Opinion ID: 1640733
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: whether counsel were ineffective in failing to develop and present evidence in mitigation during the penalty phase of trial.

Text: ¶ 77. After Howell was convicted of capital murder, the trial moved to the penalty phase, at which time the State sought the death penalty. In mitigation, the defense provided testimony from several witnesses. Tommy Shoemaker testified that he was a manager at Wal-Mart, that he had been Howell's supervisor for six to eight months, and that Howell had been a satisfactory employee. Elaine Simonson, a long-time family friend who had known Howell all of his life, testified that Howell was a respectable, likeable, and kind person who was not prone to violence. Howell's sister, Apresha Prather, testified that Howell was a loving person who was only twenty years old at the time of the crime. Likewise, it appears from the record that Howell's mother had been prepared to testify in the mitigation phase but was unable to testify due to being upset by the verdict in the guilt phase. ¶ 78. Howell now argues that the trial attorneys were ineffective in several respects. He claims that the attorneys should have investigated Howell's school records. After review, we find those records to be unremarkable insofar as providing any benefit concerning mitigation in the penalty phase of the trial. ¶ 79. Howell also claims that the trial attorneys should have called Brandon Shaw and Howell's two co-defendants, Ray and Lipsey, to testify. Shaw, Ray, and Lipsey have provided affidavits in which they claim that Howell was not a violent person. Lipsey testified at trial that Howell killed Pernell. Shaw testified that Howell discussed robbing a man prior to the eventual killing. Their current affidavit testimony would have been unbelievable on the heels of trial testimony to the contrary. Ray and Lipsey had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Pernell's killing. The value of their testimony for Howell in the mitigation phase would have been negligible in light of their trial testimony during the guilt phase. Howell also claims that counsel should have called witnesses in mitigation who would have testified that the true meaning of Howell's Chiefa nickname had no gang connotations but referred to Howell's propensity to smoke marijuana like an Indian chief smokes a peace pipe. The attorneys would have been understandably reluctant to bring the jury's attention to additional law-breaking by Howell. Also, Howell relies in part on the affidavit of Duncan Lott, who states that his failure to interview witnesses and consult with experts amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel. After a full review of the mitigation evidence presented during the penalty phase and the affidavits offered in the post-conviction proceedings, we disagree. Howell has offered no substantial mitigation evidence which his attorneys failed to present; therefore, we find Howell's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in developing and presenting mitigation evidence to be without merit.