Opinion ID: 1090851
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: whether the manner of execution violates the united states constitution and international law.

Text: ¶ 235. Russell argues that the manner of execution in this case is unconstitutional, but cites no authority on this point. The State cites LaGrand v. Lewis, 883 F.Supp. 469 (D.Ariz.1995), and Felder v. Estelle, 588 F.Supp. 664 (S.D.Tex.1984), rev'd sub nom. Felder v. McCotter, 765 F.2d 1245 (5th Cir.1985), where lethal injection was found to be constitutional. ¶ 236. Russell also argues that it would be illegal and/or unconstitutional to execute him at this point because his long stay on death row, coupled with the conditions there, has amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. ¶ 237. This issue was raised in Jordan v. State, 786 So.2d 987 (Miss.2001). We rejected the argument, stating: Jordan argues that he has been incarcerated on death row from the time the crime was committed in this case, in 1976, until 1991, and then again in 1998, when the life sentence was vacated, until now. He claims that he has suffered psychological trauma waiting for his execution and that there is nothing gained by the State from 22 years of needless infliction of pain and suffering. He indicates that the United States Supreme Court has held that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment when it makes no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment, i.e., retribution and deterrence, and is nothing more than needless imposition of pain and suffering. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 335, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 2956, 106 L.Ed.2d 256, 289 (1989). Jordan also points out that Justices Stevens and Breyer have opined that there may be a valid Eighth Amendment challenge for someone who has spent many years on death row. Lackey v. Texas, 514 U.S. 1045, 115 S.Ct. 1421, 131 L.Ed.2d 304 (1995) (memorandum of Stevens, J., respecting the denial of certiorari). However, a denial of certiorari has no precedential value. Moreover, Justice Thomas responded to Justices Stevens and Breyer when he noted that the Constitution would not protect a defendant who availed himself of the panoply of appellate and collateral procedures and then claimed that his execution had been too long delayed. Knight v. Florida, 528 U.S. 990, 120 S.Ct. 459, 145 L.Ed.2d 370 (1999) (Thomas, J., concurring in the denial of certiorari). There is no precedent which supports Jordan's contention that his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment has been violated. Therefore, there are no grounds for reversal on this issue. Jordan, 786 So.2d at 1028; see also White v. Johnson, 79 F.3d 432 (5th Cir.1996) (inmate cannot choose to seek available state and federal review of death sentence and then complain of long time delays caused by these reviews). This issue is without merit. XXI. WHETHER THE CLOSED COURTROOM WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. ¶ 238. James Green, who was an investigator for the Mississippi Defense Resource Center, stated the following in an affidavit: During jury selection, the trial lawyers did not talk to me except to tell me to stay outside the courtroom. I later learned that both Ms. Castilla and myself were in some form banned from coming in by the judge. I never did find out what it was about, or what I could possibly have done that merited being excluded from a public courtroom. It did disturb me that Mr. Russell's lawyers did not tell me why I should be excluded. ¶ 239. Before voir dire, the State noted the presence of Carmen Castilla and James Green and objected to them having any contact with the jury. The circuit court agreed that this would be improper. As far as presence in the courtroom, the judge stated: I think the law is that we have an open trial. I can't prohibit anybody from being in the courtroom. The circuit court stated that Castilla and Green could not sit in the courtroom and then leave and talk to witnesses. ¶ 240. This assignment of error, while procedurally barred, is without merit. XXII. ATKINS v. VIRGINIA . ¶ 241. The United States Supreme Court recently decided, in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), that execution of mentally retarded offenders amounted to cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court based its decision in part on eighteen states which had enacted some kind of similar prohibition since 1986. The Supreme Court added: To the extent there is serious disagreement about the execution of mentally retarded offenders, it is in determining which offenders are in fact retarded. In this case, for instance, the Commonwealth of Virginia disputes that Atkins suffers from mental retardation. Not all people who claim to be mentally retarded will be so impaired as to fall within the range of mentally retarded offenders about whom there is a national consensus. As was our approach in Ford v. Wainwright, with regard to insanity, we leave to the State[s] the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon its execution of sentences. 477 U.S. 399, 405, 416-417, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986). Atkins, 536 U.S. at 317, 122 S.Ct. at 2250 (footnote omitted). The Court noted that [t]he statutory definitions of mental retardation are not identical, but generally conform to the clinical definitions set forth in n. 3, supra, as stated below: The American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) defines mental retardation as follows: Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18. Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports 5 (9th ed.1992). The American Psychiatric Association's definition is similar: The essential feature of Mental Retardation is significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning (Criterion A) that is accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health, and safety (Criterion B). The onset must occur before age 18 years (Criterion C). Mental Retardation has many different etiologies and may be seen as a final common pathway of various pathological processes that affect the functioning of the central nervous system. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 41 (4th ed.2000). Mild mental retardation is typically used to describe people with an IQ level of 50-55 to approximately 70. Id., at 42-43. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 308 n. 3, 122 S.Ct. at 2245 n. 3. ¶ 242. Russell argues that he has met his burden of production and the issue of whether or not he meets the definition of retardation we will adopt in light of Atkins must be submitted to a jury and proven by the State beyond a reasonable doubt. Russell cites in support the recent Supreme Court cases of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). ¶ 243. Apprendi fired several shots into the home of an African-American family in Vineland, New Jersey. He was indicted on numerous state charges of shooting and possession of firearms and eventually pled guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm for unlawful purpose and one count of possession of an explosive. After the judge accepted the guilty pleas, the prosecutor moved for an enhanced sentence on one of the counts on the basis that it was a hate crime. The judge concurred and rendered an enhanced sentence on twelve years on that particular count, with shorter concurrent sentences on the other two counts. ¶ 244. Apprendi argued that he was entitled to have the finding on enhancement decided by a jury. The Court agreed, stating: Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348. However, the Court specifically stated that Apprendi has not here asserted a constitutional claim based on the omission of any reference to sentence enhancement or racial bias in the indictment.... We thus do not address the indictment question separately today. Id. at 477 n. 3, 120 S.Ct. 2348. ¶ 245. The Court found in Apprendi that New Jersey's statutory scheme would allow a jury to convict a defendant of a second degree offense of possession of a prohibited weapon, and then, in a separate subsequent proceeding, allow a judge to impose a punishment usually reserved for first degree crimes made on the judge's finding based on a preponderance of the evidence. The Apprendi Court finally stated that its decision did not apply to capital sentencing cases, even those cases where the judge was the one deciding whether to sentence the defendant to death or some lesser sentence, citing Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 110 S.Ct. 3047, 111 L.Ed.2d 511 (1990), where the Arizona capital sentencing process was upheld. ¶ 246. The Supreme Court subsequently decided Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). Ring addressed the issue of whether the Arizona capital sentencing process as upheld in 1990 in Walton v. Arizona , that of a jury deciding guilt and a judge making findings on aggravating factors, could survive the Apprendi decision. The Court decided it could not. Despite the efforts in Apprendi to distinguish non-capital enhancement cases from aggravating circumstances in capital cases in this context, the Court in Ring found that there was no difference: [W]e overrule Walton to the extent that it allows a sentencing judge, sitting without a jury, to find an aggravating circumstance necessary for imposition of the death penalty. See 497 U.S., at 647-649, 110 S.Ct. 3047. Because Arizona's enumerated aggravating factors operate as the functional equivalent of an element of a greater offense, Apprendi, 530 U.S., at 494, n. 19, 120 S.Ct. 2348, the Sixth Amendment requires that they be found by a jury.    The guarantees of jury trial in the Federal and State Constitutions reflect a profound judgment about the way in which law should be enforced and justice administered.... If the defendant preferred the common-sense judgment of a jury to the more tutored but perhaps less sympathetic reaction of the single judge, he was to have it. Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 155-156, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 20 L.Ed.2d 491 (1968). The right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment would be senselessly diminished if it encompassed the factfinding necessary to increase a defendant's sentence by two years, but not the factfinding necessary to put him to death. We hold that the Sixth Amendment applies to both. Ring, 536 U.S. at 609, 122 S.Ct. at 2443. ¶ 247. We find that not being mentally retarded is not an aggravating factor necessary for imposition of the death penalty, and Ring has no application to an Atkins determination. ¶ 248. The State argues that the burden of proof is on Russell in this matter, citing numerous statutes from other states which have prohibited execution of the retarded, and this state's post-conviction statute, Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-23(7) (no relief shall be granted under this chapter unless the prisoner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he is entitled to such). We agree. ¶ 249. The definition of mental retardation provided in Atkins is similar to that adopted by the Legislature in Miss.Code Ann. § 41-21-61(f) (2001), dealing with commitments, which states in part: (f) Mentally retarded person means any person (i) who has been diagnosed as having substantial limitations in present functioning, manifested before age eighteen (18), characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work.... ¶ 250. Russell states that he is retarded. The State disputes this, saying that he has not made a sufficient showing of retardation to be allowed to proceed further in the trial court. Dr. McVaugh testified that Russell was mildly mentally retarded. According to Dr. McVaugh's 1990 Psychological Evaluation of Petitioner, [t]he Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Form R, Full Scale IQ of 68 indicates that this patient is currently functioning within the upper range of the mildly mentally retarded category of intelligence. Dr. Stanley testified that Petitioner's IQ was 76, borderline low to normal, and he was not retarded. ¶ 251. After careful consideration we find that Russell should be granted leave to proceed in the trial court on the sole issue of whether he is mentally retarded such that he may not be executed under Atkins v. Virginia . To that end the standard or definition of mental retardation shall be that enunciated by the Supreme Court in Atkins, especially the American Psychiatric Association's definition of mental retardation. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV 39-46 (4th ed.1994). As Presiding Justice Smith recommends in his dissent, we further hold that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II (MMPI-II) is to be administered since its associated validity scales make the test best suited to detect malingering. See id. at 683 (defining malingering as the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated physical or psychological symptoms, motivated by external incentives such as avoiding military duty, avoiding work, obtaining financial compensation, evading criminal prosecution, or obtaining drugs). See also United States v. Battle, 235 F.Supp.2d 1301, 1307 (N.D.Ga. 2001) (explaining MMPI and its validity scales and stating that [t]he MMPI is generally agreed to be difficult to cheat on without getting caught). Russell must prove that he meets the applicable standard by a preponderance of the evidence pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-23(7) (Rev.2000). This issue will be considered and decided by the Sunflower County Circuit Court without a jury.