Court Opinion

ID: 9652917
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:35:11.701877+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:55.147689
License: Public Domain

Justice TODD,
Concurring.
I join in the thorough and .thoughtful majority opinion except for the issues raised herein, as I agree with the majority’s conclusion that Appellant Richard Baumhammers is entitled to no relief, as to either his conviction or his sentence of death. I write separately because my reasoning differs from the majority’s as to several of the issues Baumhammers raises.
*71First, as to Baumhammers’ argument that the Commonwealth violated the Wiretap Act in recording his telephone conversations with his parents while he was incarcerated awaiting trial, I agree with the result reached by Justice McCaffery, but on narrower grounds. See Majority Op. at 28-30, 960 A.2d at 76-80. I would explicitly adopt the parsing of the relevant statute by the trial judge, the Honorable Jeffery A. Manning: that a written notification to inmates is necessary only upon a facility’s implementation of a policy of wiretapping inmate phone calls. Trial Ct. Op., 12/29/05, at 14; see 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5704(14)(i)(A). Accordingly, I conclude Baumhammers was not entitled to written notification, and the aural notification he was provided was adequate to satisfy the statutory requirements. See Chimenti v. Pa. Dep’t of Corrections, 720 A.2d 205 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998) (concluding in dicta Section 5704 requires written notice when that section is implemented).
Next, on several of the issues Baumhammers raises, I would begin and end with waiver. First, Baumhammers asserts the trial court erred in not granting him a change of venue or venire; his trial counsel, however, specifically opposed either suggestion when raised by the trial court. See Majority Op. at 23-29, 960 A.2d at 73-76. Accordingly, this argument is waived for purposes of direct appeal. Second, Baumhammers asserts the trial court erred in not excluding particular victim impact evidence, see Majority Op. at 54-58, 960 A.2d at 92-94; however, his trial counsel did not specifically object to the introduction of testimony from any of the particular victims. Accordingly, this argument is also waived for purposes of direct appeal. Third, Baumhammers asserts that his rights under the Confrontation Clause, in light of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), were violated when Dr. Michael Weiner testified about conversations regarding Baumhammers which Dr. Weiner had with a variety of non-testifying individuals. See Majority Op. at 58-60, 960 A.2d at 94-96. Again, Baumhammers’ trial counsel did not object at trial, and so this argument is waived for purposes of direct appeal. Nevertheless, in each of these instances, the majority continues on to address the merits of the waived *72claims. Consistent with Commonwealth v. Grant, 572 Pa. 48, 813 A.2d 726, 736-37 (2002), any discussion of the underlying legal support—or lack thereof—for these arguments beyond a finding of waiver is dicta, and is better conducted, if necessary, on collateral appeal. With limited exception, under Grant, we foreclose a prisoner on direct appeal from recasting waived claims in terms of counsel’s ineffectiveness, requiring such appellant to defer such claims until collateral appeal, no matter how potentially meritorious. As a corollary, we ought similarly to resist discussion of the merits of such claims on direct appeal, as our discussion could prejudice the collateral appeal courts’ proper consideration of the relevant issues.
Finally, I address Baumhammers’ claim that his execution is barred by the Eighth Amendment’s preclusion of cruel and unusual punishment because he is afflicted with a serious mental illness. I agree with Justice McCaffery that Baumhammers’ claim fails, see Majority Op. at 61-64, 960 A.2d at 96-98, but write separately to express my grave concern about the issue.1
Initially, it is clear Baumhammers merits no sympathy. As the majority summarizes in detail, Majority Op. at 13-23, 960 A.2d at 67-72, he committed vicious hate crimes, targeting people of African-American, Asian, and Jewish descent. He defaced synagogues, targeted businesses and places of worship catering to members of particular ethnic groups, killed five people, and paralyzed one. Our streets are safer because he is no longer on them.
