Opinion ID: 1057584
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defense Proof

Text: Jackson Police Investigator Tyreece Miller testified that he interviewed Defendant at approximately 3:35 p.m. on the day of the shooting. Defendant waived his right to an attorney and volunteered to speak with Investigator Miller. During their conversation, Defendant asked how many people he had shot and if Mrs. Jordan was dead. Defendant provided a urine sample and consented to give a blood sample which was drawn at approximately 9:50 p.m. Defendant said he had consumed approximately five shots of vodka but was not under the influence. Defendant also provided the following statement to Investigator Miller: I've been married to Renee Jordan for five years. She has a son named Tyler Surratt. He is my stepson. She has a daughter named Sydney Jordan. She is my daughter also by Renee. I have three others by two other women who are my former wives. Back in the summer 2002, Renee's son Tyler molested my daughter, Shelby Jordan. He was 10 years old and she was 8 years old at the time. [Department of Children's Services] was involved, and Tyler had to go to counseling. On December the 11th, 2004, Tyler was in Lindsey's bedroom. He was lying on his back and he had something in his hand. He was playing with Lindsey. He was trying to let her get whatever it was out of his hand, but he had a tight grip on it. She was reaching for it. He would let her grab his hand, and then he would pull her across his body. He didn't know it, but I was watching him. It looked like he was pulling her across his penis. I saw him do this three times before I stopped him. I went in the room. I cursed him. I told him that I was going to stick my foot up his ass if he ever touched one of my daughters again. I left and went deer hunting. When I got back, Renee was on the phone with some man. My mother showed up, and Renee left and never came back home. We did spend Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and this past Sunday night together. Back in September 2004, Renee started having an affair with Johnny Emerson. He works in a building where she works. He works in the shop and Renee works in the office. ... I found out about their affair in October. She admitted to it and I forgave her. This morning I woke up and had no intentions of hurting Renee. She called me from work. I was at home. She was acting like a bitch. I had been begging and bending over backwards to make this work up to this point. She unexpectedly told me that me and my daughters from another marriage have until the first of February to get out of her house. She said that she was going to see her lawyer tomorrow and she was going to have me evicted. ... Renee hung up on me before I had a chance to say a word. This made my blood boil. I started loading my guns. I loaded my 12-gauge shotgun, a Star .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun and an SKS fully automatic rifle with a folding stock. I put a 33-round clip in it. I left a note on the counter stating that if something happens to me, I love my mother, father and four daughters. I didn't know if I was going to do anything to Renee or not. I was thinking more of killing myself. I got in my 1991 Mazda truck, red, and I was going to Renee's workplace at TDOT. On the way there I broad-sided a green four-door vehicle. I was going down Anglin Lane. I was driving fast and couldn't stop soon enough. I T-boned the green car that was going down Lower Brownsville Road. I didn't stop. I went on up to TDOT. I pulled up to where Renee works. I left the 12-gauge and the SKS in the truck. I had the .45 in a holster on my hip, the nine-millimeter was in my back. I walked in the office. Renee said, What the fuck are you doing here? She was sitting in the chair at her desk. I didn't say a word to her. I pulled out the .45 and I shot her in the leg. I shot her in the leg because I wanted her to look at me. She hollered. The guy that was sitting in the corner got up and came at me. I shot him and he fell to the floor. I think he was James Goff, but I'm not sure. I heard him moaning. Larry Taylor was in the office. I patted him on the back with the pistol and told him that he needed to get out of there. He left. I looked back at Renee, and she was already dead I think. I can't remember if I had shot her more than just in the leg. I remember the last time that I shot her was in the top of the head with the .45. I didn't want to shoot her in the face. I walked back out to my truck and I saw the guy in the green car that I had hit. He was parked behind me. I got in the truck. He was pointing his finger and coming at me. I grabbed the SKS and I fired it at him. He went to the ground. I don't remember going back to the office with the SKS, but if there was a shell casing there, I must have fired it in the office. I got in my truck and left. I had intentions of killing myself when I got back home, but the police hit me head on. I have made this statement openly and freely. I have not been promised anything, and I have not been threatened in any way. I am sorry that this happened. Renee didn't deserve to die. TBI Special Agent John W. Harrison testified that he analyzed the urine and blood samples submitted by Defendant. The result of the blood sample, taken at 9:50 p.m., was no alcohol present. Agent Harrison agreed that if a person consumed five shots of vodka in the early morning hours but did not give a blood sample until 9:50 p.m., the alcohol could have metabolized by that time. He explained that if a person consumed five shots rapidly within an hour, the person's blood-alcohol level would be approximately .10%, but about five hours later, the level would be down to 0. The result of the urine sample, taken at 3:35 p.m., was .17%. However, Harrison said not much significance should be attached to that result because it did not indicate how much Defendant had had to drink. He acknowledged that all the urine sample really revealed was that, sometime prior to the collection of the sample, there had been alcohol in Defendant's bloodstream. Pursuant to the TBI's normal operating procedure, the samples were preserved for a period of time and then destroyed. TBI Agent Kelly Hopkins testified that she performed a drug screen on the urine and blood samples submitted by Defendant. The urine sample was positive for Citalopram, an antidepressant, and benzodiazepines, which include antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, such as Xanax. The blood sample was positive for Citalopram but negative for benzodiazepine. Agent Hopkins explained that, after a drug is ingested, it first goes into the person's bloodstream and is later metabolized in the urine. She said that the blood sample was destroyed on January 