Opinion ID: 1533871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 22

Heading: Penalty Phase Hearing Claims of Error

Text: The penalty phase took place on October 9, 1996. At the hearing, the Commonwealth incorporated the record from the guilt phase of the trial in support of the alleged aggravating circumstance that the killing of Barbara Jean occurred during the felony of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. N.T. 10/9/96 at 8; see 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(6). As mitigating circumstances, Appellant argued that: (1) he had no significant history of prior criminal convictions; (2) he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the killing; and, (3) that there was other evidence of mitigation concerning the character and record of the defendant and the circumstances of his offense (the catchall mitigator). Pursuant to the catchall mitigator, Appellant asserted that: he was emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing; he suffered from childhood abuse that affected his emotional and psychological development; and he attempted to better himself through his life by seeing a psychiatrist, enlisting in the Army Reserves and learning to drive a truck. N.T. 10/9/96 at 5-6; see 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(1), (4), (8). At the penalty hearing, Dr. Peter David Ganime, M.D. (Dr. Ganime), a psychiatrist, Father John Bonavitacola (Father Bonavitacola), the prison Chaplain, and Appellant testified in support of the mitigating circumstances. Dr. Ganime testified that he first met Appellant when Appellant was eleven-years-old, at which time his mother sought to have him committed to the hospital that employed Dr. Ganime. N.T. 10/9/96 at 12. Notwithstanding that, Appellant was not displaying any disruptive behavior; the hospital admitted him because employees were concerned about the safety of Appellant due to the erratic behavior of his mother. Id. Indeed, Dr. Ganime later learned that the mother had a prior history of several psychiatric hospitalizations and a history of excessively litigious behavior. Id. at 14. Dr. Ganime testified that Appellant's parents were in the midst of a custody battle for Appellant at the time Dr. Ganime met him. Id. at 13. Dr. Ganime met with the father and mother of Appellant. The father appeared stable, but the assessment of Dr. Ganime of the mother was less favorable. She missed appointments and the doctor testified that he: began to suspect that she herself might have a rather serious mental illness.... She made numerous statements regarding the boy, which, in my opinion, did not appear to be logical. She declared, for example, that she wanted the boy put away in an institution. When [Dr. Ganime] questioned her as to why, she declared that she feared that if the boy went home to live with the father, quote, I might run into him some day and he might try to kill me, end quote. Id. at 20. Dr. Ganime testified that Appellant did not have a major mental illness but showed evidence of minimal brain dysfunction syndrome of childhood and also that he appeared to be an ego-defective child[.] [The doctor] also suspected that [Appellant] may have been the recipient of rather severe psychological and possible physical abuse. Id. at 19, 33. Upon discharge from the hospital, a court placed Appellant in the care of his father, and Dr. Ganime recommended outpatient treatment. Dr. Ganime intermittently continued to see Appellant. When Appellant was seventeen years old he expressed a desire to join the Army Reserves, which Dr. Ganime supported by submitting a letter of recommendation in which he stated that he thought that Appellant would make a fine soldier. Id. at 35. However, while in basic training, Appellant could not get along with other soldiers and after a short time, he had to be hospitalized, after which the Army discharged him. Id. at 24-35. Appellant also presented the testimony of Father Bonavitacola, who testified that life in prison for a convicted child-killer is difficult. Father Bonavitacola also stated that while in prison, Appellant had been a gentleman to the Father and got along with the guards. However, there were several occasions when Appellant got in fights with other inmates, but Appellant held his own. N.T. 10/9/96 at 47-49. At the penalty hearing, Appellant testified on his own behalf. He told the jury that he was greatly affected by his mother taking him from his father at age five. His mother claimed Appellant was crazy and repeatedly removed him from schools. Appellant claimed that he did not know or understand what was going on or why things were happening. Id. at 52. Appellant said that his mother physically abused him and his brother, but his relationship with his father was normal. Id. at 53-54. When his father got sick with diabetes, Appellant took care of him by driving him to receive dialysis treatment, giving him shots of insulin and reading to him. Id. at 56. Appellant said that he joined the military, but had difficulty with basic training and had difficulties getting along with others. He got in several fights, spent time in the military hospital, where he was examined by psychiatrists, and was eventually discharged. Id. at 57. He estimated that his entire length of service was a few months. Id. at 63. He told the jury that he held several jobs, went to school, and got his truck-driving license, driving for three delivery companies, the last for a two-year period up until his arrest in 1992. Id. at 57-61. The parties stipulated that Appellant had no previous criminal record. The jury found one aggravating circumstancethat the murder was committed during the perpetration of a felonyand no mitigating circumstances. The jury set the penalty at death.