Opinion ID: 1850602
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence Presented in the Penalty Phase Proceeding

Text: At the new penalty phase proceeding, the investigating officer in this case testified that, on May 27, 1984, Simms' nude body was found in a wooded area along Park Road just north of Interstate 4 near Plant City, Florida; that rope was tied around her front and back and around both of her wrists to restrict movement of her hands; that her throat was cut; and that clothes were scattered around the area. He additionally noted that blood was found on her head and face and that rope burns were present across her neck and chin. Evidence from the medical examiner reflected three possible causes of death: (1) strangulation, (2) head injuries, and (3) bleeding from two knife slashes in her neck. Evidence of Long's November 16, 1984, confession, in which he gave the following account of Simms' murder, was presented to the jury. On the evening before her murder Long purchased some rope, cut it into sections, and put it in the glove compartment of his car. He put a weapon in his car and drove along Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa looking for a prostitute. When he pulled up next to the victim, she asked if he wanted a date, and when he asked how much, she said, Fifty dollars. He agreed, she entered the car, and they drove for a distance of a half-mile to a mile. Long then pulled a knife, made the victim undress, reclined the passenger's seat into a prone position, and, at knife point, tied her up. Long further stated that he then drove fifteen to twenty miles to eastern Hillsborough County where he raped the victim. Afterwards, he talked to her, intending to take her back to where he had picked her up, and he told her he would do so. He stated that, instead, he drove to the Plant City area and tried to strangle her. After the strangulation attempt failed to render the victim unconscious, he hit her on the head with a club, and threw her out of the car. He then cut her throat and left her alongside the road. He stated that he also threw her clothes out of the car. The State also presented, as aggravating factors, testimony regarding Long's convictions for two other crimes of violence in which the victims survived. It is important to note that both of these convictions occurred before Long entered into his September 1985 plea agreement in the Hillsborough County murders. The dialogue of the plea agreement clearly establishes that any prior convictions not the result of the plea agreement would be admissible against Long in the penalty phase proceeding. The first crime of violence occurred in Pasco County on March 6, 1984, a little more than two and one-half months before the murder in this case. The circumstances presented to the jury reflected that Long saw a house with a For Sale sign in front of it. He went up to the house and knocked on the door. A woman answered and Long asked the woman if he could look at the house. As soon as he gained entry, he placed his arm around the victim's neck, put a gun to her temple, and walked her into the bedroom. Long then tied her hands behind her back, taped her mouth shut with rope and tape from his pocket, and raped her. Subsequently, he gathered up some jewelry, which he later pawned in Tampa, and left the house. Long was convicted of kidnapping, robbery, and sexual battery for this crime on April 17, 1985. This conviction was rendered approximately five months before Long entered his guilty plea in the Hillsborough County murders. The second conviction was also for kidnapping, sexual battery, and robbery. This crime occurred on May 29, 1984, approximately two and one-half days after the murder at issue here. In this instance, the victim stated that she received a telephone call concerning her newspaper advertisement to sell furniture. The man told her that he was a salesman for IBM, and she gave him directions to her home in Palm Harbor. A short time later, Long, wearing a three-piece suit, arrived at her house. The victim led Long to the bedroom to show him the furniture. At that point, Long pushed her to the floor, sat on her, and tied her hands behind her. He then blindfolded and gagged her, cut her clothes off, and raped her. Long pleaded guilty to this offense on July 12, 1985, two months before his guilty plea in the Hillsborough County murders. Long's mother, his former wife, and other members of his family testified on his behalf concerning his upbringing. This testimony reflected that Long was born when his mother was seventeen, and that, when Long was eight months old, his mother left his father. Other evidence reflected that he slept with his mother off and on until he was approximately twelve years of age and that he disapproved of his mother's occupation and dress. His mother worked as a carhop and barmaid and wore hot pants, boots, and sexy outfits. At one point she was married to a man who became a father figure to Long and who taught him the electrical trade. However, his mother later determined that the man was already married and, consequently, had the marriage annulled. According to his mother, Long thought a lot of this man, and the annulment hurt him. Long quit school at age fifteen. Later, when Long was sixteen or seventeen, his mother began living with another man, whom Long despised. Testimony was also presented that Long had suffered the following head injuries: he had fallen out of a swing and was knocked