Opinion ID: 677086
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: third amended petition

Text: 48 In his third amended petition Mr. Griffin asserts a constitutional claim not raised in his earlier petitions. Griffin claims that his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by his continued incarceration and impending execution based on newly discovered evidence. Unless a habeas petitioner shows cause and prejudice, see Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977), a court may not reach the merits of a new claim, which constitute an abuse of the writ. McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467, 111 S.Ct. 1454, 113 L.Ed.2d 517 (1991). Griffin seeks to establish his actual innocence as a means of obtaining federal review of his constitutional claims. 49 A claim of actual innocence requires a dual analysis. Schlup v. Delo, 11 F.3d 738, 739-40 (8th Cir.1993). First, a petitioner may make the requisite showing by establishing that ... he has a colorable claim of factual innocence. Id. The United States Supreme Court has referred to the test as the miscarriage of justice or actual innocence exception. Sawyer v. Whitley, --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S.Ct. 2514, 2519, 120 L.Ed.2d 269 (1992). An assertion of actual innocence is not itself a constitutional claim, but instead a gateway through which a habeas petitioner must pass to have his otherwise barred constitutional claim considered on the merits. Herrera v. Collins, --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S.Ct. 853, 862, 122 L.Ed.2d 203 (1993). Accordingly, we must determine whether Mr. Griffin's claim of actual innocence opens the gateway to our consideration of his constitutional claims on that basis. 50 Upon the order of this panel the district court conducted an evidentiary hearing on October 6, 1993. The district court heard testimony from Kerry Caldwell, one of four individuals allegedly involved in Moss' murder; Robert Fitzgerald, the only eyewitness to the murder; Terrence McDonough, a private investigator hired by the petitioner's habeas counsel; and Frederick Steiger, petitioner's trial and appellate counsel. 51 After considering the testimony, evidentiary submissions, and arguments, the district court found that the newly discovered evidence did not entitle Griffin to habeas relief. At no point during the evidentiary hearing did Fitzgerald recant his pretrial identification of Griffin. Fitzgerald's testimony at the state trial held in June 1981, as well as his testimony in the evidentiary hearing conducted thirteen years later, consistently maintained that the photograph he had selected matched the front-seat passenger he saw shoot Moss. Fitzgerald has consistently testified that he had a clear, unobstructed view of the gunman for a period of between thirty to forty-five seconds. 52 Fitzgerald's testimony at the evidentiary hearing further established that Fitzgerald had never doubted his in-court identification of Griffin prior to the time he met with McDonough. After observing and questioning Fitzgerald at the evidentiary hearing, the district court determined that his testimony was not credible to the extent it differed from his earlier testimony in state court. The district court also determined that Fitzgerald's statements contained in the McDonough affidavit were the product of bias and were offered in an attempt to provide petitioner with relief while not refuting his earlier, more credible trial testimony. 53 The district court further found that Kerry Caldwell's recent statements were insufficient to entitle Griffin to habeas relief. At the evidentiary hearing Caldwell testified that on the day Moss was murdered, he, Caldwell, went to a telephone, called a drug gang member named Darryl Smith, and alerted Smith that Moss was trafficking at the corner of Sarah and Olive Streets in north St. Louis. Caldwell testified that he waited on the street corner and twenty-five minutes later a Chevrolet Impala arrived at the corner. According to Caldwell, the car was owned by Ronnie Thomas-Bey and driven by Humphrey Scott. Darryl Smith was in the back seat with a 30/30 carbine rifle, and a man named Hump (also known as Parker) was in the front passenger seat with a pistol. Caldwell testified that Griffin was not a member of the drug ring, was not present on the day of the shooting, and had no involvement in the shooting death of Moss. According to Caldwell, he, Humphrey Scott, Darryl Smith, and Hump (Parker) were responsible for the Moss murder. 54 The record reflects that Scott was killed in 1986, Smith was killed in 1990, and Caldwell testified that he does not know whether Hump (Parker) has been granted immunity or whether he is even alive today. Caldwell also testified that he was good friends with the Griffin family from having grown up in the same neighborhood. He stated that the petitioner's brother, Brian Griffin, had given him money upon his release from prison in 1988. 55 In 1990, Caldwell was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. The state charge was dismissed and Caldwell was federally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Federal authorities granted Caldwell conditional immunity in exchange for his testimony regarding offenses involving Jerry Lewis-Bey. Caldwell testified that he discussed the Moss killing with federal agents, including Robert Dwyer, a former detective with the Drug Enforcement Agency who submitted an affidavit in September 1993. In his affidavit Dwyer averred that in December 1990 or January 1991 Caldwell discussed with him his knowledge and involvement in the Moss murder. Dwyer said that Caldwell confessed to him that he was involved in the Moss murder and was an eyewitness. Dwyer further averred that Caldwell definitely told him that Griffin was not present at the murder scene and had nothing to do with the murder of Moss. 56 Upon carefully reviewing Caldwell's testimony, this panel remanded the district court's October 1993 memorandum and order for a factual finding on the actual innocence claim. On May 6, 1994, the district court issued a well-reasoned memorandum in which it did not find Caldwell's testimony sufficiently credible to warrant habeas relief at such a late hour. In particular, the district court found numerous discrepancies between Caldwell's testimony at the 1981 trial and his testimony before the October 1993 evidentiary hearing. In addition, former DEA agent Robert Dwyer did not testify at the evidentiary hearing to substantiate Caldwell's claims, and no explanation was given for Dwyer's absence. 57 The district court further found that Caldwell came forward very belatedly in an attempt to save Griffin by identifying three men he asserts were involved in Moss' murder. Like the district court, this panel is cognizant of the fact that two men named by Caldwell are dead and the whereabouts of the third man are completely unknown. Given these circumstances, the petitioner has not shown by clear and convincing evidence that but for a constitutional error no reasonable jury would have found him guilty. Thus, no basis exists upon which to sustain the motion for stay or to reverse the district court.
58 The second prong of Griffin's actual innocence allegation requires that we consider the claim itself as a constitutional violation. Schlup v. Delo, 11 F.3d at 743. The Supreme Court in Herrera declared that in a capital case a truly persuasive demonstration of 'actual innocence' made after trial would render the execution of a defendant unconstitutional, and warrant federal habeas relief if there were no state avenue open to process such a claim. Herrera, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 869. In a concurrence Justice O'Connor emphasized that such federal proceedings and relief--if they are to be had at all--are reserved for 'extraordinarily high' and 'truly persuasive demonstrations of actual innocence ' that cannot be presented to state authorities. --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 874 (quoting the opinion of the Court). 59 The Herrera decision directs the resolution of Griffin's actual innocence claim. As explained above in part III-A, when the new evidence is analyzed, the inconsistencies and weaknesses are readily apparent, as is the eleventh-hour nature of the claim. As such, the petitioner has not met the extraordinarily high burden and no truly persuasive demonstration of actual innocence is before the panel. Cf. Schlup, 11 F.3d at 744.