However, distinct from the question of whether Baumhammers is dangerous or evil is the question of whether he may, consistent with the Eighth Amendment, be subjected to capital punishment. Baumhammers argues he may not be executed based on Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), wherein the United States Supreme *73Court held that prisoners who, at the time they committed their crimes, suffered from mental retardation could not be executed for those crimes. He avers that individuals with serious mental illnesses are so similar to the mentally retarded that Atkins requires a similar per se ban on their execution. He argues it is constitutionally inadequate merely to permit the mentally ill to argue their mental illness constitutes a mitigating factor at sentencing, as is presently allowed.2
The evidence that Baumhammers suffers from a serious mental illness is ample. Uncontroverted evidence indicates he was institutionalized in 1993 and 1999 for severe mental illness; was unable to hold a steady job because of his mental illness; hallucinated at his admission to the Georgia state bar that individuals were harassing him and calling him names; believed the FBI, CIA, and Mossad were trying to kill him; and refused to take out the garbage, asserting that when he did so people shot at him with lasers. He unsuccessfully attempted treatment with an alphabet of psychotropic medications, including Anafranil, Ativan, Cogentin, Haldol, Inderal, Luvox, Norphronin, Paxil, Prozac, Risperdol, Seroquel, Trilafon, Zoloft, and Zyprexa. Shortly after the crime, Baumhammers was diagnosed by Dr. Christine Martone with paranoid schizophrenia and auditory hallucinations. See Majority Op. at 42, 960 A.2d at 84. Psychiatric witnesses including Dr. Weiner, the Commonwealth’s expert, testified that Baumhammers suffered from persecutory delusions (Dr. James Merikangas, N.T. 9/4/01, at 1431; Dr. Philip Ninan, id. at 1544; Dr. Edward Friedman, id. at 1587; Dr. Matcheri Keshavan, N.T. 9/5/01, at 1636; Dr. Weiner, N.T. 9/6/01, at 1936); paranoid schizophrenia (Dr. Martone, id. at 1791, 1799; Dr. Laszlo Petras, id. at 1866); and schizo-affective disorder and depression (Dr. Soroya Radiar, N.T. 9/5/01, at 1739-41). Moreover, the Commonwealth concedes in its brief Baumhammers was delusional. Brief for the Commonwealth at 84. Consequent*74ly, sufficient evidence was presented at trial to demonstrate Baumhammers’ serious mental illness.
Our legal system struggles with how to fairly allocate criminal liability and criminal punishment to individuals whose mental illness leaves them with diminished capacity for moral decision-making. Some defendants, we recognize, are so impaired in this regard that to assign any criminal liability to them would be inequitable. In those cases, the law requires a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 315. Other defendants are less impaired but still impaired enough that the opprobrium of a conviction should be mitigated by a recognition of their condition. In those cases, the law requires a verdict of guilty but mentally ill. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 314.3 Within this latter category, Baumhammers now suggests a further refinement: certain mental illnesses which are so impairing to every person afflicted with them that such a person cannot be culpable enough to merit capital punishment (though, as in Atkins and Roper, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 161 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005), a life sentence without the possibility of parole would remain constitutionally permissible).
As the Majority notes, there is controlling precedent from our Court on this issue. Commonwealth v. Faulkner, 528 Pa. 57, 75-76, 595 A.2d 28, 38 (1991). In Faulkner, we held that the Eighth Amendment did not preclude the execution of prisoners who were mentally ill at the time of the crime. However, the great principle of stare decisis is less powerful in the Eighth Amendment context, since the “national consensus” the Eighth Amendment requires is by definition temporally situated. See Atkins, 536 U.S. at 311, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (“A claim that punishment is excessive is not judged by the standards that prevailed in 1685 when Lord Jeffreys presided over the ‘Bloody Assizes’ or when the Bill of Rights was adopted, but rather by those that currently prevail” (italics supplied)); Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101, 78 S.Ct. 590, 2 *75L.Ed.2d 630 (1958) (noting that the Eighth Amendment is governed by “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society”). In Atkins, the Supreme Court overturned a 13-year-old precedent, Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989) (holding that the Eighth Amendment does not bar the execution of prisoners who were mentally retarded at the time they committed their offenses). In Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 161 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005), the Court held the execution of prisoners who were under 18 at the time of their crimes was barred by the Eighth Amendment. In so doing, the Court overturned a 16-year-old precedent, Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361, 109 S.Ct. 2969, 106 L.Ed.2d 306 (1989) (holding that the Eighth Amendment does not bar the execution of prisoners who were under 18 years of age at the time they committed their offenses). Both decisions were based on changes in the factors which, taken together, determine the existence of a national consensus. Accordingly, I believe we may re-examine Faulkner in light of contemporary standards to effectuate the protections afforded by our national charter.