unconscious for a few minutes; he had fallen down a flight of stairs and had been knocked out for fifteen to twenty minutes; he had been hit by a car at age seven and had his face torn up (this resulted in his being hospitalized for a week or more); he had been thrown from a horse and knocked unconscious; and, finally, at age twenty and while in the army, he had been in a serious motorcycle accident in which he had been thrown over a car and had suffered serious head injuries. Long's former wife testified that they were married for more than six years and had two children. She testified that after Long's motorcycle accident he was a different person. She stated that he would explode about little things or nothing at all. Additionally, she indicated that his sexual appetite increased and that he often wanted to have sex three or four times a day. Moreover, she stated that his moods varied, that he experienced temper tantrums in which he sometimes became violent, and that he took amphetamines for nine months to a year after the accident. Two mental health professionals testified on behalf of Long. The first was Dr. John Money, a professor of medical psychology and pediatrics at John Hopkins University School of Medicine. He testified that Long had the disease of sexual sadism, a brain disorder that, according to Dr. Money, caused Long's criminal behavior. Dr. Money also diagnosed Long as having temporal lobe epilepsy. He indicated that this was a peculiar kind of epilepsy because it does not cause seizures; instead, it causes one to enter an altered state of consciousness. Dr. Money stated that temporal lobe epilepsy often occurs with paraphilia of sexual sadism. He explained that an overlapping syndrome is a manic depressive disorder in which a person experiences alternating periods of extreme high or mania and melancholy or despair. It was his opinion that a head injury could be one hundred percent responsible for sexual sadism. Dr. Money also stated that the change in Long's sexual behavior from normal to hypersexual following his motorcycle accident and related head injuries was characteristic of sexual sadism and could result from damage to certain areas of the brain. He stated that Long's description of his feelings during the two rapes for which he had been convicted and during the murder at issue indicated that he was in an altered state of consciousness brought on by the temporal lobe epilepsy. Dr. Money explained that sexual sadists become sexually aroused by inflicting pain, but that such an individual is also capable of having sex in a normal fashion. Dr. Money expressed the view that, although Long knew what he was doing when he killed Simms, he had no control over his actions and that, in his opinion, Long lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. He also expressed the view that Long's ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired when he killed Simms. The second mental health expert who testified on Long's behalf was Dr. Robert Berland, a forensic psychologist. Dr. Berland interviewed Long on several occasions and subjected him to psychological testing. He determined that Long was above average in intelligence, with an IQ of 118. He diagnosed Long as having four kinds of disorders, two of which were nonpsychotic  paraphilia and antisocial personality disorder  and two of which were psychotic. The two psychotic disturbances consisted of an inherited bipolar or manic depressive psychosis and an organic personality syndrome caused by damage to brain tissue. He believed that the second psychosis may have been caused by Long's motorcycle accident or his chronic amphetamine abuse following the accident. He explained that, when brain damage is added to an inherited bipolar disorder, the psychosis is worsened. Dr. Berland concluded that, in his opinion, the evidence suggested there was no substantial impairment of Long's ability to appreciate the criminality of his act in murdering the victim in this case, but he found that Long was substantially impaired in his ability to conform his behavior to the requirements of law because of his mental condition. In Dr. Berland's view, Long was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance when he killed the victim and Dr. Berland believed that Long killed her in a fit of rage. The State, in rebuttal, presented the testimony of Dr. Daniel J. Sprehe. Dr. Sprehe had been appointed by the court to evaluate Long because his counsel filed a notice of intent to rely on the insanity defense. Dr. Sprehe was directed to determine Long's competency to stand trial and competency at the time of the offense. He based his conclusions on several face-to-face interviews with Long in 1985 as well as a review of relevant records, police reports, and Dr. Berland's and Dr. Money's findings. Dr. Sprehe stated that Long told him he had with him a rope, a piece of wood, and a knife when he killed the victim, and that he would not have killed her had a policeman been standing there. He further stated that Long told him he killed the victim to eliminate a witness and that Long was not sure whether he hit her with the board to kill her or so she would not suffer. Although Dr. Sprehe stated that Long did suffer from a severe antisocial personality disorder, it was his opinion that Long did not suffer from a mental illness or disease. Additionally, Dr. Sprehe believed that Long's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was not substantially impaired.