Opinion ID: 1611770
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: John Thompson

Text: Next, Cole asserts that trial counsel was ineffective for calling John Thompson as Cole's only witness during Cole's case-in-chief, thereby losing the right to the rebuttal argument. While the specific claim relates to witness John Thompson, an examination of this claim also involves witness Mary Gamble. Both Thompson and Gamble, who did not previously know each other, met each other and Cole months prior to the murder and rape while they and others jointly lived at the Salvation Army in Marion County. Gamble and Cole formed a friendship and engaged in sexual relations, and after Cole's arrest, Gamble visited Cole at the jail. Gamble testified during the State's case-in-chief that while she visited Cole in jail, he confessed to her that he raped Pam Edwards and slit John Edwards' throat. Thompson had driven Gamble to the jail to visit Cole. Counsel called Thompson during Cole's case-in-chief to have Thompson testify that Gamble never told him that Cole confessed to the murder, even though he drove Gamble to the jail. The record establishes that Thompson was the State's fifteenth trial witness, and Gamble was the State's eighteenth witness. Thompson testified, when called by the State, that he drove Gamble to the jail to see Cole while Cole was awaiting trial. When Thompson testified for the State, the State did not elicit any testimony concerning any conversation Gamble had with Cole at the jail. When Gamble later testified, she testified that Cole confessed to committing these crimes. Thus, trial counsel called Thompson as a witness for the defense so that Thompson could testify that Gamble never told him that Cole confessed. Cole contends that trial counsel should have elicited the testimony impeaching Gamble during Thompson's cross-examination, when Thompson was a State's witness and prior to Gamble's testimony. We do not agree because the record shows that at the time Thompson testified there was no predicate in the record upon which Gamble could be impeached. At the evidentiary hearing, trial counsel testified that he knew by calling Thompson trial counsel was losing the right to a rebuttal closing but thought that the benefit of having Thompson refute Gamble, the only person who testified that Cole confessed, outweighed the benefits of giving the rebuttal argument. We find there to be competent, substantial evidence supporting the trial court's finding that counsel's decision to call Thompson was tactical. We find no error in the trial court's conclusion that Cole failed to demonstrate how his trial counsel performed deficiently under Strickland and therefore is not entitled to relief on this claim.