A group of offenders may be excluded from capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment only if a national consensus barring the execution of such offenders exists. The United States Supreme Court has set out four indicia to consider in determining the existence of such a consensus: (1) legislation enacted by the country’s legislatures, including whether there is a pattern of movement towards precluding the execution of members of a particular group; (2) the decisions of sentencing juries, appellate courts, and governors about whether to execute defendants in that group; (3) where appropriate, other indicia of national and international opinion; and (4) the court’s own judgment. See Roper, 543 U.S. at 563-65, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (2005). In such cases, though capital punishment usually must be “sensible to the uniqueness of the individual,” Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 110, 102 S.Ct. 869, 71 L.Ed.2d 1 (1982), and “tailored to his personal responsibility and moral guilt,” Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 801, 102 S.Ct. 3368, 73 L.Ed.2d 1140 (1982), a national consensus may develop which holds that an immutable characteristic *76of the defendant so affects his individual responsibility and moral guilt that it precludes finding his “consciousness [is] materially more ‘depraved’ than that of any person guilty of murder,” as is required for capital punishment to be lawful. See Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 433, 100 S.Ct. 1759, 64 L.Ed.2d 398 (1980). In such circumstances, our high Court holds that a defendant’s execution is barred.
Under the United States Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, I agree that Baumhammers cannot meet the Atkins/Roper test on the basis of the record before us. While there is some disagreement within our high Court, it is reasonably clear that an offender seeking to satisfy the first factor of Atkins and Roper, which focuses on legislative action, must show, at least, that a majority of jurisdictions bar the execution of members of his group and the “direction of change” is consistent and in favor of barring the execution of members of his group. See Atkins, 536 U.S. at 315, 122 S.Ct. 2242. To satisfy the second factor, he must additionally show that juries impose capital punishment on members of his group exceedingly rarely. See Roper, 543 U.S. at 563-65, 125 S.Ct. 1183; Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815, 833, 108 S.Ct. 2687, 101 L.Ed.2d 702 (1988) (plurality) (concluding that where only five offenders under the age of 16 had been among the 1,400 defendants sentenced to death nationwide between 1982 and 1986, their sentences had been “cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual”). Critically, Baumhammers does not attempt to demonstrate any of these propositions apply to paranoid schizophrenics, and he has not introduced any evidence which would suggest the existence of such a national consensus.
Moreover, Baumhammers conceded at oral argument that the factors laid out in Atkins and Roper are not present here. In his brief, he provided only a cursory argument that Atkins should apply directly to the seriously mentally ill without any evidence demonstrating legislative action against the execution of seriously mentally ill defendants,4 diminished imposition of *77the death penalty on seriously mentally ill defendants,5 support from national and international opinion, or guidance for the exercise of this Court’s independent judgment.6 Accordingly, in this case, I join Justice McCaffery’s conclusion on the issue.
Nonetheless, I concur with the opinions expressed by Justice Evelyn Lundberg-Stratton of the Ohio Supreme Court, that the similarities between individuals with severe mental illness and those with mental retardation or juvenile status are strong enough to justify serious consideration by the country’s legislatures. See Ketterer, 111 Ohio St.3d 70, 855 N.E.2d 48, 81-87 (2006) (Lundberg-Stratton, J., concurring). As Justice Lundberg-Stratton emphasized, as with mentally retarded defendants, it is not clear that either purpose of capital punishment—retribution or deterrence—is served by imposing that punishment on defendants who are severely mentally ill at the time of their crimes. Id. at 85, 855 N.E.2d 48; see also State v. Nelson, 173 N.J. 417, 803 A.2d 1, 47 (2002) (Zazzali, J., concurring); Corcoran v. State, 774 N.E.2d 495, 502 (Ind.2002) (Rucker, J., dissenting).
