Opinion ID: 1439724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Claim refuted by the record

Text: This is the major issue presented in this post-conviction proceeding: whether or not Goodwin is retarded. The United States Supreme Court held in Atkins v. Virginia , that a retarded person, as defined by state law, cannot be executed for murder. 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002). This is because retarded persons are categorically less culpable than the average criminal. Id. at 316, 122 S.Ct. 2242. As a preliminary matter, Goodwin was not entitled to a hearing on this issue because his claim of mental retardation is conclusively refuted by the record of the trial. Morrow v. State, 21 S.W.3d 819, 822 (Mo. banc 2000). An evidentiary hearing is not required if the motion court determines that the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the movant is entitled to no relief. Rule 29.15(g). State v. Blankenship, 830 S.W.2d 1, 16 (Mo. banc 1992). The trial record includes the testimony of three expert witnesses. Of the experts, Dr. Rosalyn Schultz and Dr. Richard Wetzel are both psychologists and Dr. John Rabun is a psychiatrist. These experts testified that Goodwin was not retarded, but that he suffered from other conditions, which undercut his responsibility for the murder. Dr. Rosalyn Schultz was retained on behalf of Goodwin. [1] Dr. Schultz extensively interviewed Goodwin, his family, and his social worker. Dr. Schultz evaluated Goodwin for eleven and a half hours before trial. She conducted personality testing, competency assessments, intelligence tests, achievement tests, malingering tests, psychological tests, and a personal history. On direct examination, she testified: He also has intellectual impairments, a lower level of IQ, not in the retarded range, and so hedidn't achieve very well. He wasn't getting along with his peers. Dr. Schultz reviewed and testified about Goodwin's school records from the special school district. Regarding these records, she stated: Consistently on the IQ tests, his verbal IQ, his full scale IQ, was in the borderline range, meaning not as low as mildly retarded but not up in the normal range, and there's an indication of a learning disability that shows up on testing. Dr. Schultz discussed Goodwin's hearing impairment, his employment history, his relationship with his family, his relationship with his fiancé, a few of his writings found in his fiancé's journal, his daily life, his account of the murder, and the results of his testing. Dr. Schultz testified that she administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III to Goodwin. The results indicated a verbal IQ of 73, a performance IQ of 92, and a resultant full IQ of 80. On the Wide Range Achievement Test, Goodwin demonstrated an eighth-grade reading level, fifth-grade spelling level, and a fourth-grade arithmetic level. Dr. Schultz concluded that Goodwin suffered from major depression, a personality disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and learning disorders. Dr. Schultz opined that Goodwin was not responsible for his conduct. Dr. John Rabun, testified next. [2] Dr. Rabun spent five hours with Goodwin, interviewed Goodwin's mother, reviewed the materials submitted by Dr. Schultz and Dr. Wetzel, and examined Goodwin's records from the special school district. He testified: Well, those scores, as they're listed there, in particular the ones under the category FS, which means full size or your total IQ, those arethose are all within thewell, the first three are all within the borderline range. The fourth one isis actually average. Dr. Rabun testified that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition characterizes border-line IQ as between 71 and 86. He testified that borderline IQ indicates: They're not all mentally retarded. It's a category different than mental retardation. They have some specific problems. They might not be as bright as the average individual, but they're able to function, work, take care of themselves, bathe themselves, communicate, live independently, unlike the mentally retarded. Dr. Rabun indicated that Goodwin had a history of learning disabilities. Dr. Rabun concluded that all of the IQ tests administered to Goodwin placed him in the borderline range of intelligence with the exception of the Nelson Adult Reading Test, which placed him in the average range of intelligence. Dr. Rabun testified that Goodwin had no problems with adaptive functioning, meaning his ability to bathe and clothe himself, communicate his desires, feed himself, drive, [and] work. Dr. Rabun testified that Goodwin was able to give directions to his home, recalled details of the murder and his actions, retained extensive knowledge of narcotics, recalled his use of alcohol, recalled giving CPR to his girlfriend and calling 911 on multiple occasions, and remembered living alone after the death of his girlfriend. Dr. Wetzel was the final expert to testify. [3] Dr. Wetzel spent two days conducting psychological and neuropyschological tests on Goodwin in 1999. He conducted an MRI of Goodwin's brain, interviewed members of Goodwin's family, reviewed the reports of Dr. Rabun and Dr. Schultz, reviewed Goodwin's special school district records, reviewed Goodwin's records from St. Louis University, and reviewed the evidence and reports concerning the murder. Dr. Wetzel also testified that Goodwin was of borderline intellectual functioning. He testified: That simply means that his IQs are average, between 70 and 79. There's mental retardation, and if you say somebody's borderline you're not saying they are borderline retarded. You're saying they're not mentally retarded. He's not mentally retarded. Above that is average and low average. And what I'm saying is my best estimate is that he's not low average. In his case the verbal IQ is picking up something quite different than the performance IQ where the performance IQ shows that he's clearly low average or average. That's the things that you can do without saying anything. The performance tests are called performance because you can do something. When it comes to being able to function when you don't have to talk and you don't have to communicate, [Goodwin] can function in the low average to average range. When it comes to things that are dependent on understanding language and explaining things and communicating with people, he's down at either the very high end of where most mentally retarded people are put in or in the borderline range. But he's still not mentally retarded. He just has realistic problems in this. And the pattern of thehis IQ scores are very clear cut. It just shows as he was tested from year to year he was getting farther and farther behind verbally. He just couldn't learn as fast verbally as other people were and he just kept falling behind. Dr. Wetzel testified that based upon Goodwin's borderline intellectual functioning, his learning disability, and his hearing impairment, Goodwin had the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law when he killed Mrs. Crotts, but that his ability to do so was substantially impaired. Three highly qualified witnesses testified, at his trial, that Goodwin was not retarded. There was no evidence to the contrary. The evidence in the trial record refutes Goodwin's new claim that he is retarded, and he was not entitled to a hearing on this issue. Rule 29.15(j). [4]