Opinion ID: 2763624
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Interrogation and Custodial Statements

Text: Detectives began questioning Bies at the Kentucky Highway Patrol in Hazard, Kentucky at 6:44 p.m. on July 28, 1992. Before turning on the tape recorder, the detectives advised Bies of his Miranda rights, and secured his signature on a written “waiver of rights” form. The detectives also questioned Bies briefly before beginning to record the interview at 6:49 p.m. On the record, Bies denied being in Cincinnati on the day of the murder, and told detectives that his experience in Cincinnati was limited to three or four layovers at the bus station. Bies also 3 Bies was residing in Hazard, Kentucky at the time of the murder and subsequent investigation. At trial, Charlotte Jean Baker testified that Bies and Gumm rode to Cincinnati on May 11, 1992, the day before Aaron’s body was found, with Charlotte Jean Baker and her parents. Bies, 2012 WL 1203529, at . No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 5 answered some biographical questions about himself and his family, and denied any involvement in Aaron’s murder. There were arguably some indications of Bies’ diminished mental capacity from the outset of the interrogation. For example, Bies told the detectives that he had completed the tenth grade at “Allen Elementary.” Although he later corrected himself to “High School,” Bies was unable to think of the “exact spelling” of “Allen” without help from the detectives. He also had trouble spelling his in-laws’ last name. After that brief period of initial questioning, the detectives abruptly turned off the tape recorder. At trial, Detective Guy explained that he decided to turn off the tape recorder because “there were many discrepancies” in Bies’ story and he “wanted to make him aware of the facts.” (J.A. Vol. 3 at 691.) Off the record, Detective Guy “talked to [Bies], told him that there were discrepancies in the story and that [the detectives] had some of the facts and wanted to make him aware of the facts that [they] had that he should know about.” (Id.; see also R. 161-1 at 1627) (“We stopped the question [sic] and tape recorder and explain to [Bies] the facts of our investigation”). Detective Guy “explained to [Bies] that [the detectives] knew who he was with, and how he came to Cincinnati, and how he got his ride here, and who he was with in the park next to the vacant building where the homicide occurred.” (J.A. Vol. 3 at 766.) Detective Seals’ handwritten notes from the interrogation reflect that Bies then confirmed that he got a ride to Cincinnati with three people, including an individual who met Gumm’s physical description. The detectives then “[told Bies] more about facts of the [investigation]. Dates and times and about him being seen with [Gumm] in the park next to the vacant [building where] Aaron was found at the [approximate] time Aaron was missing.” (R. 161-1 at 1628.) Bies denied involvement in the murder, and stated that he “never killed anyone.” (Id.) After nearly two hours of unrecorded fact-feeding and interrogation, the detectives resumed the recording at 8:55 p.m. In his second recorded statement, Bies admitted to being with Gumm on the evening of the murder, but claimed that Gumm was responsible. Bies stated that he had separated himself from Gumm and Aaron, “heard a bang,” and later found Aaron’s dead body in the basement of the building. (Id. at 1619-20.) Bies stated that he “tripped over” the body, used a cigarette lighter to “see what it was,” and then, after seeing blood, bent down to No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 6 check whether Aaron was still breathing. (Id. at 1620.) Bies explained, “I knew there was nuttin’ I could do so I just up an’ left instead of reportin’ it for, for safety of my own life.” (Id. at 1621.) Bies’ answers ranged from highly detailed, (see, e.g., R. 161-1 at 1621) (stating that it looked like Aaron had been hit in the head with a “steel rod with rivets,”) to suspiciously vague, (see, e.g., id. at 1618) (describing Aaron as “anywhere from ten to sixteen” and wearing a “[n]avy blue or red tee shirt an’ prob’ly blue jeans or corduroys”). When asked leading questions, as he frequently was, Bies simply agreed with the detectives’ description of events. (See, e.g., id. at 1622-26) (replying “Right.” to a series of leading questions). Bies used an uncharacteristically advanced vocabulary and formal terminology to describe certain details, (see, e.g., id. at 1625) (explaining that “sexual intercourse between [Gumm] an’ the boy did happen,”) which, considering Bies has the language skills of a third grader, (id. at 1596,) suggests that he was merely parroting what the officers had told him. Bies denied participating in the crimes, and expressed concern about a minor charge he had pending in Indiana for receipt of stolen property. Bies concluded by telling the detectives that he was “willin’ to help” with the murder investigation after he cleared up the minor charge in Indiana. (Id. at 1629.) Bies’ concern was obviously misplaced, and serves as yet another example of behavior that should have alerted the officers as to Bies’ diminished mental capacity. Bies waived extradition to the State of Ohio the next