Opinion ID: 2489132
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Full Investigation and Presentation of Wyatt's Social History

Text: In Wyatt's first subclaim on this issue, he asserts that his counsel was ineffective in failing to undertake a complete investigation into Wyatt's social history and if counsel had done so, counsel could have presented the following information to the jury: Wyatt's father was physically and emotionally abusive to Wyatt from a very tender age, including forcing him out of babyhood by taking him out of his crib too soon, removing his bottle from him too soon, poking him repeatedly in the chest until he bruised, and yelling at him to be a man; Wyatt witnessed his father choking his mother; Wyatt's mother was involved with a series of men who were abusive to her and her children; Wyatt's stepfather was extremely cruel to his children, especially Wyatt; Wyatt's stepfather forced the children to fight each other; Wyatt's mother ran off with another man when Wyatt was sixteen, and his stepfather forced him to run after her and try to get his mother back; Wyatt's mother was severely mentally ill and institutionalized throughout much of Wyatt's childhood, requiring that Wyatt's grandmother care for him; Wyatt confided to Sarah Cox as to some of the things that his mother would do when she was mentally ill, including throwing plates at a wall or running around the house naked; Wyatt abused drugs and alcohol at a very early age; and one of Wyatt's elementary teachers sexually abused Wyatt by performing oral sex on him, which had a profound effect on Wyatt, including deep feelings of rage and shame. The postconviction court denied this claim, finding that much of this evidence was cumulative to evidence that was presented at the penalty phase. After reviewing the full record, we agree. At the penalty phase, Wyatt's mother, Jean McDaniel, testified. She described her mental illness in detail, including the effect it had on Wyatt. She also provided significant information about Wyatt's difficult childhood, including the abuse he suffered from his natural father as his father tried to make sure that Wyatt would be a man. McDaniel also testified as to the emotional abuse that Wyatt suffered from his stepfather when she remarried. McDaniel provided very compelling testimony regarding a male teacher who paid particular attention to Wyatt and picked him up from his grandmother's house to spend time with him. She later learned that this teacher sexually abused her son and did the same thing to others in the community, devastating them. According to Wyatt's mother, things changed drastically for Wyatt after this incident. In addition, McDaniel recalled a time when she decided to leave her family for a total stranger. Wyatt tried to bring his mama back, but when they reached Columbia, South Carolina, she set him out of the car on the side of the street, even though he did not have any money. Counsel also called Wyatt's sister, who testified how difficult it was to grow up as a child in their family, based on their mother's mental illness, their father's abuse, and their stepfather's emotional abuse. She testified that as he got older, Wyatt turned to drugs. Other family members, including Wyatt's brother and uncle, testified to similar circumstances. Although Wyatt alleges that trial counsel was ineffective because counsel failed to discover and present certain evidence, the record shows that this favorable evidence had already been presented through lay witnesses. Moreover, if defense counsel had presented a mental health expert to testify as to such matters, this would have provided the State with the opportunity to cross-examine the expert regarding significant unfavorable aspects regarding Wyatt. This was one of the very reasons that defense counsel chose not to present a mental health expert in this casea decision that was made after consulting with Wyatt himself. Wyatt is unable to point to any significant evidence that was not already presented to the jury. As this Court has held, a defendant can show neither ineffectiveness nor prejudice by asserting that his counsel failed to present testimony that would have been cumulative to testimony the jury already heard. See Stewart v. State, 37 So.3d 243, 258 (Fla. 2010) (Because the evidence that Stewart argues should have been presented is cumulative, Stewart has demonstrated neither deficiency nor prejudice.). Accordingly, we deny this subclaim.