Opinion ID: 673444
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Penry Claims

Text: 3 During the punishment phase of Lackey's trial, he requested an instruction regarding mitigating evidence, which was denied. On appeal, Lackey contends that the trial court's refusal to give the requested instruction unconstitutionally restricted his opportunity to present mitigating evidence. Specifically, Lackey argues that, without the requested instruction, the Texas special issues did not allow the jury to give mitigating effect to the following evidence: (1) his intoxication at the time of the offense; (2) his history of excessive drinking; (3) his low intelligence; and (4) his childhood abuse. In support of his arguments, he relies on the Supreme Court's decision in Penry, 492 U.S. at 302, 109 S.Ct. at 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989), and the cases that have clarified its holding. 4 In Penry, the Supreme Court held that, absent additional instructions to the jury, the Texas special issues did not permit the jury to give effect to the mitigating evidence of Penry's mental retardation and history of childhood abuse. According to the Court, in the absence of an instruction defining the term deliberately in the first special issue, the jury may have been precluded from giving effect to their possible opinion that Penry's mental retardation and history of childhood abuse made him less able than a normal adult to control his impulses or to evaluate the consequences of his conduct and thus less personally culpable. Id. at 323, 109 S.Ct. at 2949. With respect to the second issue, the Court found that the mitigating evidence was a double-edged sword: it mitigated his culpability and at the same time it indicated that he would be dangerous in the future. Id. at 324, 109 S.Ct. at 2949. Finally, the evidence was not relevant to the third issue. The Court concluded that the state court erred by not instructing the jury that it could consider and give effect to the mitigating evidence of Penry's mental retardation and childhood abuse by declining to impose the death sentence. 5 Subsequent to Penry, the Supreme Court explained that a state's refusal to give additional instructions does not amount to constitutional error unless there is a  'reasonable likelihood that the jury applied the challenged instruction in a way that prevents the consideration of constitutionally relevant mitigating evidence.'  Johnson v. Texas, --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S.Ct. 2658, 2669, 125 L.Ed.2d 290 (1993) (quoting Boyde v. California, 494 U.S. 370, 380, 110 S.Ct. 1190, 1198, 108 L.Ed.2d 316 (1990)). Applying this standard, we hold that Lackey's mitigating evidence did not require additional instruction. 6 At the punishment phase of the trial, 3 Lackey called Dr. Herbert Modlin, a psychiatrist and expert witness, to testify. Dr. Modlin described Lackey as a periodic drinker--a person who does not need daily drinks, but when he does drink, he often drinks too much causing him to blackout. Dr. Modlin attributed Lackey's crime to an alcohol-induced blackout that caused Lackey to lose contact with reality and rendered him capable of engaging in automatic behavior. Lackey adduced additional evidence that his drinking problem was treatable, that he was a good candidate for treatment, and that diagnostic and treatment facilities were available to him in prison. Dr. Modlin concluded that, in his expert opinion, Lackey was not likely to pose a future threat to society. 7 We have previously stated that the Texas sentencing scheme does not preclude the jury from giving mitigating effect to evidence of a defendant's voluntary intoxication at the time of the offense. See, e.g., James v. Collins, 987 F.2d 1116, 1121 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 30, 125 L.Ed.2d 780 (1993); Cordova v. Collins, 953 F.2d 167, 170 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 959, 117 L.Ed.2d 125 (1992). Unlike Penry's mental retardation and childhood abuse, voluntary intoxication is not the kind of 'uniquely severe permanent handicap[ ] with which the defendant was burdened through no fault of his own' that requires a special instruction to ensure that the mitigating effect of such evidence finds expression in the jury's sentencing decision. Cordova, 953 F.2d at 170 (quoting Graham v. Collins, 950 F.2d 1009, 1029 (5th Cir.1992), aff'd, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 892, 122 L.Ed.2d 260 (1993)). [E]vidence of voluntary intoxication can be given full effect by the jury in deciding whether the defendant acted deliberately. Id. Furthermore, the sentencing jury could have reasonably taken into consideration Dr. Modlin's testimony that Lackey would not be a future threat to society in answering the second issue. 4 8 Likewise, no special instruction was necessary to effectuate evidence presented on Lackey's history of childhood abuse or low intelligence. At the sentencing hearing, Lackey's mother told the jury that during his childhood she and Lackey were physically abused by his father. With regard to his low intelligence, both Lackey's mother and Dr. Modlin testified that Lackey did poorly in school. Additionally, Dr. Modlin testified that Lackey's IQ was below normal. 5 This evidence was not relevant to the first special issue because there was no suggestion that Lackey's criminal act was attributable to his low intelligence or childhood abuse. See Madden v. Collins, 18 F.3d 304, 307 (5th Cir.1994) (stating that to be relevant there must be a nexus between the mitigating evidence and the criminal act). To the contrary, Dr. Modlin testified that Lackey's background and psychological profile could not explain his crime. Furthermore, Lackey's trial counsel argued to the jury that the evidence of Lackey's low intelligence and history of childhood abuse were not offered to excuse Lackey's crime, but rather to show that he would not be a future danger to society. We conclude that the jury could have reasonably considered this evidence in answering the second issue. 9 Because Lackey's mitigating evidence, as proffered, was within the jury's effective reach, acceptance of Lackey's claim would require this Court to announce a new rule of constitutional law. Consequently, federal habeas relief is foreclosed. See Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 311, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 1075-76, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989).