Opinion ID: 2993582
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony Presented at the Penalty Phase

Text: The state called one witness, Dr. O.C. Smith, during the penalty phase. Dr. O.C. Smith, the medical examiner, testified about the nature and extent of Hurd’s injuries. Referring to photos and a chart, Dr. O.C. Smith described blunt force injuries to Hurd’s head and stab wounds to her face, neck, abdomen, and back. He said the blunt force injuries and most of the stab wounds occurred while Hurd was alive, and the remaining stab wounds were inflicted after she died. Dr. O.C. Smith testified that the stab wounds Hurd received while she was alive would have been painful and described the wounds that hit bone as causing severe pain. He also testified that the nature and location of the stab wounds implied control, targeting, and torment. On crossexamination, Dr. O.C. Smith acknowledged that he could not be certain there were control wounds, that the blunt force to Hurd’s head could have rendered her unconscious, and that she would not have felt pain if comatose. Morris’s trial counsel presented six witnesses at the penalty phase. Morris’s former employer at a funeral home and cemetery, Mickey Granger (“Granger”), testified that Morris was a good and dependable employee. According to Granger, Morris suffered a “downward slide” in performance after he was accused of rape. Granger testified that Morris was very Nos. 11-6322/6323 Morris v. Carpenter Page 9 concerned that he would lose his wife, and the rape charge was all he talked about. Granger was not aware that Morris used drugs before the rape charge. Next, Jack Thomas (“Thomas”), Morris’s friend from work, testified. When Thomas visited Morris in prison, Morris admitted to Thomas that he killed Ragland and Hurd. According to Thomas, Morris said that he had sex with Angela, but did not rape her. Morris told Thomas that he bought a lot of cocaine on the night of the offenses in an effort to overdose. Morris said he was going to be charged for something he did not do and did not want to live any longer. For about thirty to forty minutes, Morris contemplated killing Angela but he “cam[e] back to his right frame of mind” and decided to let her go. Three prison employees, Robert Griffin, Anna Campbell, and Brenda Russell, also testified on behalf of Morris. They said that Morris participated actively in classes, helped other inmates, did extra work, and was an excellent student. Finally, Morris’s counsel submitted a letter from Frank Brasher (“Brasher”), one of Morris’s former employers. According to Brasher, Morris worked for him for about a year and a half in the late 1980s, performed his duties satisfactorily, was prompt, and was courteous. Ultimately, the jury imposed a death sentence for the murder of Hurd and life without parole for Ragland’s murder.