Opinion ID: 1830890
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 29

Heading: willie manning was denied his right to effective counsel at the penalty phase of his trial.

Text: ¶ 55. Manning argues that his trial attorney, Richard Burdine exhibited ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase of trial by failing to investigate and prepare adequately. Manning specifically points to the brevity of Mr. Burdine's opening statement, his failure to object to a question posed by the prosecutor to defense witness Dorothy Bishop, Burdine's statements during closing argument that he trusted the spirit in questioning Manning's mother, and statements during closing argument regarding appellate review of death penalty cases. A convicted defendant's claim that counsel's assistance was so defective as to require reversal of a conviction or death sentence has two components. First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). The first prong requires the defendant to overcome the strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action `might be considered sound trial strategy.' Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 ( quoting Michel v. Louisiana, 350 U.S. 91, 101, 76 S.Ct. 158, 100 L.Ed. 83 (1955)). To satisfy the second prong, [t]he defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. When a defendant challenges a death sentence such as the one at issue in this case, the question is whether there is a reasonable probability that, absent the errors, the sentencerincluding an appellate court, to the extent it independently reweighs the evidencewould have concluded that the balance of aggravating and mitigating circumstances did not warrant death. Id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052. ¶ 56. [T]he decision to make an opening statement is `a strategic one.' Cabello v. State, 524 So.2d 313, 318 (Miss. 1988) ( quoting Gilliard v. State, 462 So.2d 710, 716 (Miss.1985)). Mr. Burdine's opening statement here, consisting of eight lines, did not prejudice Manning in such a way as to require reversal. ¶ 57. On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked defense witness Dorothy Bishop, If somebody had killed your mother and your grandmother and beat them and cut their throats and left them lying on the floor of their apartment, would you have felt like they deserved the death penalty? Ms. Bishop responded, If I knew for sure. Manning contends that this testimony was inadmissible and that Mr. Burdine's failure to object amounts to ineffective assistance of counsel. He cites Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 111 S.Ct. 2597, 115 L.Ed.2d 720 (1991), in support of his position. In Payne, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment does not per se prohibit the use of victim impact testimony or argument, overruling its previous decisions in Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805, 109 S.Ct. 2207, 104 L.Ed.2d 876 (1989). Payne, 501 U.S. at 827-30, 111 S.Ct. 2597. Manning's reliance on Payne is misplaced, because the testimony in question here was not victim impact testimony. On direct examination, Ms. Bishop urged the jury to be merciful and spare Manning's life. The prosecutor's question posed to Ms. Bishop regarding her opinion on the appropriate punishment was proper rebuttal, so Mr. Burdine did not err in failing to object. See Lester, 692 So.2d at 780 (defendant opened the door to subject on cross-examination through witness's testimony on direct); Foster v. State, 687 So.2d 1124, 1139-40 (Miss.1996) (failure to object when there has been no error does not constitute ineffective assistance). ¶ 58. One of the themes of Mr. Burdine's closing argument was mercy and the invocation of religious principles. He urged the jury to follow the law of the spirit and sentence Manning to life imprisonment instead of death. Apparently, part of his strategy was to show the jury how he, too, followed the spirit by asking Manning's mother whether Manning could stand the sight of blood. Mr. Burdine told the jury that he did not prepare her and did not know what her answer to the question would be, but proceeded because the spirit moved him to ask her. Manning characterizes the statements as an admission by Mr. Burdine of his failure to adequately prepare or investigate. [C]ounsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. However, Mr. Burdine was attempting to impress the jury with his genuineness and show them that the defense witnesses were honest and not prepped or contrived. Without any further evidence of failure to properly investigate or interview witnesses, we will not reverse based upon this assignment of error. ¶ 59. Manning makes much ado about Mr. Burdine's closing statements regarding the attorney's previous cases in which death-row inmates eventually were released. Manning asserts that such comments on the appellate process are impermissible, because they lead the jury to believe that their role is minimized, making the decision to impose the death penalty less weighty. Manning points to Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that it is constitutionally impermissible to rest a death sentence on a determination made by a sentencer who has been led to believe that the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of the defendant's death rests elsewhere. Caldwell, 472 U.S. at 328-29, 105 S.Ct. 2633 (prosecutor's comment that the jury's decision was reviewable by the Supreme Court, and not final, required reversal). The particular excerpt of Mr. Burdine's argument to which Manning points reads, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have participated in several capital murder cases. One or two of them have been given the death penalty but the ultimate decision have [sic] not been made by the federal courts. Some of them were freed. Mr. Burdine's statement does not give the impression that an appellate court rather than the jury will ultimately decide the defendant's fate. His statement was that the federal courts did not make the ultimate decision. Furthermore, reading Mr. Burdine's closing argument in its entirety, it becomes clear that the comments were part of his argument that the jury should consider residual doubt in its sentencing deliberations. His point was that they should take their responsibility seriously, reminding them of those convicted and later found innocent. In context, the comments did not minimize the jury's role, but instead emphasized its importance. ¶ 60. Mr. Burdine's argument for mercy and consideration of residual doubt was a sound strategy here. Making religious references, Mr. Burdine appealed to the jury's humanity. Considering the brutality of the murders in this case and the aggravating circumstance of Manning's two prior convictions for capital murder, placing additional witnesses on the stand subject to cross-examination could have opened the door to more incriminating rather than mitigating testimony. See DeLuna v. Lynaugh, 873 F.2d 757, 759 (5th Cir.1989) (jury's full knowledge of the brutal crime and the defendant's criminal record made counsel's decision to make a plea for a life sentence rather than offering mitigating testimony acceptable). Furthermore, because the prosecutor made a sixteen-line opening statement and called no witnesses during the sentencing phase, Mr. Burdine's decision to be brief was likely a solid strategy. Manning has failed to show that Mr. Burdine's performance was so substandard as to prejudice his case to the point of requiring reversal.