Opinion ID: 217434
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel at the Penalty Stage

Text: Pietri claims that his counsel were ineffective at the penalty phase for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence of his low IQ, brain damage, childhood sexual and physical abuse, and cocaine addiction. Pietri asserts that because his counsels' deficient performance prejudiced his sentence, the state court's disposition of this claim was an unreasonable application of Strickland and Wiggins. In reviewing this claim, we consider the testimony of the eight witnesses that defense counsel did present during the penalty phase of Pietri's trial. Pietri's older brother, William Pietri, testified that their father was a violent man, an alcoholic who beat their mother and abandoned the family when petitioner was very young. (R. Vol. 19, p. 2826-37; Vol. I. Penalty phase, p. 38-48.) William stated that Pietri was a very nice kid before he became involved with drugs. ( Id. at 2834; Vol. I at 45.) Another brother, Marino Pietri, testified that his parents had nine children from their union, and the entire family lived together in one house that had only two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. ( Id. at 2849-87; Vol. I at 60-98.) The house did not have running water, an indoor bathroom, or television. Marino corroborated William's testimony about their father's alcoholism, physical and psychological abuse to family members, and abandonment. Marino explained that Pietri had a cross-eye condition and had surgery to correct the problem, but the surgery caused him to be blind in his right eye. Marino stated that Pietri worked with him for several years in the landscape business, but then Pietri started using drugs and was no longer a good worker. Defense counsel also presented Pietri's sisters, Ramona Rivera and Ada Serrano Liddell, as witnesses. ( Id. at 2888-96; Vol. I at 99-107 and Id. at 2901-11; Vol. II Penalty phase, p. 112-22.) Both testified that Pietri was a fun person and a nice brother, who changed substantially after he began using cocaine. Roger Paul, a minister who met with Pietri while he was incarcerated, testified that Pietri had undergone a religious transformation which led him to admit to his crime and express remorse for his crime. ( Id. at 2912-25; Vol. II at 123-36.) The defense also presented Yoris Santana, who was with Pietri during the days immediately prior to the murder, after Pietri escaped from prison. ( Id. at 2838-46; Vol. I, 49-57.) Santana explained that during the days preceding the murder, Pietri was involved in heavy drug use, specifically rock cocaine. Santana testified that Pietri used cocaine 24/7 and had problems when he was high on drugs. ( Id. at 2839; Vol. I at 50.) Defense counsel also presented the testimony of two experts at the penalty phase. Jody Iodice, a social worker and former drug addict who worked extensively with drug addicts, explained the effects of cocaine, the type of people more likely to become addicted to drugs, the crash that occurs following the use of drugs, the length of the crash symptoms, the down phase after cocaine use, and the length of the down phase. ( Id. at 2925-52; Vol. II, p. 136-63.) However, she also explained that drug use does not impair intellect and does not impair the ability to make cognitive decisions. ( Id. at 2944; Vol. II at 155.) Ms. Iodice also stated that the drug use may alter a person's priorities, but the person can still distinguish between right and wrong. ( Id. at 2945; Vol. II at 156.) Defense counsel did elicit from Ms. Iodice the fact that people on drugs do not anticipate the consequences of their actions, and their actions are produced by pure impulse. She also acknowledged that cocaine does alter one's judgment, and that for people on drugs, everything is based on their drive to obtain the drug. ( Id. ) The defense also presented the testimony of Dr. Glen Caddy, a mental health expert, who explained that he had consulted with Pietri prior to his testimony, had conducted a mental status exam, and had obtained a personal history on Pietri. ( Id. at 2952-3024; Vol. II p. 163-236.) Dr. Caddy opined that Pietri had a very chaotic and tragic childhood, and his family life lacked structure and limitations. Dr. Caddy's examination of Pietri's history revealed that he had an eye condition that resulted in the loss of sight in his right eye; his father was often drunk and very abusive; his father beat his mother almost daily in the presence of the children; his father also exhibited violence toward the children; he was sexually abused for about two years