Opinion ID: 2974292
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defense Counsel’s Conduct

Text: The penalty phase of Petitioner’s trial began on July 23, 1984, only two days after the jury returned a verdict convicting Defendant of aggravated murder. At the hearing, defense counsel waived his opening statement and offered only one piece of mitigating evidence: Petitioner’s testimony. Petitioner made the following brief statement. Well, first of all, what I have to say is going to be very brief, ladies and gentlemen. This crime happened and you reached a decision. I am not going to argue with that decision. First of all, I can say that I never intended for Archie to be killed. I didn’t want Archie killed. I was angry, true enough; and if Darby took it on his own to do that, then I’m sorry for that, but it happened. All I can say is to the attorneys and every one of you to look inside yourselves and see if I deserve to die. That’s all I have to say. (J.A. at 4327-28.) After Petitioner testified, defense counsel gave an incomprehensible closing argument, in which, upon very close reading, he seemed to argue residual doubt. First, defense counsel informed the jury that Petitioner was in a “Catch 22” because Petitioner maintained his innocence at trial and offering mitigation evidence would be inconsistent with innocence. Thereafter, defense counsel informed the jury that they could consider evidence presented at trial, pointed to witness testimony that was favorable to Petitioner, reminded the jury of the fact that a government witness admittedly had lied on the stand, and implied that Petitioner’s co-defendants lied to escape the death penalty. Defense counsel further informed the jury that he should have done a better fact investigation and that nobody would ever really know what happened to Archie Moore. In addition to making a weak and arguably incomprehensible case for residual doubt, defense counsel made the following prejudicial statements. First, he stated that he was not going to “quarrel with the verdict or quibble with might have happened,” undermining any residual doubt argument. (J.A. at 4333.) Second, defense counsel indicated on at least two occasions that he believed our justice system “works,” validating the jury’s confidence in the verdict in this case. Third, he described bloody photos of Moore, emphasizing the horrific nature of the crime. Fourth, he seemingly stated that no mitigating circumstances existed. (Id. (“There are pictures before the blood is removed. There are pictures after, well, I suppose that you can [sic] what mitigating facts could there ever be? Well there is another side to the story and we hope that you will remember everything you heard.”)) Fifth, defense counsel indicated that the death penalty was an appropriate punishment, stating: I am certainly not going to try and scare you into not recommending the death penalty by electrocution, it’s no more horrible than death on a Christmas Eve, on that cold, cold night behind the Post Office. An eye for an eye is no lesser, no lesser or more humane, there’s no question about that, but the thing that makes the difference is that we are compassionate people. Finally, defense counsel listed off potential mitigating factors and then stated that the factors may or may not exist in this case. After defense counsel’s closing statement, the prosecutor gave a closing statement. The prosecutor essentially argued that defense counsel had not presented any mitigating evidence at the Nos. 04-3515/3585 Williams v. Anderson Page 6 hearing, and thus that the jury was obligated to find that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. At 3:30 p.m. that same day, the jury returned a verdict recommending the death sentence. The trial court accepted the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Defendant to death.