Opinion ID: 853352
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure Adequately to Investigate, Develop, and Present an Insanity Defense

Text: Wrinkles first contended before the post-conviction court that counsel were ineffective for not adequately investigating, developing, and presenting an insanity defense. Wrinkles asserts that if counsel had presented an insanity defense, the jury would have found him guilty but mentally ill and consequently it would not have recommended, and the trial court would not have imposed, the death penalty. Attorney Vowels testified at the post-conviction hearing that their guilt phase theory was: That [Wrinkles] had been deprived access to his children, that he was manipulated by his deceased wife away from seeing his kids, that she had marshalled [sic] her family in support of her efforts to keep Mr. Wrinkles away from his children, that there had been arrangements made in a recent domestic relations hearing for him to be around his kids, that she had violated the intent and spirit of that agreement, which has happened just a very short time before her death, that he was a frustrated man who had no control over access to his children, that he went off, that it just got to be too much for him. P-C R. at 1205. Attorney Danks supplemented this theory at the post-conviction hearing: Wrinkles was shot first, was wounded and then however else the shootings occurred was a result of him being wounded. P-C R. at 1044. In addition to this basic theory, counsel presented the trial testimony of neuropsychologist Dr. Eric Engum. Dr. Engum evaluated Wrinkles on April 4-5, 1995. On these days, Dr. Engum spent approximately thirteen hours with Wrinkles and performed a battery of psychological tests that included objective psychological testing, neuropsychological testing, and a subjective personality assessment. R. at 2989, 2990-91. Dr. Engum diagnosed Wrinkles with severe Mixed Personality Disorder, Delusional Disorder which became increasingly acute in the last sixty or ninety days before the shootings, amphetamine dependence with the likelihood of amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder with delusions, cannabis dependence, and alcohol dependenceall of which are recognized mental illnesses. R. at 2994-96. Dr. Engum elaborated that people who are highly dependent on methamphetamine, such as Wrinkles who used methamphetamine on a daily basis for ten years, become very agitated, extremely restless, they don't sleep well, they're easily angered, they have very low frustration tolerancethe slightest thing will set them off. They also develop [a] very highly attuned sense of suspiciousness and paranoia. R. at 2995, 3008. Dr. Engum ultimately concluded that although Wrinkles' judgment was substantially impaired at the time of the shootings, he was sane; that is, Wrinkles knew what he was doing and could conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. R. at 2997. Despite counsels' theory and Dr. Engum's testimony, Wrinkles contends that counsel should have presented an insanity defense for primarily two reasons. First, Wrinkles argues that counsels' theory rings of self-defense, which requires a defendant to be in a place where he had the right to be. Wrinkles asserts that because he broke into the Fulkerson home, he was not in a place where he had the right to be; therefore, self-defense was not legally viable. It is true that counsels' theory could not have completely exonerated Wrinkles. However, counsel could have employed it in an attempt to avoid murder convictions and the death penalty. There is no requirement that a theory must have the potential to completely exonerate a defendant before it can be used without ineffective assistance of counsel implications. See Allen v. State, 686 N.E.2d 760, 778 (Ind.1997) (finding no ineffective assistance where defense counsel's theory was not completely to exonerate defendant but to avoid murder conviction and death penalty in favor of conviction for voluntary manslaughter). Second, Wrinkles claims that contrary to Dr. Engum's conclusion, he was indeed insane at the time of the shootings because of methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Wrinkles relies on the post-conviction testimony of toxicologist Dr. Michael Evans and clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Smith. Dr. Evans, who did not interview Wrinkles, testified that methamphetamine is the strongest drug in terms of addiction, it produces paranoia and violence, and long-term use can cause genetic changes in the brain. P-C R. at 2495, 2497, 2507. Dr. Evans then concluded that based on hair samples taken from Wrinkles three weeks after the shootings, Wrinkles was addicted to methamphetamine at the time of the shootings. P-C R. at 2509. Dr. Smith testified that based on tests performed on Wrinkles approximately five years after the shootings, Wrinkles was insane at the time of the shootings because of methamphetamine-induced psychosis. P-C R. at 2567, 2582, 2583. Although Dr. Evans elaborated more on the adverse effects of methamphetamine use in his post-conviction testimony than Dr. Engum did in his trial testimony, Dr. Engum and Dr. Evans both concluded that Wrinkles was addicted to methamphetamine at the time of the shootings. Similarly, Dr. Engum and Dr. Smith both diagnosed Wrinkles with methamphetamine-induced psychosis; their only point of disagreement concerned Wrinkles' sanity at the time of the shootings. Here, Wrinkles has shown only that two experts came to different conclusionsa fact that can hardly be said to form the basis for an ineffective assistance claim. In addition, although not officially presenting an insanity defense, counsel presented evidence of Wrinkles' methamphetamine addiction and its role in the shootings throughout trial. They presented it during opening statement, R. at 1824; through four lay witnesses, R. at 2834, 2843, 2861-62, 2931-32, 2935-37; through Dr. Engum, R. at 2994-97, 3002, 3006-07; through Wrinkles, R. at 2711-12, 2715, 2720, 2722-23; and during closing argument, R. at 3141, 3143. In fact, attorney Vowels testified at the post-conviction hearing that counsel did not want to introduce significant evidence of Wrinkles' methamphetamine use because they thought it would put an additional layer of bad on Wrinkles and make him appear as a heavy doper. P-C R. at 1211, 1320. Attorney Danks testified at the post-conviction hearing that it was a tactical decision not to put on more evidence about Wrinkles' methamphetamine use because they thought it would be more harmful than helpful. P-C R. at 1145. Counsel is given significant deference in choosing a strategy which, at the time and under the circumstances, he or she deems best. Potter v. State, 684 N.E.2d 1127, 1133 (Ind.1997); see also Conner, 711 N.E.2d at 1248 (Counsel is afforded considerable discretion in choosing strategy and tactics, and we will accord that decision deference.); State v. Moore, 678 N.E.2d 1258, 1261 (Ind.1997) ([A]lthough egregious errors may be grounds for reversal, we do not second-guess strategic decisions requiring reasonable professional judgment even if the strategy or tactic, in hindsight, did not best serve the defendant's interests.). Such is the case here. We cannot say that the post-conviction court erred in concluding that counsel were not ineffective for failing to present an insanity defense when (i) their own trial expert concluded that Wrinkles was sane at the time of the shootings; (ii) counsel presented evidence of Wrinkles' methamphetamine addiction and its role in the shootings throughout trial; and (iii) counsel stated that it was a tactical decision not to take his addiction any farther. See Holmes, 728 N.E.2d at 172 (finding that counsel was not ineffective for not presenting evidence regarding the defendant's mental ability to plan and carry out the crime when counsel introduced evidence of the defendant's mental illnesses at trial).