children's belongings; when there was insufficient food, Boyd and his siblings sought nutrients from dirt, and also received food from their grandparents. Several of the social service records did say, however, that the children appeared to be well cared for and supervised, but these records also indicated that the Boyds frequently received governmental assistance. Fourth, Boyd's alcoholic grandparents, at whose house Boyd spent significant amounts of time, beat each other in front of the children, who were used to seeing them crawl in the house drunk on their knees. Id. at 194, 196. Their drunkenness led them to jeopardize the children's safety, as when they forced then-twelve-year-old Cindy to drive the family home from Florida to Alabama with six-year-old Boyd beside her. Finally, Boyd's sister Cindy, who attempted to parent him, was only a child herself, and at some point, tried to kill herself. Cindy left when Boyd was nine years old and Oliver cut off her contact with Boyd, who was basically left to more or less figure out life for himself. Id. at 182, 212-13. Based on these circumstances, Vogelsang claimed that Boyd's upbringing represented one of the worst family situations she had seen in terms of violence, neglect, and alcoholism. Vogelsang concluded that Boyd presented a high risk of being impulsive, had become emotionally constricted, and could not make sound decisions based on what he knew. On cross-examination, Vogelsang admitted that she had not considered the following positive factors, which were also present in Boyd's life: (1) Boyd had very close relationships with his mother, his paternal grandparents, his sister, and his sister's husband; (2) Boyd and Julie Greenwood had a romantic relationship in which they discussed marriage; and (3) Boyd's great uncle, when Boyd was fifteen or sixteen years old, allowed Boyd to come live with him in New Mexico in order to teach Boyd how to become a mechanic. Cindy Pierce, Boyd's sister, also testified at the Rule 32 hearing about Boyd's deprived family background, conveying both more and in greater detail than she did at trial about the abuse and neglect the children had endured. Cindy confirmed that: (1) their grandparents were alcoholics who fought with each other, Vol. 17 at 11-14; (2) their father was rarely around, but when he was, he was crazy, would come in and destroy the furniture, would knock or slap down their mother, and occasionally beat his parents, id. at 23-26, 28; and (3) their stepfather was very cruel, treated their mother like a slave, beat her severely twice, beat sister Susie at least three times a week, and while he wasn't as quick and easy to beat [Boyd] as he was myself and [Susie], probably beat Boyd about once a week. Id. at 29-33. Despite growing up in the same household as Boyd, Cindy did not commit any crimes, and at the time she testified, worked as a training supervisor at a manufacturing company. She explained that Boyd moved in with her at some point when he was approximately fourteen years old but that her efforts to discipline him were not well received. She also said that Boyd did not take advantage of the opportunity offered by their great uncle. At the Rule 32 hearing, Calhoun County Sheriff Roy Snead singled out Boyd's father as suffering from serious alcoholism; he added that the father had been arrested twenty-six times. Retired Anniston police officer Bill Whatley also offered an episode of Oliver's domestic abuse. Childhood neighbor Kathy Gurley, familiar with the stepfather's physical and verbal assaults on Boyd and the mother's helplessness, testified that violence was endemic throughout Boyd's neighborhood. Gurley opined that Boyd was among the kindest of the youngsters she knew and believed his involvement in these offenses was wholly out of character. Boyd also relied upon the testimony of Dr. Louis Tetlow, a clinical psychologist for the Louisiana Department of Corrections. Dr. Tetlow performed a number of tests on Boyd and concluded that Boyd, among other things, had trouble planning ahead, was short-sighted and impulsive, unable to evaluate possible consequences or trust others, expressed emotional constriction, indicating an inability to be empathetic, had an abiding problem with authority, and evinced anger and rage. Dr. Tetlow further opined that Boyd had been adversely affected by his father's absence, and by the beatings he sustained at his stepfather's hand while his mother sat by passively. Dr. Tetlow concluded, however, that Boyd had above-average intelligence, no delusional beliefs, no signs of organic brain damage, and no history of alcohol or drug abuse. Dr. Tetlow agreed with Dr. Krichev's pre-trial evaluation that Boyd did not meet the criteria for a psychological diagnosis and really d[id] not have a major mental disorder. Vol. 19 at 446. Dr. Karl Kirkland, a licensed psychologist certified by the State as a forensic examiner, testified on behalf of the State at the Rule 32 hearing. Dr. Kirkland described what he had heard during Boyd's post-conviction hearing as a pervasive history of emotional and physical abuse that has been very well documented. Vol. 20 at 500-01. But, Dr. Kirkland opined, while Boyd had difficulty in expressing emotions, he was capable of recognizing many emotions and expressing many of those feelings. Dr. Kirkland said that Boyd could easily form emotional attachments; he described the close relationships Boyd had with his sister Cindy, with his mother and grandparents, and with Cindy's husband, and his fairly typical adolescent romantic relationship with Julie Greenwood. Dr. Kirkland agreed with the conclusions of Drs. Krichev and Tetlow that Boyd did not meet the criteria for any psychological diagnosis, and presented no mental health history, and no drug or alcohol history. Dr. Kirkland further observed that Boyd was of average intelligence, scoring high in comprehension and low in math, and that possible learning difficulties in math might have explained why he left school early. Dr. Kirkland also noted Boyd's positive work history including work in a fast-food restaurant as a dishwasher for a year, for a railroad company for a year, as an auto mechanic for three years, and as a television satellite technician for three to four months, rising to the level of a crew chief. Dr. Kirkland concluded that the abuse Boyd suffered in his childhood did not cause Boyd to commit murder. Regarding Boyd's mental state at the time of the offense, Dr. Kirkland said that he could not find any evidence to suggest that Boyd was suffering from a mental illness at the time he committed the offenses or anything else that would reduce his criminal responsibility. Dr. Kirkland added that Boyd recognized the criminality of his conduct and was in complete control of his behavior at the time of the crime.