Opinion ID: 6108254
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Calling Collings's Stepbrother-in-Law in Penalty Phase

Text: Collings's eleventh point on appeal asserts the motion court erred in denying his claim that trial counsel were ineffective in failing to investigate and call Bobby Thomas, Collings's stepsister's husband, as a witness during the penalty phase. Collings lived with the Thomas family for about two years and developed a good relationship with Thomas and his daughters. At the evidentiary hearing, Thomas testified he attempted to commit suicide in 2003 when he and his wife were going through a bad time. Collings found Thomas hanging by a rope around his neck in their basement and elevated his body until someone else arrived to cut the rope. Collings argues if his trial counsel would have investigated and called Thomas to testify, there is a reasonable probability his story would have convinced the jury to vote for life imprisonment. As explained above, to prove ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to call a certain witness at trial, a movant must establish: (1) trial counsel knew or should have known of the existence of the witness; (2) the witness could be located through reasonable investigation; (3) the witness would testify; and (4) the witness's testimony would have produced a viable defense. Davis , 486 S.W.3d at 909 (internal  quotation marks omitted). At the evidentiary hearing, Collings's trial counsel testified that they were unware of Thomas or the story about his suicide. Collings, however, notes Dr. Draper made a specific reference in her Life Path regarding Collings that he saved a man from hanging himself, but she did not identify Thomas as the man. Despite demonstrating his counsel were aware of his saving a man's life, Collings fails to point to any evidence his trial counsel were made aware of Thomas's potential testimony. This Court finds there was no reasonable probability Thomas's proposed testimony would have changed the jury's vote for death. The motion court did not clearly err in denying this claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.