by a man who lived with the family; and his mother was totally ineffective as a parent. Dr. Caddy testified that around the age of 13, Pietri began engaging in aberrant behavior, and by the age of 14, he had already become very vulnerable to drug use, abuse, and addiction. Dr. Caddy noted that Pietri dropped out of school when he was sixteen, used drugs and drank excessively, then pulled himself together for a brief period before he entered the world of cocaine. Pietri began to commit crimes to support his drug habit. Dr. Caddy explained that Pietri's incarceration period was just a time-out from drug addiction. ( Id. at 2984; Vol. II at 196.) Dr. Caddy explained the effects of drug addiction and noted that during the withdrawal period, a drug addict overreacts to stimuli. The addict may experience a general sense of confusion and a high stress level. Dr. Caddy opined that on the day of the offense, Pietri was still experiencing the residual effects of having ingested cocaine for the prior three or four days. ( Id. at 2989-90; Vol. II at 201-02.) He explained that Pietri's main focus around the time of the murder was to acquire more cocaine, and his judgment would have been impaired. Dr. Caddy also recounted the events Pietri had related to him concerning the offensethat Pietri had become frightened when he was aware that a police officer was following him, and as he stuffed stolen jewelry into his pocket, he felt the gun, picked it up and fired at the officer. Dr. Caddy opined that Pietri's conduct was simply a reaction, which is consistent with someone who uses cocaine heavily. ( Id. at 2994-95; Vol. II at 206-07.) Despite the defense testimony presented during the sentencing phase of his trial, Pietri claims that his counsel could have and should have done more to investigate and present mitigation evidence. At his evidentiary hearing, Pietri presented expert and counsel testimony to elaborate on the mitigation evidence that he alleges counsel failed to present at the sentencing phase. Dr. Jonathan Lipman testified that had he been called during the penalty phase, he would have opined that Pietri was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the crime. In his opinion, Pietri could appreciate the criminality of his conduct, but his ability to conform his behavior to the requirements of the law was impaired. (R. Vol. 50, p. 1104.) Dr. Lipman concluded, based upon his evaluation of Pietri and Pietri's extensive drug use, that Pietri did have an organic mental disorder caused by his toxic condition at the time of the offense. ( Id. at 1151.) Dr. Glen Caddy stated that the opinions and conclusions he proffered at the penalty phase had not changed. (R. Vol. 51, p. 1246.) He acknowledged that he could not testify that Pietri's mental state at the time of the crime was extremely impaired nor could he testify that Pietri was unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. ( Id. at 1226-28.) Dr. Harry Krop testified and conceded that much of the information he provided during the evidentiary hearing was the same as that covered by Dr. Glen Caddy during his penalty phase testimony. (R. Vol. 49, p. 970-1031.) Dr. Faye Sultan also testified and described, in detail, Pietri's recollections of being sexually abused as a child. (R. Vol. 51, p. 1254-1308.) Dr. Sultan opined that a person who has been sexually abused is more likely to become an early abuser of drugs and alcohol. She also opined that a sexual abuse victim would have difficulty regulating his emotions and would be more likely to experience the severe effects of any chemical he used. Dr. Sultan conceded that Dr. Caddy's findings were consistent with her opinion. The last mental health expert to testify was Dr. Goldberg, who conducted a battery of psychological tests on Pietri and concluded that Pietri's IQ is 76, which places him in the mildly impaired range. (R. Vol. 53, p. 1495-1705.) He opined that Pietri's cognitive impairments are due to cerebral dysfunction. When asked if Pietri satisfied any of the mental health mitigating factors listed in the statute, he responded that Pietri satisfied only the catchall criteria. See Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(h) (2010). ( Id. at 1522.) Peter Birch, Pietri's penalty-phase counsel, testified at the evidentiary hearing that he focused more time on the guilt phase of Pietri's trial in an attempt to secure an advantageous plea agreement. One week before trial began, Birch believed that the trial would not start because there was a written, signed plea agreement between Pietri and the State. (R. Vol. 47 p. 692.) Birch also stated