*78In both Atkins and Roper, the Supreme Court described in some detail the characteristics which rendered members of the group in question constitutionally exempt from capital punishment—the mentally retarded and juveniles, respectively. Justice Stevens noted that mentally retarded offenders:
[Frequently know the difference between right and wrong and are competent to stand trial. Because of their impairments, however, by definition they have diminished capacities to understand and process information, to communicate, to abstract from mistakes and learn from experience, to engage in logical reasoning, to control impulses, and to understand the reactions of others. There is no evidence that they are more likely to engage in criminal conduct than others, but there is abundant evidence that they often act on impulse rather than pursuant to a premeditated plan, and that in group settings they are followers rather than leaders.
Atkins, 536 U.S. at 318, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (footnotes omitted). Accordingly, Justice Stevens concluded, “the lesser culpability of the mentally retarded offender surely does not merit” a punishment reserved for the most culpable adult offenders. Id. at 319, 122 S.Ct. 2242.
In Roper, Justice Kennedy emphasized three primary differences between adolescents and adults: first, “[a] lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility are found in youth more often than in adults and are more understandable among the young. These qualities often result in impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions”; second, the fact that “juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure”; and finally, the fact that “the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult.” Roper, 543 U.S. at 569-570, 125 S.Ct. 1183.
Serious mental illnesses have similar effects. See Christopher Slobogin, What Atkins Could Mean for People with Mental Illness, 33 N.M. L.Rev; 293 (2003) (arguing the effects of mental retardation and serious mental illness are so similar as to eliminate a rational basis for distinguishing between the
*79two categories of defendants); see, e.g., National Institute of Mental Health, Schizophrenia, available at http://www.nimh. nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/ complete-publication.shtml (noting that schizophrenics struggle to absorb and interpret information and make decisions based on that information).
An individual with a serious mental illness may be just as seriously impaired in his ability to “understand and process information” as an individual with a diminished IQ or an individual who has not yet reached the age of legal majority. Moreover, while mental illness is no more an unavoidable cause of criminal conduct than mental retardation or being a juvenile, its manifestations—such as the delusions that accompany paranoid schizophrenia—hamper a sufferer’s ability to “engage in logical reasoning,” and the disconnect between a paranoid schizophrenic’s basic understanding of the world around him and that of an individual not similarly afflicted will make it difficult for the schizophrenic to understand others’ reactions. Compare Atkins, supra (holding that similar characteristics of the mentally retarded made them categorically ineligible for capital punishment).7
Moreover, several national organizations have taken positions against the execution of the severely mentally ill. See *80Recommendations of the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities Task Force on Mental Disability and the Death Penalty, 54 Cath. U.L.Rev. 1115, § 2 (2005); Public Policy Platform of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, §§ 9.7.1.1, 9.7.1.2 (8th Ed.2006); Mental Health America, Position Statement 51: The Death Penalty and People with Mental Illnesses, available at ht tp:// www.nmha.org/go/position-statements/54.8
However, despite my grave concerns, I decline to go beyond what Atkins and Roper require on the record in this case. Accordingly, as did Justice Lundberg-Stratton, I request that our legislature consider the issue, summon and question scientific experts (which an appellate court may not do), and consider whether the national consensus and our statutory law are in line with the demands of the Eighth Amendment and of fundamental fairness, considering the best scientific evidence of the impact of severe mental illnesses on individual culpability.9

