Opinion ID: 1739694
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: failure to make enmund findings

Text: This issue was raised on the direct appeal of Irving's second sentencing trial. This Court found no error, holding this argument is predicated on the erroneous assumption that the jury was bound to accept the impeached and contradicted testimony of appellant's cousin, Keith Givhan, that it was Givhan and not Irving who shot Gambrell Ray. Irving v. State, 441 So.2d 846, 852 (Miss. 1983). The State asserts that the issue is, thus, res judicata, particularly since Irving was indicted for and found guilty of the actual killing, with malice aforethought. In Cabana v. Bullock, ___ U.S. ___, 106 S.Ct. 689, 88 L.Ed.2d 704 (1986), the United States Supreme Court held that the Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 102 S.Ct. 3368, 73 L.Ed.2d 1140 findings are not coexistent with the findings that the defendant is guilty of murder as it is defined by the substantive law: Enmund holds only that the principles of proportionality embodied in the Eighth Amendment bar imposition of the death penalty upon a class of persons who may nonetheless be guilty of the crime of capital murder as defined by state law: that is, the class of murderers who did not themselves kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill. ___ U.S. at ___, 106 S.Ct. at 696, 88 L.Ed.2d at 716. The Court went on to hold that the instructions to the jury are not necessarily determinative of whether the Enmund findings were made, but Rather, the court must examine the entire course of the state-court proceedings against the defendant in order to determine whether, at some point in the process, the requisite factual finding as to the defendant's culpability has been made. ___ U.S. at ___, 106 S.Ct. at 697, 88 L.Ed.2d at 717. This holding allows for the required findings to be made at the trial court or appellate court level. Furthermore, in some cases, the Enmund criteria may be so apparent that a separate finding may not be necessary: There may be some cases in which the jury instructions would theoretically have permitted the jury to find the defendant guilty of a capital offense and sentence him to death without finding the Enmund factors, but in which the theory on which the case was tried and the evidence received leave no doubt that the jury's verdict rested on a finding that the defendant killed or intended to kill. For example, where a defendant conceded that he committed the killing and defended against the charge of murder only by claiming self-defense, a jury verdict of guilty would necessarily satisfy Enmund even if, for some reason, the trial court's instructions did not explicitly require a finding that the defendant killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill. In such a case, a federal habeas court would be justified in treating the state courts' failure to make explicit Enmund findings as harmless beyond a reasonable doubt ... ___ U.S. at ___, n. 6, 106 S.Ct. at 700, n. 6, 88 L.Ed.2d at 720, n. 6. Thus, if this Court were dealing only with the 1976 proceedings, where Irving's statement indicated that he shot Ray in self-defense, separate Enmund findings might not be necessary. However, at the second sentencing hearing, evidence was introduced that it was Givhan, not Irving who actually shot Ray. It appears, however, that the second jury was bound by the factual determinations of the first, as to whether Irving shot Ray. The Cabana Court held: At what precise point in its criminal process a State chooses to make the Enmund determination is of little concern from the standpoint of the Constitution. ___ U.S. at ___, 106 S.Ct. at 697, 88 L.Ed.2d at 717. We hold that the requisite Enmund type findings were made during the 1976 trial. However, the Enmund argument is of little consequence in this case, inasmuch as a clear jury issue was presented as to whether or not the defendant killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill. The court's instruction required the jury to find that the defendant killed the deceased while in the act of robbing him. There was ample evidence to support the jury's finding that the defendant armed himself for the purpose of robbing the deceased, and that the murder was a necessary consequence thereof. This case is not factually related to Enmund. Therefore, the issue is resolved here in favor of the State.