day, July 29, 1992. The detectives drove Bies back to Cincinnati. Although the detectives did not attempt to formally interview him during the three to four hour drive, Bies discussed the facts of the case and told the detectives that he wanted to return to the scene of the murder to try to remember more facts in order to help the investigation. On the evening of July 29, 1992, the detectives videotaped Bies’ walk-through of the abandoned building where Aaron had been murdered. Bies affirmed in the recording that it had been his idea to return to the crime scene and stated that the detectives had treated him well since his arrest. During the walk-through, Bies maintained that Gumm was responsible for the assault and murder, and attempted to narrate the events of the night of the murder. Bies gave specific details in response to some questions, including detailed information about the pipe that Gumm No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 7 supposedly used as a weapon and the appearance of Aaron’s injuries. However, he gave ambiguous or incorrect answers to other questions and got confused about certain basic facts, including which building was which. When Bies gave conflicting statements, or when there were “discrepancies” between Bies’ story and the detectives’ evidence, the detectives pointed out the inconsistencies or told Bies that he was “gettin’ confused” and suggested a correction that fit with the evidence. (J.A. Vol. 3 at 863.) The detectives also asked many leading questions, which Bies generally answered in the affirmative. At one point, while providing some details about the crime scene, Bies told the detective: “Now I’m just picturin’ stuff in my mind . . . like you said to do.” (Id. at 863.) He appeared eager to please the detectives. Bies concluded by stating, “I’ve studied the police for seven years an’ I wanted to return back to the scene so I could help out with the crime.” (Id. at 869.) As the district court observed, this statement “strained credulity on its face in light of his earlier statement that he had completed schooling only through the tenth grade.” Bies, 2012 WL 1203529, at -9. After the walk-through, the detectives interrogated Bies one final time at the bus stop. This interrogation was not recorded––allegedly because Bies refused to allow the officers to record his statement, although Bies contends that he did not refuse to allow the recording. During this final interrogation, the detectives told Bies that they did not believe that he could have such detailed knowledge about the attack unless he had participated in the assault. The detectives claim that, for the first time in this unrecorded interrogation, Bies finally admitted to participating in the assault and murder. Bies maintains that he did not make any incriminating statements or confess to participating in the crime. At trial, Detective Guy summarized the sequence of events as follows: We talked to [Bies] prior to starting the recording for the first time [on July 28, 1992], telling him we were going to talk about an incident that occurred in Cincinnati. And he explained to us that he had been in Cincinnati two or three times prior to May 1st on a bus, and then we recorded the statement. After recording that statement, we talked to him again for a period of time making him aware of the facts. That was not recorded. After he had given us the facts, we then made another recorded statement. And on the third one, after we had gone through the same thing we had done on the two previous ones, and we asked him to record it, he refused. (J.A. Vol. 3 at 774.) No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 8 IV. Trial, Direct Appeal, and Post-Conviction Proceedings Bies was indicted for capital murder on August 5, 1992. He was arraigned two days later, and a trial date was set for less than eight weeks after that. The court appointed counsel to represent Bies at trial.4 Defense counsel filed an unsuccessful motion to suppress Bies’ custodial statements, as well as a Brady motion asking the Court “to order all law enforcement officials involved in the investigation of the case . . . to turn over and advise the prosecuting attorney of all information obtained during the course of this investigation.” (J.A. Vol. 3 at 819.) In spite of this motion, much of the evidence gathered during the investigation, including evidence that pointed toward other potential suspects, was never disclosed to Bies or his counsel. Such evidence was not disclosed due to the fact that, at the time Bies was tried in 1992, Hamilton County had in place a “homicide book” system under which the investigative agency gave to the prosecutor only the evidence that it believed would aid in prosecution. See Jamison v. Collins, 291 F.3d 380, 383 (6th Cir. 2002) (“[The Cincinnati Police Department] would gather inculpatory material into a homicide book that was then sent to the prosecutors; exculpatory material was excluded from the homicide book.”) Consequently, “the prosecutor never became aware of exculpatory evidence, and did not disclose it as required by Brady.” Id. In October 1992, Bies was tried and convicted by a jury for kidnapping, attempted rape, and aggravated murder with three death penalty specifications. The jury