Opinion ID: 1654600
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: whether counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the sentencing phase.

Text: ¶ 17. McGilberry contends that his defense counsels' performance was deficient at the sentencing phase of his trial. The standard for determining if a defendant received effective assistance of counsel is well settled. The benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness [of counsel] must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). A defendant must demonstrate that his counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficiency prejudiced the defense of the case. 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable. Stringer v. State, 454 So.2d 468, 477 (Miss.1984) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052). The focus of the inquiry must be whether counsel's assistance was reasonable considering all the circumstances. Id. Burns v. State, 813 So.2d 668, 673 (Miss. 2001). We have further held that the failure to present a case in mitigation during the sentencing phase of a capital trial is not, per se, ineffective assistance of counsel. Williams v. State, 722 So.2d 447, 450 (Miss.1998) (citing Williams v. Cain, 125 F.3d 269, 277 (5th Cir.1997)). ¶ 18. In the present case, McGilberry does not claim that no case in mitigation was presented but only that it was poorly prepared and executed. McGilberry argues first that defense counsel inadequately investigated his background in search of mitigation evidence. ¶ 19. Specifically, McGilberry charges that defense counsel were inexperienced, failed to pursue the appointment of an investigator, and failed to renew a request for a mental health expert. The State correctly counters that these are blanket assertions unsupported by the record. David Ishee and Anthony Lawrence both lacked experience in capital representation but filed approximately 40 pretrial motions between December 1994 and February 1996. ¶ 20. McGilberry also claims that his defense was hampered by the failure to secure an investigator. The evidence was that McGilberry brutally and viciously beat his entire family to death with a baseball bat and that he had planned their murders. There is no showing that additional investigation into McGilberry's background would have prevented imposition of the death penalty, only that more details of McGilberry's less than idyllic childhood would have been exposed. ¶ 21. With regard to the claim that counsel failed to pursue an ex parte motion for a mental health expert, we explicitly held on direct appeal that there was no error in disallowing counsel to proceed ex parte. McGilberry, 741 So.2d at 916-17. This issue, although couched as an ineffective assistance claim, is barred as res judicata. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3). ¶ 22. Dr. Roy Deal, a psychiatrist employed by the State of Tennessee prison system, served as the mental health expert for the defense. McGilberry now argues that his defense suffered because Dr. Deal's credentials were insufficient inasmuch as he was not board-certified in psychiatry. McGilberry offers no authority to support such a proposition. Dr. Deal was qualified as an expert at trial and testified during the guilt phase that McGilberry was mentally ill and possessed a history of childhood trauma. Dr. Deal testified that McGilberry was a sociopath with a history of inappropriate conduct as a juvenile. His IQ was 86. Dr. Deal opined that McGilberry was mentally ill on the day of the murders and unable to appreciate right from wrong. The record does not support a finding that Dr. Deal's testimony was ineffective, and it certainly cannot be concluded that defense counsel was ineffective for relying on Dr. Deal at trial. This issue is without merit. ¶ 23. McGilberry argues that counsel was ineffective because the prosecution was able to exploit Dr. Deal's lack of experience during its closing argument. This argument is unsupported by any legal authority and is not supported by the record. As previously discussed, Dr. Deal was qualified as an expert and opined that McGilberry was mentally ill at the time of the murders. This issue is without merit. ¶ 24. Defense counsel only presented one witness during the sentencing phase of the trial. Brenda Saucier, a friend and former neighbor of the Purifoys, testified that she knew McGilberry to be a troubled and immature child who did not realize the magnitude of his actions. Given the brutal and premeditated nature of the crimes, defense counsel did well to get just one person to plead with the jury to spare McGilberry's life. This issue is without merit.