Opinion ID: 1768435
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether Petitioner Goodin was denied his right to a fair trial by the willful and repeated actions of the prosecution in this case to comment unfairly on Petitioner's constitutional rights.

Text: ¶ 9. Goodin next cites numerous cases from this and other jurisdictions, law journal articles, and professional rules and codes to make the following arguments: (1) prosecuting attorneys have a higher obligation than other attorneys to seek justice and act in an ethical manner, even if it means that they may lose a conviction in the process and (2) attorneys representing the State are rarely sanctioned by professional disciplinary bodies so the courts have an obligation to step into that role where appropriate. Goodin specifically argues that the State violated his right to a fair trial where, on closing argument in the sentencing phase, it argued that capital punishment was endorsed by the Bible. There was no objection at trial by defense counsel, and the issue was not raised on direct appeal. The State argues that Goodin is procedurally barred from making the argument. We agree. See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(1); Berry v. State, 703 So.2d 269, 281 (Miss.1997) (where this Court found that an issue based on the prosecutor's statement that capital punishment was commanded by the scripture was procedurally barred where there was no contemporaneous objection at trial, and that it was acceptable to use the Bible as a historical reference). ¶ 10. Goodin finally argues that this particular district attorney, and his office have continually made improper arguments in this and other cases, and that Goodin should be granted relief in order to deter such conduct in the future. Even if such an action would have that result here, this Court would not consider it here, where this issue is without merit under the authority of this Court. The State's Motion to Strike Petitioner's Rebuttal Brief ¶ 11. The next two issues are largely concerned with Goodin's mental condition, as Goodin alleges that he is both mentally retarded and paranoid schizophrenic. Most of the exhibits attached to Goodin's application are concerned with his mental health background. Included are the pretrial evaluation from Dr. Gerald O'Brien, dated February 24, 1999 (Exhibit 2); a Social Security disability report dated April 23, 1998 (Exhibit 3); an unsigned psychological evaluation from Dr. Michael Whelan dated May 1998 (Exhibit 4); a mental health evaluation from Dr. David Powers, dated May 25, 1998 (Exhibit 5); a Disability Determination and Transmittal form dated May 26, 1998 (Exhibit 6); progress notes from Dr. Thomas Welsh in Laird Hospital dated August 10, 1998 (Exhibit 7); an Intake Evaluation Interview dated July 13, 1998 (Exhibit 8); a Weems Mental Health Discharge/Termination Summary dated February 25, 1999 (Exhibit 9); and an unsworn, undated statement from Dr. Michael Whelan (Exhibit 10). Goodin relies on these documents in part to argue that he was and is mentally retarded and cannot be executed and that his trial counsel was ineffective for failure to obtain and be aware of these documents and their contents at his trial in order that it could be argued he was retarded and mentally ill. ¶ 12. The State responded to these arguments in its brief and in some cases alleges that these exhibits were not probative of the issues or were deficient on various grounds. Goodin then filed his Rebuttal Brief to which he attached additional exhibits, including some of his school records (Exhibit 1); affidavit of Teresa Clemons, Goodin's niece (Exhibit 2); affidavit of Tommie Peden Dennis, Goodin's sister (Exhibit 3); affidavits from Tomika Harris, investigator for the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel (OCPCC) (Exhibits 4-7); affidavits from Deidre Jackson, a paralegal from OCPCC (Exhibits 8-9); an affidavit of Dr. Gerald O'Brien, dated November 15, 2002 (Exhibit 10); and an affidavit of Robert N. Brooks, Goodin's trial counsel, dated November 14, 2002 (Exhibit 11). ¶ 13. The State subsequently filed its Motion to Strike Petitioner's Rebuttal Brief, in which it argues that Goodin cannot present new evidence on rebuttal to shore up arguments shown to be weak or without merit by the State. The State argues that the rebuttal is an attempt to ambush the State with records and affidavits that were available to the Petitioner at the time the original petition was filed. This is yet another example of how the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel continuously files apparently incomplete applications and then seeks to supplement those applicationswhen the supplemental information could have been obtained through due diligence at the time the petition was filed. The State also argues that Goodin's rebuttal is a blatant attempt to circumvent the statute of limitations. The State says that it has no procedural mechanism to respond to the new documentation and asks that the rebuttal be stricken. ¶ 14. Although the State is correct in some of its arguments, a number of the OCPCC's actions were unavoidable, as the law on execution of the mentally retarded changed between the time Goodin filed his original application and his rebuttal. Therefore, this Court finds that the Motion to Strike Petitioner's Rebuttal Brief is not well-taken and denies it.