that he attempted to secure a mental health expert for the penalty phase and finally had Dr. Krop appointed about one month before the scheduled trial. After Dr. Krop evaluated Pietri, he advised Birch that in his opinion, Pietri was competent to proceed and was sane at the time of the offense. ( Id. at 624-29.) Dr. Krop also advised Birch that Pietri had no psychiatric history or evidence of any psychotic process disturbance or organic disorder. Dr. Krop did report that Pietri had a history of substance abuse and possible physical and sexual abuse. Birch stated that he was disappointed in Dr. Krop's opinion and decided that he would not use Krop as an expert at the penalty phase because he would have been of little assistance. ( Id. at 629.) After unsuccessfully soliciting the assistance of Dr. Krop, Birch testified that he contacted another mental health professional, Dr. Haynes. Birch consulted with Dr. Haynes several times, then he and his co-counsel Donnie Murrell decided that Dr. Haynes would not be helpful. ( Id. at 669-70.) Birch recalled talking to other mental health experts after Dr. Haynes, and five days before the penalty phase began, secured the assistance of Dr. Caddy. Birch acknowledged that the defense had a lot of evidence to support non-statutory mitigation. ( Id. at 676.) The state appellate court rejected Pietri's contentions that his penalty-phase counsel were ineffective. Based on Peter Birch's testimony, the Florida Supreme Court concluded that Pietri failed to demonstrate that his counsel were deficient in securing a mental health expert. Although counsel was admittedly not focused on the penalty phase from the outset or in the months prior to the start of the guilt phase trial, the record clearly reflects that counsel began attempts to secure a mental health expert well before the penalty phase began. There was evidence of clear justification for not utilizing Dr. Krop as a witness, ... and counsel subsequently contacted at least four experts before finally locating one who could offer assistance .... While there is no claim here that Pietri was uncooperative, the record does reflect that at least one of the mental health experts contacted by defense counsel, Dr. Haynes, was unwilling to testify. Here we do not even have deficient results because the evidence ultimately presented at trial encompassed the material for which Pietri now asserts fault with counsel. Pietri, 885 So.2d at 263-64. The court then concluded that even if counsel were deficient in their attempts to secure a mental health expert, it was clear that Pietri failed to demonstrate that he suffered prejudice as a result of the alleged ineffectiveness. The Florida Supreme Court noted that none of the experts who testified at the evidentiary hearing claimed any inadequacies in either Dr. Caddy or Jody Iodice's penalty-phase testimony. Id. at 266. In fact, Dr. Krop and Dr. Sultan acknowledged that their testimony was consistent with Dr. Caddy's penalty-stage testimony. Because the jury was presented with identical evidence of the effects of Pietri's drug usage at the penalty stage, the appellate court concluded that there was no probability that the additional evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing would have changed the outcome of the sentence. Id. We agree with the Florida Supreme Court that Pietri cannot show that his penalty-phase counsel were unconstitutionally ineffective. Pietri cannot demonstrate that the state court unreasonably applied Strickland to the facts of his case. The state court reviewed the testimony presented at both the penalty phase and the post-conviction hearing. It noted that trial counsel made numerous attempts to secure a mental health expert and strategically decided not to present some of the mental health experts they consulted. Additionally, the state appellate court found that the penalty-phase jury was presented with identical evidence of the effects of long-term or continuous drug use that Pietri presented at the collateral hearing. Thus, the state appellate court determined that counsel did not provide constitutionally deficient performance, but even if they did, there was no reasonable likelihood that the result of Pietri's sentencing would have been different based on this additional information. Pietri has not satisfied his burden of showing that the state court applied Strickland to his case in an objectively unreasonable manner. See Woodford, 537 U.S. at 25, 123 S.Ct. at 360. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order denying Pietri relief on this claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.