Opinion ID: 174891
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sentencing Phase of Trial

Text: To establish aggravating circumstances, the State called several witnesses 4 Case: 08-70011 Document: 00511226342 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/07/2010 No. 08-70011 during the sentencing phase of Simon’s trial. The State relied on four aggravating factors for each of the victims. For all three, the State asked the jury find the murders were: committed for the purpose of avoiding arrest, committed for pecuniary gain, and especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. With respect to Carl, the State asked the jury to find the murder was committed while Simon or his accomplice were engaged in the commission of a robbery. For Bobbie Joe, the State asked the jury to find the murder was committed while Simon or his accomplice were engaged in the crime of burglary of a dwelling. Finally, for Gregory, the State asked the jury to find the crime was committed while Simon or his accomplice were engaged in the crime of kidnapping. The State called Scott Parker, Carl’s grown son, who testified about his family and authenticated photographs of the Parkers taken while they were alive. The State then called a crime scene investigator who authenticated gruesome pictures that he had taken of the crime scene. The medical examiner authenticated and described photographs of the bodies of Carl, Bobbie Joe, and Gregory taken at the morgue. As part of his testimony, the medical examiner testified that Gregory and Carl suffered pain before they died. He also testified that Carl, Bobbie Joe, and Gregory died of gunshot wounds, not smoke inhalation. The remains of Bobbie Joe were so badly charred that the examiner was only able to identify a few of her organs. The State’s final witness, Sheriff Jack Harrison, authenticated additional photographs taken of Carl and Gregory’s bodies.
Trial counsel for Simon attempted to convince the jury that Simon had a non-violent personality but was overcome by violence when he murdered the 5 Case: 08-70011 Document: 00511226342 Page: 6 Date Filed: 09/07/2010 No. 08-70011 Parkers. Trial counsel called three witnesses during sentencing. Dr. William Kallman, a psychologist, appointed by the court at the defense’s request, testified as to Simon’s family history and personality type. Trial counsel originally obtained Dr. Kallman’s authorization as an expert fourteen days before the Simon I trial. He visited with Simon for six or seven hours on one occasion, and one and a half to three hours on another. He testified in the Simon I trial, and again in Simon II, but apparently did not undertake any additional preparation after the first trial. Dr. Kallman apparently had only brief contact with Simon’s family members, and did not ask the family members about Simon’s childhood, background, or family history. Dr. Kallman testified that Simon had a normal rural background as the oldest of four children. He testified that since childhood, Simon was a loner, and he quit school in the eleventh grade, but subsequently obtained a GED. Dr. Kallman testified that Simon entered the military but never quite fit in, and then served as a guard at Parchman Farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Dr. Kallman explained that the whole Simon family had a distrustful attitude toward people and were somewhat isolated. Dr. Kallman described Simon’s love of animals, and said that on three separate occasions, kids in pickup trucks drove by his house and shot his dogs. Simon apparently did not believe he could do anything about the attacks on his dogs, and Dr. Kallman opined that these incidents contributed to his sense of powerlessness and not fitting in. Dr. Kallman testified that from a series of tests, he concluded that Simon was not comfortable around people, was unable to deal with problems or better his life, and that he was a very thoughtful, introverted, and angry person. He 6 Case: 08-70011 Document: 00511226342 Page: 7 Date Filed: 09/07/2010 No. 08-70011 concluded that the tests did not show Simon to be an inherently violent person. Dr. Kallman also believed that if Simon committed a violent crime he would show remorse. On re-direct, Dr. Kallman described Simon as a person who may build up a lot of anger inside and explode at times but does not have an angry personality. Antoinette Thomas, a friend who met Simon a year and a half before the murders, testified that Simon treated people nicely, and showed a lot of affection toward his young daughter. On cross-examination, counsel for the State asked whether, in her opinion of Simon, she took into account that he had been convicted of the capital murder of a child (Charlotte Parker). She answered that he had not committed the crime, and that no one is looking for the truth. The court admonished the jury to disregard her statement. Rosie Lee Simon, Simon’s mother, testified that Simon never gave her any problems and was a loner. As her oldest child, she testified that Simon helped her raise the other kids. She testified that he had not exhibited any violent tendencies and that she would not expect him to commit capital murder.
On closing, counsel for the State described how the State had established the aggravating factors. Counsel also referenced the Bible, stating that “[w]hoever shed man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed.” Genesis 9:6. Counsel then asked the jury for justice. In his final remarks, counsel for the State emphasized the horrors inflicted upon the Parkers and again asked that the jury do justice. Simon’s counsel also discussed that God actually banished Cain for killing his brother, rather than killing him as Genesis 9:6 suggests. Counsel continued 7 Case: 08-70011 Document: 00511226342 Page: 8 Date Filed: 09/07/2010 No. 08-70011 that he believed the jury mistakenly convicted Simon for the three capital murders, but that he had to accept the jury verdict at this stage. He later described a case in which two men who had been put to death turned out to be innocent. He then made a plea against the death penalty in general, but admitted that despite his opposition to the death penalty, the law put the power to kill Simon in the jury’s hands. He argued that the State was not really looking for justice, but only for revenge. The jury returned three death sentences. The jury found unanimously that the State proved all four aggravating factors as to each of the victims beyond a reasonable doubt and that the mitigating factors did not outweigh the aggravating factors.