Opinion ID: 1788387
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Testimony of Charles McCree

Text: ¶ 48. Charles McCree was the Clarke County jail trustee who testified in the sentencing phase that Edwards had told him that he had killed Roberts and Bradley and that Jordan had been opposed to the killings. Jordan now claims that his attorneys at trial should have called McCree during the guilt phase. ¶ 49. The State argues that McCree's testimony would have been of little value at the guilt phase because Jordan had confessed his involvement in the robbery plan, had known that the victim would be killed, and had in fact fired a shot at Roberts. Under this State's laws concerning principals and accomplice culpability, it mattered not whether Edwards had admitted that he shot Roberts and Bradley since Jordan had admitted from the beginning that he participated in the robbery and killing. The State further maintains that McCree's testimony had potentially more impact at the sentencing phase where the defense's theory was that Edwards was the leader and that Jordan had been influenced by Edwards. ¶ 50. Decisions regarding which witnesses to call and when to call them are within the realm of trial strategy. Gray v. State, 887 So.2d 158, 168 (Miss.2004), citing King v. State, 679 So.2d 208, 211 (Miss. 1996). By calling McCree during the penalty phase, we acknowledge that defense counsel for Jordan knew about McCree and his testimony. Defense counsel may well have considered McCree's potential testimony and determined that it would be more effective at the sentencing phase. We must presume that counsel for the defendant was competent. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065; Stringer, 454 So.2d at 477. There is no reasonable probability that the outcome of this trial would have been different had McCree testified during the guilt phase of the trial. ¶ 51. We find that the decision to call McCree at the sentencing phase and not at the guilt phase was acceptable trial strategy. It is certainly possible that the jury would have given more weight to McCree's testimony in the sentencing phase. Furthermore, even if we were to alternatively find that the decision not to present McCree's testimony at the guilt phase was deficient, which we do not, we find no prejudice to Jordan under the second Strickland prong. Again, Jordan had admitted complicity in the plan to find and rob a victim for cash to go to a football game. He had confessed that he knew that the plan was to kill the victim to avoid detection. He admitted that he had suggested Roberts as the gas station customer to rob. He admitted that he fired one shot at Roberts and that he had helped dispose of the bodies. The fact that Edwards had also confessed his complicity would have had no effect on the issue of whether Jordan was also guilty. Because Jordan has failed to meet the requirements of the Strickland test, he is entitled to no relief as to this issue.