3, 2006. Officer Tikal Greer of the Jackson Police Department testified that when he and Officer Anderson transported Defendant to the Criminal Justice Complex, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Defendant's person. Defendant told the officers that his wife was dead, full of holes and that she had driven him crazy by fucking around on him. Defendant also said that he hated [that] people got in the way and that his wife got a taste of his .45 and her brother's gun. Once they arrived at the Criminal Justice Complex, Defendant admitted to killing or hurting four people. Sergeant Marneina Murphy of the Madison County Sheriff's Department testified that she supervised Defendant's booking process at the jail. She estimated that she was around the defendant for thirty minutes to one hour and described his demeanor as more confused, maybe not focusing, probably dazed a little bit. She acknowledged that another officer asked Defendant the questions on the intake questionnaire. Dr. Dennis Wilson, a clinical psychologist, testified that he evaluated Defendant, meeting with him on four different occasions beginning on October 12, 2005, for a total of eleven hours. He conducted clinical interviews, IQ testing, and some brief personality testing. Dr. Wilson determined that Defendant was competent to stand trial and that a defense of insanity was not available. However, in Dr. Wilson's professional opinion, Defendant lacked substantial capacity when the crimes were committed, meaning Defendant was unable to exercise restraint or judgment and unable to reflect or premeditate. In formulating his opinion, Dr. Wilson discovered that Defendant was brought up in a stable family. His parents were good parents and were active in the community. Dr. Wilson opined that Defendant was determined to set up a loving, stable environment for his children whom he clearly loved. Dr. Wilson also noted that Defendant had been divorced twice and suffered from depression and anxiety. He was prescribed Prozac in his early twenties. Defendant began self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, including methamphetamine and crack cocaine. In 1986, Defendant was injured in a car accident. He had a broken back and ribs and injuries to his knee, ankle, and pelvis. He developed chronic headaches and various pains. Beginning in 1996, he was prescribed narcotic medications, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, Vicodin, Lortab, and Darvocet. In 2000, Defendant was prescribed Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, and Ambien, for insomnia. Defendant, at various times, was given other medications for depression and agitation. At the time of his marriage to Mrs. Jordan in 2000, Defendant had stopped using illegal drugs and became a regular moderate beer drinker that would qualify for a diagnosis of alcoholism. Their daughter Sydney was born in late 2001. At this time, Defendant's previous wife was using drugs and neglecting their two daughters. Defendant and Mrs. Jordan began trying to get custody of Shelby and Lindsey. Their marriage began to deteriorate, however. The couple attended marriage counseling. In September 2004, they got custody of Shelby and Lindsey. Later, Mrs. Jordan told Defendant that she desired other male companionship and, in October 2004, she started going to bars, staying out late, and coming home intoxicated. Mrs. Jordan also told Defendant about her relationship with a male co-worker and said she wanted to have sex with this co-worker. Divorce was imminent, and Defendant's family structure was crumbling. During this time, Mrs. Jordan continued her intimate relationship with Defendant but also shared the details of her encounters with other men with him. Defendant was confused and upset about her extramarital activities. Defendant's doctor doubled his dose of Xanax on January 4, 2005. Mrs. Jordan then gave Defendant a deadline of February 1 for him and his two daughters to move out of the house. Dr. Wilson opined that this was the end of whatever was left of Defendant's dream of creating a happy home for his children. Dr. Wilson further testified that on the date of the shooting, Defendant drank alcohol and had not slept for three days. His world had collapsed, and he could no longer control his behavior. Defendant started talking to himself. People observing Defendant after the shooting described him as being out of it. Defendant expressed remorse over the incident and cooperated with the authorities. Dr. Wilson concluded: [Defendant] has a major depressive disorder, recurrent episodes. It was moderate over his lifespan. He had generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse and a borderline personality disorder. This is by definition someone who has a hard time maintaining interpersonal relationships, dealing with problems, coping with stress. He just never was any good with any of that stuff. At the time of the crime, it is my opinion that he was intoxicated with alcohol, and it is my opinion, I believe, that he was also intoxicated with anxiolytics which was the Xanax. These two drugs, alcohol and the Xanax, potentiate each other, and anything can happen if you take both of those things together. ... [T]hey sort of multiply each other. They can easily do brain damage. . . . [D]issociative disorder is when ... [t]here's a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory or perception of the environment. That's from the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual. . . . You also have symptoms of what we call derealization. That's as if you're detached and you're an outside observer. It's like you're watching someone else do it. . . . I don't think he was in control of his faculties when all this happened. I don't know if it was from the stress, from the depression, the anxiety, the dissociation, the intoxication, or, most likely a combination of all of the above. Dr. Wilson opined that Defendant was substantially impaired to the extent that he was unable to form premeditation. Asked on cross-examination if Defendant was in control at the time of the shooting, Dr. Wilson said that Defendant was in control sometime before the crime and he became in control again after the crime, but during the crime he was not. I'm not sure. It's a gray area, a gradual change. I just don't know. Dr. Wilson opined that Defendant was not capable of forming intent at the time of the shooting. He said that Defendant knew the difference between right and wrong. He was not insane. He was just incapacitated. Dr. Wilson explained that Defendant's behavior was inconsistent and out of control. He was in and out of consciousness there. He knew some things, remembered some things and not others, but I don't think he was at all in control the whole time.