Opinion ID: 1085420
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Categorical Proportionality

Text: Categorical proportionality examines whether the death penalty is proportionate as a punishment when applied to a specific category of offenders or offenses.14 Mr. Pruitt’s 14 A variety of terms have been used to describe these Eighth Amendment proportionality challenges to the death penalty. The United States Supreme Court often uses the terms categorical rule or categorical proportionality. See, e.g., Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (prohibiting the death penalty for (continued...) -29- categorical proportionality challenge is that the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment under the Eighth Amendment in felony murder cases in which the sole participant intended to commit the underlying felony but the killing was allegedly unintentional. As raised, we interpret this argument as a challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty as punishment for felony murder. The constitutionality of the death penalty for felony murder has been repeatedly challenged in Tennessee. In State v. Barber, 753 S.W.2d 659, 671 (Tenn. 1988), the defendant contended that the felony murder statute was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The basis of the defendant’s claim was that the statute elevated an accidental killing to the level of first degree murder with a possible sentence of death if the killing was committed during one of the enumerated felonies. Barber, 753 S.W.2d at 671. The felony murder statute in effect at the time of Barber did not require a separate mens rea for the killing. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-2-201(a) (1982). This Court rejected the constitutional challenge, holding that the imposition of the death penalty in the manner proscribed by Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-2-202 does not violate the United States and Tennessee constitutions. Barber, 753 S.W.2d at 671 (citing with approval State v. Hopper, 695 S.W.2d 530 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1985), which held that the statutory form of felony murder is “a valid and constitutional exercise of the legislative function”). The constitutionality of our felony murder statute was again addressed at length by this Court in State v. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 335. In Middlebrooks, the defendant was convicted of felony murder as a participant in an aggravated kidnapping involving torture and the eventual killing of the minor victim. 840 S.W.2d at 325. Felony murder at that time included a “reckless” mens rea requirement. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202(a)(2) (1991). Following the penalty phase, the jury found two aggravating circumstances: (1) the murder was heinous, atrocious or cruel in that it involved torture; and (2) the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a felony. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-2-203(i)(5), (7) (1982). The defendant was sentenced to death. On appeal, we addressed the constitutionality of both the felony murder statute and the felony murder aggravating circumstance. 14 (...continued) juveniles); Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) (prohibiting the death penalty for intellectually disabled individuals). This Court has discussed categorical proportionality using a variety of terms including “traditional Eighth Amendment proportionality analysis” in State v. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d 759, 781 (Tenn. 2001), and “per se proportionality approach” in State v. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d 317, 341 (Tenn. 1997) (discussed infra). -30- The felony murder statute has traditionally applied to the perpetrator of the felony murder and to his or her accomplices. The statute’s basic premise is that a defendant who willingly and actively participates in one of the enumerated felonies becomes accountable for the consequences flowing from the commission of, or participation in, the felony and may be convicted of first degree murder. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 336. In Middlebrooks, we recognized that Tennessee allows convictions for first degree murder of “those who commit accidental killings, and of persons who did not kill the victim and may not have intended that the victim be killed or suffer any physical harm.” 840 S.W.2d at 336. Although the felony murder doctrine has been challenged repeatedly, the vast majority of states permitting the death penalty authorize its imposition in cases of felony murder under some circumstances. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337 (citing Finkel, Capital FelonyMurder, Objective Indicia, and Community Sentiment, 32 Ariz. L. Rev. 819, 890 (1990)).15 The Court also recognized that few legislatures had repealed the doctrine and that courts continued to enforce it. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337. Against this backdrop, the Court turned its focus to the issue of mental culpability and the minimum standards for determining whether a sentence of death may be constitutionally imposed under the United States Constitution. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337. In Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982), and Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (1987), the United States Supreme Court examined whether the death penalty is a constitutionally disproportionate penalty for an accomplice who participates in the felony but who did not actually kill the victim. