Opinion ID: 1697230
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether trial counsel was ineffective by failing to adequately investigate, develop, and present mitigation evidence at the sentencing phase.

Text: ¶ 39. The defense offered only one witness during the sentencing phase. Smith's mother testified about his difficult childhood and about family problems primarily related to Smith's father who had mental problems and did not play a significant role in raising his children. Smith now claims that his attorneys were ineffective in failing to present additional mitigation witnesses at the sentencing phase. He submits affidavits from three of his sisters, and one brother. These potential witnesses generally state that Smith has some redeeming qualities and that they would have been willing to testify at Smith's trial if they had been contacted by Smith's attorneys prior to trial. They also tell of a chaotic home life, a mother who worked long hours, and an abusive father. They tell of Smith being a very active child who was protective of his brother, Jerome. They tell of his problems with the police and of an older brother, Sampson, a convicted felon who was a bad influence on Smith. ¶ 40. Because some of the information was not helpful to the defense, it is possible that the decision not to call any witnesses was defensible trial strategy. Smith had previously been convicted of kidnaping and two counts of aggravated assault. There are indications in the record that he had been in other trouble with the law. Given his criminal background, his history of drug and alcohol abuse, and his history of involvement in violence, the defense arguably could have feared that calling some of these witnesses would do more harm than good. Also, Smith was advised of his right to testify in mitigation, but he declined. Additionally, trial counsel sought to have Smith examined for mental competency for use at trial and in defense, but to no avail, because Smith did not want such an examination or such evidence to be used. ¶ 41. This Court has held that the failure to present a case in mitigation during the sentencing phase of a capital trial is not, per se, ineffective assistance of counsel. Williams v. State, 722 So.2d 447, 450 (Miss.1998), citing Williams v. Cain, 125 F.3d 269, 277 (5th Cir.1997). However, in Woodward v. State, 635 So.2d 805, 810 (Miss.1993), we found that the defendant's attorneys were ineffective during the sentencing phase due to failure to present all available mitigating evidence, resulting in prejudice to Woodward. ¶ 42. In Leatherwood v. State, 473 So.2d 964, 970 (Miss.1985), this Court considered a death penalty case in which the defense had called only four witnesses in mitigation although others were apparently available. The Court found: Although complaints of uncalled witnesses are not favored because presentation of testimony is a matter of trial strategy, Boyd v. Estelle, 661 F.2d 388, 390 (5th Cir.1981), the failure to call available witnesses on critical issues is a factor to be considered under the totality of the circumstances.... In view of the importance of mitigating evidence in the sentencing phase it is difficult to understand why favorable, willing witnesses who could be discovered by questioning the defendant would not be called. If it were within the financial ability of the defendant to arrange for the appearance of a representative group of them, this would have a strong bearing on whether trial counsel provided effective assistance. Of course, counsel's overall performance must be considered. 473 So.2d at 970. ¶ 43. In Holly v. State, 716 So.2d 979 (Miss.1998), the defendant's attorneys called his mother in the penalty phase and no other witnesses. This Court held that the post-conviction relief petitioner had not shown a reasonable probability that additional evidence in mitigation would have produced a different result. However, this Court has granted post-conviction relief in similar cases when the petitioner's attorneys did not present much, if any, evidence in mitigation in the sentencing phase. See Burns v. State, 813 So.2d 668, 678-79 (Miss.2001). Additionally, the United States Supreme Court in Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003), held that ineffective assistance of counsel may be found when the attorneys perform an inadequate investigation of petitioner's life and fail to call expert witnesses to testify regarding his hard background. ¶ 44. Also within this issue, Smith asserts that trial counsel could have presented evidence of his limited intelligence and mental capacity. As noted above, counsel filed a motion to obtain mental evaluations of Smith done for presentation at trial. But due to the wishes of Smith, and for strategic reasons, this was not done. ¶ 45. Smith presents for review with his petition, uncertified school records from the Humphreys County school system as well as the East Columbia school system where he attended seventh grade. There is no indication that he was in special education classes, and in 1985-86, the last year he is shown to have attended (in the 8th grade) his yearly averages (on a scale of 70-100 being passing) were: math, 62; English, 80; history, 64; science, 72 and physical education, 96. Also included is an Affidavit of Julie Kriegler, Ph.D. who earned her degree in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 1988, who was asked by current counsel to determine what investigation should be undertaken to identify and develop mitigation evidence for Smith. She did not meet with Smith, but rather based her determination on Smith's prior criminal proceedings and preliminary information about his life history, including affidavits by family members, unspecified professionals and an investigator familiar with Smith's history, plus the sentencing phase testimony from Smith's trial, this Court's opinion on direct appeal, and additional information regarding family history and mental health background provided by counsel. She stated that the limited educational records available for review at this time indicate that Mr. Smith's IQ has been found in the borderline mentally retarded range. This finding combined with his poor school performance support a hypothesis of the presence of neuro-cognitive or mental impairments in Mr. Smith. However there is no mention of even borderline mental retardation elsewhere in the record. An evaluation of Smith conducted by the Mississippi Department of Youth Services at the Columbia Training School when he was committed for the first time, at 13 years of age, indicates an I.Q. of 75 as determined by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. He was committed to Columbia for the second time at age 14, but the record does not contain any additional evaluation data except a new letter from Myron J. Horn, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, which prescribes verbatim the same counseling goals as were prescribed by Dr. Horn when Smith was first committed thirteen months earlier. When he was discharged from Columbia the second time, in March of 1985, after repeating the seventh grade there, his grades were: life sciences, 75; English, 75; world geography, 80; and remedial math, 90. ¶ 46. Some of this would be irrelevant, or inadmissible, and each witness would be subjected to cross-examination. Most of the proposed testimony in the affidavits submitted with the petition also deals with Smith's childhood including his physical problems, his father's abusiveness, his father's alcoholism, and the less-than-stellar living conditions in which he was raised. Smith's mother testified to much of that during the sentencing phase. Because much of this evidence (the abusive father, the father's alcoholism, etc.) was already before the jury, not only would much of the information in the affidavits be duplicative, but also there would be a risk that additional negative information might be elicited. Finally, even if the evidence provided at trial is held to be insufficient, there is no showing by a reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different with additional evidence. There is a minimal showing of deficient performance and no assertion of prejudice. This issue is without merit.