heard mitigation evidence from two psychiatrists who testified about Bies’ intellectual disability and troubled background, but the jury nonetheless recommended a sentence of death. The trial court adopted the jury’s recommendation. Bies appealed to the Ohio Court of Appeals, which affirmed his convictions and death sentence in March 1994. State v. Bies, No. C-920841, 1994 WL 102196 (Ohio Ct. App. Mar. 30, 4 One of the two attorneys appointed to represent Bies at trial had no prior experience representing a defendant in a murder case, let alone a capital case. That attorney remained lead counsel for Bies’ direct appeal, and was joined by similarly inexperienced co-counsel for Bies’ direct appeal. Neither attorney had ever represented a defendant in a felony criminal appeal. The Ohio Supreme Court later suspended both attorneys’ licenses to practice law for wrongdoing in unrelated matters. Cincinnati Bar Ass’n. v. Deardorff, Haas, 702 N.E.2d 59 (Ohio 1998); Cincinnati Bar Ass’n. v. Haas, 699 N.E.2d 919 (Ohio 1998). No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 9 1994). In January 1996, the Ohio Supreme Court likewise rejected all of Bies’ challenges to his convictions and death sentence, State v. Bies, 658 N.E.2d 754 (Ohio 1996), and the United States Supreme Court denied Bies’ petition for a writ of certiorari, Bies v. Ohio, 517 U.S. 1238 (1996). In September 1996, Bies filed a petition for post-conviction relief in state court pursuant to Ohio Revised Code § 2953.21. The trial court denied relief, and the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed, holding in part that many of Bies’ allegations of error should have been raised on direct appeal and were thus barred by the doctrine of res judicata. State v. Bies, No. C-980688, 1999 WL 445692, at -7 (Ohio Ct. App. June 30, 1999). The Ohio Supreme Court declined further review. State v. Bies, 719 N.E.2d 4 (Ohio 1999) (table). On August 21, 2000, Bies filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. During discovery for Bies’ federal habeas claim, the State turned over exculpatory evidence that had never before been disclosed. The federal habeas proceeding was held in abeyance to allow Bies to present this new evidence and an accompanying Brady claim to the state courts. In October 2001, Bies filed a second petition for post-conviction relief in state court, alleging in part that the State had withheld evidence in violation of Brady, based on the documents which were first disclosed in Bies’ federal habeas proceeding. By entry dated April 16, 2002, the Court of Common Pleas in Hamilton County rejected all of Bies’ claims for relief. The court did not issue any written opinion accompanying its entry of judgment. Bies appealed the denial of his petition, and the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Bies, No. C-020306, 2003 WL 202177 (Ohio Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2003). The state appellate court found that the claims in Bies’ petition were successive and did not meet the requirements of Ohio Revised Code § 2953.23, which requires defendants filing successive post-conviction petitions to show by clear and convincing evidence that their claims are based on a new or retroactively applicable legal right or that they were “unavoidably prevented from discovery of the facts” upon which their claims rest, and that but for the constitutional error at trial, no reasonable fact-finder would have found them guilty. Id. at  (citing § 2953.23(A)(1)). The Ohio Supreme Court declined further review. State v. Bies, 788 N.E.2d 648 (Ohio 2003) (table). No. 12-3431 Bies v. Sheldon Page 10 Meanwhile, in 2002, the Supreme Court decided Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), which held that the execution of individuals with intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. After an Atkins hearing, the state trial court determined that Bies has intellectually disability, and therefore is ineligible for the death penalty. The state trial court vacated Bies’ death sentence, and sentenced him to consecutive terms of life imprisonment with parole eligibility after thirty years for the murder, eight‐to‐fifteen years for the attempted rape, and eight‐to‐twenty‐five years for the kidnapping. After Bies’ death sentence was vacated, the adjudication of his non-Atkins habeas claims proceeded in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. In his fourth claim for relief, Bies asserted that the State failed to provide defense counsel with exculpatory evidence in violation of Bies’ Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights as recognized by Brady. The district court below determined that the State did indeed violate Bies’ due process rights by failing to turn over the evidence implicating other suspects that was gathered during the murder investigation, and it granted a conditional writ of habeas corpus on that basis, denying relief on all other grounds. Bies, 2012 WL 1203529, at . The district court stayed execution of the writ, and granted a certificate of appealability on four of Bies’ remaining claims for relief. Id. at -38. The State appealed the partial grant of habeas relief on the Brady claim, and Bies cross-appealed the denial of relief on the remaining grounds.