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337. Enmund stands for the proposition that the death penalty is permissible under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments if a defendant kills or attempts to kill another, or intends that a killing take place or that lethal force will be imposed. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337-38 (citing Enmund, 458 U.S. at 797). Tison permits the imposition of the death penalty in situations in which a defendant substantially participates in the underlying felony and exhibits a reckless disregard or indifference to the value of human life, even if the defendant is not the perpetrator of the murder. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337-38 (citing Tison, 481 U.S. at 157-58). We noted that this minimum standard set by the United States Supreme Court did not answer the question under article I, section 16 of our constitution. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 338 (citing State v. Dicks, 615 S.W.2d 126, 132 (Tenn. 1981) (recognizing that this Court may impose higher standards and stronger protections than those set by the federal constitution)). In answering this question, the Court used the Gregg v. Georgia criteria 15 The Court acknowledged that a number of jurisdictions allow the death penalty only when a killing perpetrated during the felony is intentional, deliberate, purposeful or knowing. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 337. -31- utilized in State v. Black, 815 S.W.2d 166 (Tenn. 1991). The Gregg analysis requires the following three inquiries: First, does the punishment for the offense conform with the contemporary standards of decency? Second, is the punishment grossly disproportionate to the offense? Third, does the punishment go beyond what is necessary to accomplish any legitimate, penological objective?16 Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 338 (citing Black, 815 S.W.2d at 190-91). We held, based on the responses of legislatures and juries, that the death penalty is an appropriate sanction for felony murder and that imposing the death penalty for felony murder does not go beyond what is necessary to accomplish legitimate, penological objectives. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 338-40. We also concluded that the absence of intent does not render the death penalty disproportionate for felony murder. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 339-40 (citing Tison, 481 U.S. at 157, which recognized that “some nonintentional murderers may be among the most dangerous and inhumane of all”). This Court rejected what we termed “per se” disproportionality, in which the death penalty is deemed disproportionate when an offender falls within a particular category. Instead, we maintained our reliance on statutory comparative proportionality to compare defendants on a case-by-case basis. We concluded that the death penalty for felony murder in Tennessee does not per se violate article I, section 16 of the Tennessee Constitution. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d at 340-41. The issue of the constitutionality of the felony murder statute came full circle in State v. Godsey, in which we addressed the effect of the 1995 amendment to our felony murder statute. 60 S.W.3d at 773. The 1995 amendment deleted “reckless” as the required mental state, returning the felony murder statute to its pre-1989 form. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d at 773. Mr. Godsey argued that the removal of the culpable mental state fundamentally changed the felony murder doctrine so as to render our felony murder statute unconstitutional. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d at 773. We disagreed and determined that the statute as amended was consistent with the traditional felony murder doctrine because the State was required to prove that the predicate felony was committed with the requisite culpable mental state. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d at 773. We reaffirmed Barber and Middlebrooks and rejected the defendant’s argument that the 1995 amendment violated due process or constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the state and federal constitutions. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d at 773-74. Mr. Pruitt acknowledges our consistent affirmation of the constitutionality of the death penalty as punishment for felony murder, including our refusal to consider felony murder categorically disproportionate. Nevertheless, he maintains that courts must continuously revisit the death penalty to determine if it remains a proportionate punishment in a given 16 In Black, the Court first examined the constitutionality of the imposition of the death penalty under article I, section 16 of the Tennessee Constitution. Black, 815 S.W.2d at 185. -32- category in light of evolving standards of decency. See Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407, 419 (2008); Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 100-01 (1958). In this case, Mr. Pruitt asks us to reexamine categorical proportionality with regard to felony murder when the perpetrator intended to commit the predicate felony but did not intend that a killing occur. Mr. Pruitt alleges that the killing of Mr. Guidroz was unintentional and that he therefore falls within this category. Citing a series of decisions by the United States Supreme Court, Mr. Pruitt contends that the standards of decency have evolved to such a degree that the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for this category of felony murderers and is therefore disproportionate in his case.17 The United States Supreme Court has recognized that as our society matures, our standards of decency evolve as well. A defendant challenging the application of the death penalty for a certain class of cases must prove that a societal consensus against imposing the death penalty has emerged. See Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361, 373 (1989). Proportionality review under evolving standards of decency should be guided by objective factors. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 312. The primary and most reliable objective evidence of contemporary values is the legislation or pattern of laws enacted by the state legislatures. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 312; Stanford, 492 U.S. at 373. “Objective indicia” of society’s standards are also expressed through a state’s practice regarding executions. Kennedy, 554 U.S. at 421 (quoting Roper, 543 U.S. at 563). Whether the death penalty is disproportionate to a particular category also depends on controlling precedent and the United States Supreme Court’s interpretation and understanding of the Eighth Amendment. Kennedy, 554 U.S. at 421. To meet his burden in this case, Mr. Pruitt must therefore provide objective evidence that a societal consensus has emerged against imposition of the death penalty for an unintentional killing committed during the commission of a felony. Mr. Pruitt focuses on two primary areas in which he claims the evolving standards and consensus are most evident. First, he points to Atkins and Roper as evidence of the Supreme Court’s narrowing of the class of defendants subject to the death penalty based on personal culpability. Second, Mr. Pruitt claims that Enmund and Tison illustrate a societal shift away from imposing the death penalty for unintentional killings. Both assertions fall short of meeting Mr. Pruitt’s burden in this case. 17 See Kennedy, 554 U.S. at 446 (interpreting the United States Constitution as prohibiting the death penalty for the offense of rape of a child under age twelve); Roper, 543 U.S. at 578 (interpreting the United States Constitution as prohibiting the death penalty for juveniles); Atkins, 536 U.S. at 321 (interpreting the United States Constitution as prohibiting the death penalty for persons with an intellectual disability); Van Tran v. State, 66 S.W.3d at 812 (interpreting the Tennessee Constitution as prohibiting the death penalty for intellectually disabled persons). -33- In Atkins, the United States Supreme Court determined that societal standards had evolved to the extent that imposing the death penalty on intellectually disabled defendants violated the Eighth Amendment. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 321. In Roper, the Supreme Court concluded that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on juvenile offenders under the age of eighteen. 543 U.S. at 578. In both cases, the defendants presented significant evidence that a number of state legislatures excluded juveniles and intellectually disabled offenders from capital sentencing schemes, and that juries in those states had declined to impose the death penalty on those categories of individuals. In this case, however, Mr. Pruitt has provided no objective evidence that the same trends are occurring with respect to an unintentional killing that occurs during the commission of a felony. We must similarly reject Mr. Pruitt’s submission of Enmund and Tison as further objective evidence of evolving standards of decency. Enmund and Tison addressed defendants who were accomplices to, but not perpetrators of, felony murder. Enmund and Tison conducted extensive analyses of the capital sentencing schemes of the various states and the states’ authorization of the death penalty for felony murder in various instances. However, the Supreme Court gave no indication in either case that the death penalty for felony murder had fallen into disfavor because some states, including Tennessee, require no culpable mental state for felony murder. The legislative and judicial responses to Enmund and Tison lend little support to the arguments advanced by Mr. Pruitt.18 We find no significant legislative or judicial retreat from felony murder or the imposition of the death penalty for felony murder when the respective statutory criteria for capital punishment are met. Furthermore, we find no significant movement by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of a principal’s culpability in a felony murder case. Likewise, in Tennessee, we see no evidence of significant judicial or legislative movement away from the death penalty for felony murder. Our death penalty statute continues to include felony murder for which no culpable mental state is required as a capital offense, and our juries continue to impose the death penalty for felony murder. Mr. Pruitt has failed to demonstrate the existence of a societal consensus against executing a felony murderer who did not intend to kill the victim. For these reasons, we affirm our holding in Middlebrooks and reject Mr. Pruitt’s challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty for felony murder. 18 See Joseph Trigilio & Tracy Casadio, Executing Those Who Do Not Kill: A Categorical Approach to Proportional Sentencing, 48 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1371 (2011). -34-