Opinion ID: 158651
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of Supporting Evidence

Text: 118 Petitioner asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding the existence of this aggravating circumstance. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected this claim as well. See Moore, 788 P.2d at 401-02. 119 The appropriate standard of review of this claim is the 'rational factfinder' standard established in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 . . . (1979) . . . whether, 'after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the [aggravating circumstance] beyond a reasonable doubt.' [Id.] at 319. LaFevers, 182 F.3d at 723. Prior to AEDPA, a habeas claim challenging the sufficiency of evidence under Jackson presented a question of law. See, e.g., Romero v. Tansy, 46 F.3d 1024, 1032 (10th Cir. 1995). But cf. Bryson, 1999 WL 590738 (post-AEDPA habeas claim raising question of whether there was sufficient evidence to instruct jury on lesser included offense in capital case presented factual issue). Under AEDPA, if the sufficiency of evidence is treated as a question of law, then under § 2254(d)(1), the question is whether the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals unreasonably applied this standard. 120 Nonetheless, it appears that this court has, at times, treated the question of whether there was sufficient evidence to support the sentencer's finding the existence of an aggravating circumstance as a factual determination. See, e.g., Hooks, 184 F.3d 1206, 1238, 1239-1241 (noting Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals found there was sufficient evidence to support sentencer's finding of aggravating circumstances and affirming district court's finding that especially heinous aggravator's serious physical abuse standard had been met; although also noting Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals concluded evidence was sufficient); Ross v. Ward, 165 F.3d 793, 800-01 (10th Cir. 1999) (find[ing] record contained sufficient evidence to support jury's finding of aggravating circumstances), petition for cert. filed (U.S. July 6, 1999) (No. 99-5138); Nguyen, 131 F.3d at 1344 (noting Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals found evidence was insufficient to support especially heinous aggravator). At other times, this court has treated the resolution of this issue as a legal conclusion. See, e.g., Foster v. Ward, 182 F.3d 1177, 1194-95 (10th Cir. 1999) (conclud[ing] record supported jury's finding of conscious physical suffering sufficient to establish Oklahoma's especially heinous aggravator); LaFevers, 182 F.3d at 723 (affirming district court's conclusion that there was sufficient evidence for rational trier of fact to have found aggravating circumstance beyond reasonable doubt); Cooks, 165 F.3d at 1290 (conclud[ing] record supported jury's finding of aggravating circumstance). 121 If we treat the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the sentencer's finding of the especially heinous, atrocious or cruel aggravating circumstance as a legal determination, the question for our consideration, under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), would be whether the state court's rejection of this claim was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent. On the other hand, if we treat this issue as one of fact, the applicable inquiry under § 2254(d)(2) would be whether the state court's rejection of this claim represented an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence. Further, § 2254(e)(1) requires this court to afford a presumption of correctness to a state court's factual findings, unless petitioner can rebut that presumption with clear and convincing evidence. In this case, however, we need not determine which is the more appropriate analysis because petitioner's claim lacks merit under either line of reasoning. 122 At the time of the abduction, petitioner held his hand across the victim's mouth and hit her across the face, knocking her back into the car. At the time her body was found, at 11:00 A.M. the next morning, she had been dead only a few hours. In the interim, she had been bound with duct tape around her wrists, arms, ankles, thighs, back, neck and face, and tape had been placed over her nose and mouth. Her clothes had been removed, her underwear pulled down on her thighs, and her bra pulled up above her breasts. On several prior occasions, petitioner had bound children in order to watch them struggle to get free. 123 Further, the victim had suffered bruising or abrasions to her face, neck, back and buttocks, and had been strangled and suffocated. The medical examiner testified that her face was puffy and smeared with pinkish foam coming mainly from her mouth while she was still alive. Her face and eyes exhibited numerous small hemorrhages as a result of the compression of the veins in her neck. This evidence was sufficient to support the jury's finding that this murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. See, e.g., Cooks, 165 F.3d at 1290. 124