Opinion ID: 2165796
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence at the Sentencing Phase

Text: During the penalty phase of the trial, Tom Hatcher, Circuit Court Clerk for Blount County, produced documentation of the Defendant's prior conviction for aggravated robbery. Detective Dale Boring, the prosecuting officer on the aggravated robbery charge, testified that the Defendant had pleaded guilty. The robbery indictment identified the Defendant as Anthony Carter, Jr., alias. The victim's mother, Diva Brown, [4] testified that because the victim was her only child, she would never be the same and wanted to die. She stated that after he moved out of her residence, she spoke to and saw the victim often. Diva Brown described the victim as a sweet loving child, full of fun, but it was her opinion that he left home to live with his girlfriend in order to deal drugs. She recalled that she last saw the victim on the morning before his murder and that a friend later informed her that the victim might have been involved in the rape of Porter. Diva Brown testified that she did not believe her son would do something that stupid. Elizabeth Faye Dean, an aunt to the victim, described the victim as particularly close to her children. She stated that his death had been especially painful for her. The Defendant, who was twenty-seven years old, admitted having prior convictions for theft over $10,000, reckless endangerment, and aggravated robbery. He testified that he entered a best interest plea to the aggravated robbery charge. [5] He claimed that the robbery charge arose out of a fight that escalated when someone pulled out a knife. The Defendant explained that after the fight, he picked up some items from the ground, resulting in the robbery charge, and then fled from police. The Defendant testified that he was raised by his mother until age fourteen, at which time he decided it was time to be on his own. He stated that he initially lived with a girlfriend, but was later incarcerated in various juvenile facilities. The Defendant related that he had not spent more than five consecutive months out of incarceration since he went out on his own. He testified that he had obtained his GED during his most recent incarceration. He described his mother as his best friend and explained that he did not want her to hear his testimony because of the stress that she had experienced during the trial. The Defendant testified that he had custody of his seven-year-old son before the murder charges and had written him regularly since. During cross-examination, the Defendant acknowledged that he had caused the injuries to the robbery victim. He agreed that he had previously testified that the robbery victim's face was crushed probably from the kicks or something. The Defendant explained that he drank and smoked marijuana every day at that time in his life. He stated that he tried to support his son by hustling, explaining that without an education, he could not get a real job. At the conclusion of the penalty phase, the jury sentenced the Defendant to death. The jury found that one aggravating circumstance, that the Defendant was previously convicted of one or more violent felonies, had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(2) (1997). The jury also found that the evidence of the aggravating circumstance outweighed evidence of mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(g)(1) (1997). The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the trial court's failure to conduct a Momon hearing was plain error and remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether the error was harmless. The intermediate appellate court also concluded that the Defendant's death sentence was unconstitutionally disproportionate and set aside the sentence of death. This Court granted the State's application for permission to appeal pursuant to Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The primary issues for consideration surround the trial court's exclusion of the testimony by an expert on eyewitness identification, the failure to ascertain whether the Defendant had personally waived his right to testify, and the question of proportionality.