Opinion ID: 1589788
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Proportionality of Goff's sentence

Text: ¶ 199. This Court is required by statute to perform a proportionality review when reviewing the imposition of a death sentence. Mississippi Code Section 99-19-105(3) states: (3) With regard to the sentence, the court shall determine: (a) Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor; (b) Whether the evidence supports the jury's or judge's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance as enumerated in Section 99-19-101; (c) Whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant.... Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-105(3) (Rev.2007). ¶ 200. After reviewing the record in this appeal as well as the death penalty cases listed in the appendix, we find Goff's death sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. [32] See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-105(3)(a). ¶ 201. We further find that, as discussed in issue X, supra, the evidence is more than sufficient to support the jury's finding of statutory aggravating circumstances. See Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-19-105(3)(b)(Rev.2007). ¶ 202. With regard to Mississippi Code Section 99-19-105(3)(c), Goff claims that it is clear that his death sentence is both excessive and disproportionate to the penalty imposed in other capital cases. According to Goff, because of the gravity of his mental disabilities, his sentence should be vacated, and the case should be remanded for modification of the sentence to life imprisonment pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 99-19-105(5)(c). ¶ 203. Goff claims that the record is replete with evidence which demonstrates the degree to which Goff is impaired mentally and that the record demonstrates that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features. In particular, Goff references his bizarre behavior at trial and his inappropriate laughter during questioning by police, as well as the testimony of both Dr. Van Rosen and Lessie Goff during sentencing that Goff was suffering from the disorder the night Brandy was killed. ¶ 204. During the sentencing phase of trial, Dr. Rosen stated that he had interviewed Goff twice, and he explained the tests which were used in evaluation of Goff. [33] Dr. Rosen testified that Goff had a full scale IQ score of 102, which is in the average-to-slightly-above average range. Dr. Rosen believed that Goff was trying very hard to convince [him] that he did not have a mental disorder and that the results of the testing reveal that Goff does not want to be seen as mentally ill. The testing further indicated to Dr. Rosen that Goff has a terrifically bad self-image, that Goff has periods of high energy, even excitement, and that Goff has a strong tendency towards substance abuse. The results of the inkblot test suggested to Dr. Rosen that Goff is a gentleman who has periods of significant depression and pointed to probably a bipolar disorder. Based on his interviews with Goff, Dr. Rosen gave Goff the diagnosis of personality disorder with prominent antisocial and schizotypal traits, coupled with bipolar disorder with occasional psychotic features. With regard to Goff's condition on the night of Brandy's murder, Dr. Rosen believed that Goff was in the midst of a bipolar disorder psychotic episode. ¶ 205. We find, however, that Goff has submitted no proof of any mental defect of any degree, with the exception of Dr. Rosen's testimony, and this testimony is admittedly based on Goff's unverified self-reporting of past problems. While testifying, Dr. Rosen stated that Goff was not terrifically cooperative, that Goff would not allow him access to his past psychiatric records, and that Goff provided only vague information in response to questions. In fact, Dr. Rosen stated that Goff's history was incomplete, and thus the diagnosis given was not as firm as it could have been under normal circumstances. ¶ 206. In addition, after comparing the facts of this instant case with factually similar cases in which the death sentence was imposed, we conclude that the sentence of death was neither excessive nor disproportionate. ¶ 207. This Court has upheld the death penalty in cases involving capital murders during the commission of a robbery. In Doss v. State, 709 So.2d 369, 401 (Miss. 1996), this Court found that both the conviction and the sentence were appropriate. In Doss, during the course of a robbery of a grocery store, a store clerk was shot and killed. Id. This Court has found that the sentence of death was proportionate where the defendant had strangled and robbed the victim. Cabello v. State, 