Opinion ID: 1604196
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: the submission of the avoiding arrest aggravating circumstance violated mississippi law, article iii, section 14 and 26 of the mississippi constitution, and the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the constitution of the united states.

Text: One of the aggravating factors submitted to and found by the jury was that the capital murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest. Chase did not object to this factor being submitted to the jury. Chase now contends that there was no evidence to justify submission of this aggravating circumstance or to support it and that a limiting instruction should have been given. In oral argument, Chase contended that this aggravator only applies to the murder of law enforcement officers, never to civilians. We hold that the question is not one of whether the victim is or is not a law enforcement officer but whether the facts and circumstances prove that to avoid lawful arrest was a motive in the killing. The record indicates Chase and Washington met earlier the day of the murder and discussed going over to Elmer Hart's home. They discussed the fact that Mr. Hart sold vegetables and carried sums of money on his person. They discussed going to Harts's to get some money off of Mr. Hart. Testimony was that a bottle of ammonia and a towel were carried to the Hart home for use on Elmer Hart to knock him out. Each defendant claimed the other had used it on Mrs. Hart rather than Mr. Hart. The original intent was to simply rob the Harts of goods and cash money. The record shows that Chase and Washington carried two pairs of gloves with them to the Harts' home. Washington claimed each wore a pair of these gloves, but Chase claimed Washington had on both pairs. The jury may have inferred that Chase and Washington intended to leave no prints, thus avoiding detection and arrest. Chase and Washington backed Washington's vehicle onto a wooded road approximately 200 yards from the Harts' home. The car had the words Cool Dog in large print across the back glass. On leaving they successfully dusted out the tire prints of the car; although, they neglected to note that a rear portion of the car scraped the ground leaving identifiable marks connecting the car to the murder scene. These facts strongly infer an attempt to avoid arrest or detection. The evidence showed that Chase and Washington placed an ammonia soaked towel over Doris Hart's face, blindfolded, tied up, and gagged her so that she could not identify them or escape. From these facts, there is a strong inference that the defendants were attempting to avoid arrest or detection. Chase and Washington sought and found three long guns, a .38 caliber pistol and $400 cash from Mrs. Hart's purse. They could have left, but did not. The original plan had been to get money from Mr. Hart. They hid in the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom where Doris Hart was tied up. They waited and watched for Mr. Hart to return home. When Mr. Hart returned home, he saw his wife's condition and received some brief warning from her of the robbery. Chase and Washington were both trapped in the bathroom with only one way out; that was through the bedroom where Mr. Hart armed with a double barrel shotgun was located. This is the point at which their plan changed. Mr. Hart dropped the shotgun and was attempting to cut his wife free. Chase and Washington said they heard the gun fall. Chase shot Mr. Hart before he had the chance to see either of them. Since Mr. Hart only had a pocket knife in his hand at that moment, Chase did not have to murder him in order to rob him or escape. Elmer Hart's murder, it could be inferred, was to allow Chase and Washington to escape without being identified or arrested. Washington testified that Chase wore the blue jeans which were found to contain human blood, type B, the same blood type as Elmer Hart's, according to the crime lab expert who testified at trial. Washington further told the jury that Chase had on the brown shoes which were spotted with blood. Washington testified that Chase would not get out of the car at the service station after the murder because he had blood on him. The service station attendant testified that Chase did not get out of the car when they stopped at the service station and to add air to a tire. From these facts the jury could have inferred that Chase was avoiding arrest and detection. Chase and Washington removed articles of clothing they had worn during the commission of the murder, placed them in a plastic garbage bag and threw them out in a kudzu patch beside a rural roadway in Copiah County. Again, there is the inference from these facts that they were avoiding arrest and detection. At trial Chase did not object to the court's instruction on avoiding arrest and did not request or submit a limiting instruction to the court. Also, there was no objection to the submission of this aggravating circumstance. This Court in Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114, 152-53 (Miss. 1991) addressed this issue of avoiding arrest or covering one's tracks, where the Court found, Hansen next takes issue with the aggravating circumstance found in Miss Code Ann. § 99-19-101(5)(e) (Supp. 1987). The Court stated: The capital offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody. It is argued some sort of limiting instruction need be given to narrow this aggravator. In Leatherwood v. State, 435 So.2d 645, 651 (Miss. 1983), we rebuffed this contention, stating: Each case must be decided on its own peculiar facts. If there is evidence from which it may be reasonably inferred that a substantial reason for the killing was to conceal the identity of the killer or killings or to `cover their tracks' so as to avoid apprehension and eventual arrest by authorities, then it is proper for the court to allow the jury to consider this aggravating circumstance. This Court in Hansen, further stated: Under this construction the Court properly submits this aggravator to the jury, if evidence existed from which the jury could reasonably infer that concealing the killer's identify, or covering the killer's tracks to avoid apprehension and arrest, was a substantial reason for the killing. The cases above clearly indicate that the key to resolving this question of avoidance of arrest lies squarely on whether or not evidence existed within the record which would have allowed the jury to make reasonable inferences therefrom that the concealing of Chase's identity, and the covering of his tracks in order to avoid detection, apprehension and arrest, was a substantial reason for killing Elmer Hart. We are convinced that substantial and sufficient evidence does exist to support the giving of the instruction and for the jury's reliance thereupon in its sentence of death for Chase. Chase's contention that a limiting or defining instruction is necessary has been rejected. In Evans v. Thigpen, 631 F. Supp. 274, 283 (S.D.Miss. 1986), aff'd 809 F.2d 239 (5th Cir.1987) the federal court stated: With respect to the arrest avoidance factor, Petitioner argues that his aggravating circumstance is subject to an overbroad construction and that the trial court's instructions to the jury were not specific enough to inform it of a limiting construction. In Gray v. Lucas , the Fifth Circuit rejected almost identical contentions to those made here. 677 F.2d [1086] at 1109-1110 [(5th Cir.1982)]. It noted that the Mississippi courts had limited the application of the circumstances to refer to purposefully killing the victim of an underlying felony to avoid or prevent arrest for that felony. So construed, the court observed that this factor was directed to a legitimate state interest and was not so broad that it comprehends an impermissibly large group of murders. Id. at 1110. The jury was not unreasonable in inferring from the evidence that the murder was committed to avoid arrest. As the facts clearly indicate, Chase and Washington all along the way sought to avoid being recognized or detected. The murder of Elmer Hart was only one of many attempts to avoid detection and arrest. The trial court properly submitted the aggravating circumstance of avoiding arrest to the jury. The issue is barred due to Chase's failure to object. Alternatively on the merits, there is no basis for finding error on this issue.