Opinion ID: 1133717
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts Presented at the Evidentiary Hearing

Text: The testimony at the evidentiary hearing regarding this claim involved defense counsel's strategy during the guilt phase and the issue of whether Ponticelli was competent to stand trial. On July 5, 1988, defense counsel filed a motion for a psychiatric evaluation after Ponticelli declared he would not discuss this case with defense counsel because he had turned the case over to God. The trial court appointed three mental health experts who evaluated Ponticelli before trial and testified at an August 2, 1988, competency hearing. Two of these experts, Dr. Harry Krop and Dr. Rodney Poettner, testified that they believed Ponticelli was competent. As discussed earlier, Dr. Robin Mills testified that Ponticelli was not competent. [31] At the evidentiary hearing, Dr. Krop testified that for the first time in his professional career, he had changed his opinion regarding a defendant's competency. Dr. Krop testified that in 1988 Ponticelli presented a difficult case because he appeared candid, oriented, and coherent and did not exhibit any significant mental health issues or resentment toward the State or his defense counsel. [32] Yet, Ponticelli adamantly refused to speak with counsel about his case. On September 9, 1999, Dr. Krop evaluated Ponticelli a second time, and based on a report prepared in 1997 by the agency responsible for Ponticelli's adoption and the testimony at the evidentiary hearing regarding Ponticelli's significant cocaine use at the time of the crimes, Dr. Krop testified that there was sufficient evidence to find Ponticelli incompetent at the time of trial. Dr. Krop testified that he believed Ponticelli's religious convictions rose to the level of a delusion that prevented Ponticelli from communicating with counsel at the time of trial. Dr. Krop did not believe his original evaluation was inadequate, but rather that the new information helped sway a difficult case. Dr. Michael Herkov and Dr. Barry Crown each agreed with Dr. Krop's findings at the evidentiary hearing. Dr. Herkov testified that Ponticelli's refusal to speak with defense counsel was due to a religious psychosis or delusion of reference that went above and beyond a jailhouse conversion and was likely spurred by the initial stress of being incarcerated. [33] Dr. Barry Crown testified that Ponticelli suffered from moderate brain damage, most likely caused by the deprivation of oxygen at birth and exacerbated by Ponticelli's cocaine use, which rose to the level of cocaine kindling. [34] On cross-examination, Dr. Herkov testified that he could not render a specific diagnosis twelve years after the fact, and he believed Ponticelli understood the adversarial process and the charges against him. Dr. Crown admitted that he did not interview other witnesses or consider Ponticelli's behavior at the time of the homicides when he made this diagnosis. The State's expert, Dr. Thomas Conger, disagreed with the other mental health experts. In Dr. Conger's opinion, Ponticelli exhibited unusual religious beliefs, but these beliefs did not constitute a delusion. Dr. Conger pointed to portions of the record that indicated Ponticelli had the ability to communicate with counsel. For example, Ponticelli stated, That's false right there to defense counsel when Dr. Krop made a statement at the competency hearing that Ponticelli disagreed with, and defense counsel's notes indicated that Ponticelli had called counsel from jail and provided him with the name of two potential mitigating witnesses. Three former cellmates also testified to Ponticelli's strange behavior at the time of trial. They testified that they often saw Ponticelli pacing in his cell, at times with a cloth over his head, and constantly reading his Bible and praying. An inventory of his jail cell at the time of trial revealed eight Bibles; several friends and family members testified that Ponticelli wrote them long letters from jail that were fragmented and uncharacteristically religious; and defense counsel testified that Ponticelli's bizarre behavior continued throughout trial. Ponticelli's sister testified at the evidentiary hearing that Ponticelli's father was fundamental in his religious beliefs, but she had never known Ponticelli to be. There was also testimony regarding defense counsel's strategy in this case and whether counsel was ineffective for not further investigating Ponticelli's mental health at the time of the crimes. [35] Counsel testified that he had two theories in regard to Ponticelli's defense: (1) an acquittal based on insanity or cocaine psychosis; and (2) second-degree murder based on the voluntary intoxication defense. At the time of trial, counsel truly believed he had all the evidence available to him, and he argued the alternative theories of cocaine psychosis and reasonable doubt during his opening statement because he had no evidence Ponticelli was under the influence of cocaine at the time of the offense. He testified that he would not have conceded that Ponticelli met the West Virginia boys four hours before the homicide if he had known the testimony presented at the evidentiary hearing. He also testified that he would not have made statements allegedly vouching for the state investigator's credibility if he had known the state investigator had withheld evidence. [36] Counsel also admitted that he did not follow up on Dr. Branch's suggestion to obtain a clinical mental health expert to testify at trial, even though Dr. Poettner gave him the name of an expert before trial.