471 So.2d 332 (Miss.1985). Cabello observed that this Court has recently affirmed several convictions and death sentences where the defendant was found guilty of robbery/murder.... Id. at 350 citing Dufour v. State, 453 So.2d 337 (Miss.1984); Stringer v. State, 454 So.2d 468 (Miss.1984); Booker v. State, 449 So.2d 209 (Miss.1984). In Evans v. State, 422 So.2d 737, 747 (Miss. 1982), as in Doss, this Court held that the sentence of death was not excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the manner in which it was committed as well as the defendant. Like the defendant in Doss, the defendant in Evans had shot a store clerk during the course of a store robbery. ¶ 208. This Court also has upheld the use of the death penalty in cases in which the defendant claimed to have mental problems. In Berry v. State, 703 So.2d 269, 293-94 (Miss.1997), this Court found that Berry's death sentence was not excessive or disproportionate in relation to other cases, despite the fact that Berry was a paranoid schizophrenic functioning with brain damage and an impaired intellectual capacity. Goff, like the defendant in Berry, cites this Court's decision in Edwards v. State, wherein this Court found the death penalty disproportionate because the defendant suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Id. at 293 (citing Edwards v. State, 441 So.2d 84, 93 (Miss.1983)). The following discussion found in Berry is instructive: Indeed, we recently held that a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia does not necessarily prohibit the imposition of the death penalty where the defendant is competent to be executed. See Billiot v. State, 655 So.2d 1, 17 (Miss.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1095, 116 S.Ct. 818, 133 L.Ed.2d 762 (1996). Expert testimony at Berry's trial revealed that he is indeed competent to be executed. See Lowenfield v. Butler, 843 F.2d 183, 187 (5th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 1014, 108 S.Ct. 1487, 99 L.Ed.2d 714 (1988) (stating that for one to be competent to be executed he has to be aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he must suffer it). Edwards is also distinguishable because the evidence of Edwards' affliction, unlike that in Berry's case, was overwhelming, if indeed not without contradiction.... Edwards, 441 So.2d at 93. Edwards had been committed to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield on two occasions and had a long history of hallucinations in which people were out to get or kill him. Id. at 87-88. Physicians had treated Edwards' condition for years with the drugs prolixin, cogentin, valium, and stelazine. Id. at 87. There is no evidence, on the other hand, that Berry had ever been diagnosed and/or treated, much less institutionalized, for his various afflictions prior to his killing Mary Bounds. There is also no evidence of Berry ever having suffered from any hallucinations. Berry's I.Q. of 76 and his frontal lobe impairment afford him no relief either. According to Dr. Blanton, an I.Q. of 76 is in the borderline range of intellectual function and does not render one mentally retarded. In Lanier v. State, 533 So.2d 473, 492 (Miss.1988), the defendant had an I.Q. of 61 and suffered from hallucinations, yet we held that such disorders were not on the same level as those found in the Edwards case. The defendant, in Neal v. State, 451 So.2d 743, 752 (Miss.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1098, 105 S.Ct. 607, 83 L.Ed.2d 716 (1984), post-conviction relief granted in part on other grounds, 525 So.2d 1279 (Miss.1987), had an I.Q. of 54 and suffered from the organic brain disorder dementia. This disease, which according to Dr. Blanton, is quite similar to Berry's frontal lobe impairment, affects a person's memory and ability to control his impulses. Id. Despite that fact, we held that Neal's disturbances were not on par with those in Edwards. 451 So.2d at 762. It appears then that Berry's mental state is more comparable to that of the defendants in Lanier and Neal than that of Hezekiah Edwards. As such, Berry's death sentence is not excessive or disproportionate in relation to other cases, and we reject this claim. Berry, 703 So.2d at 293-94. Goff has an full scale IQ score of 104, which, according to Dr. Rosen, places him the average-to-slightly-above-average range. Also, as noted above, Goff refused to allow Dr. Rosen access to his past psychiatric records and refused to effectively participate in Dr. Rosen's evaluation, thus making Dr. Rosen's diagnosis less than reliable. In light of the foregoing, we find that the death sentence imposed in this case is neither excessive nor disproportionate.