. I recognize we lack detailed advocacy on the issue, as Baumhammers argues only that “the Atkins decision should and will be extended to individuals, like him, who are mentally ill.” Brief for Appellant at 85. Moreover, I note Baumhammers raises no claims under Article I, Section 13 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. However, I am convinced this recurring issue deserves further consideration by legislators and jurists.

. Pennsylvania follows the Model Penal Code in allowing mental illness to be argued in mitigation. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9711(e)(2); MPC § 210.6(4)(b).

. We recently noted the difficult distinctions between defendants who are not guilty by reason of insanity and those who are guilty but mentally ill. Commonwealth v. Rabold, 597 Pa. 344, 951 A.2d 329 (2008).

. Research has revealed only one state, Connecticut, which has imposed such a restriction. See Conn. Gen.Stat. Ann. § 53a-46a(h).

. To the extent data is available, it may be read to indicate the percentage of mentally ill defendants on death row is increasing, not decreasing. See National Mental Health Association, Death Penalty & People with Mental Illnesses (2006), http://wwwl.nmha.org/position/ deathPenalty/deathpenalty.cfm. This data is not conclusive, since NMHA does not explicitly state whether it is studying only offenders who were mentally ill at the time of the crime or including offenders who become mentally ill on death row. It is beyond cavil that a prisoner who is suffering from a severe mental illness that makes him unable to understand the reasons he is being put to death may not be executed. Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986) (noting that prohibition dates to medieval English common law); Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930, 127 S.Ct. 2842, 168 L.Ed.2d 662 (2007).

. Federal courts have consistently declined to extend Atkins to the mentally ill. See, e.g., In re Neville, 440 F.3d 220, 221 (5th Cir.2006) (citing In re Woods, 155 Fed.Appx. 132, 136 (5th Cir.2005)); Joshua v. Adams, 231 Fed.Appx. 592, 593 (9th Cir.2007); Green v. Quarterman, 2008 WL 442356 (S.D.Tx.2008). Our neighboring state courts, too, have concluded Atkins does not apply to the seriously mentally ill. State v. Ketterer, 111 Ohio St.3d 70, 855 N.E.2d 48 (2006); Matheney v. State, 833 N.E.2d 454 (Ind.2005) (holding that permitting a defendant to argue mental illness constitutes a mitigating factor at his penalty phase hearing provides adequate protection).

. An independent judicial examination of the culpability of individuals with serious mental illnesses, and the constitutional propriety of their execution for crimes as indubitably heinous as Baumhammers’, is well within the traditional parameters of the Eighth Amendment. See Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, 597, 97 S.Ct. 2861, 53 L.Ed.2d 982 (1977) ("the Constitution contemplates that in the end our own judgment will be brought to bear on the question of the acceptability of the death penalty under the Eighth Amendment”); Roper, 543 U.S. at 565, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (interpreting Coker to require the Court to independently consider the appropriateness of executing members of a particular group). This factor does not subordinate the democratic will to the mere “feelings and intuitions of a majority of the Justices” on a particular court, Atkins, 536 U.S. at 348, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (Scalia, J., dissenting) (italics in original), but requires that judges make a reasoned attempt to interpret and apply that Amendment's prohibition on "cmel” punishments. Not to make such an attempt would be to abdicate our proper judicial role. See id. at 349, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (noting that certain punishments, "such as the rack and the thumbscrew,” are always-and-everywhere cruel and so precluded by the Eighth Amendment).

. The views of such organizations may evidence a "broader social and professional consensus” that the execution of members of a certain group is unacceptable. See Atkins, 536 U.S. at 316 n. 21, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (citing the positions of, inter alia, the American Psychiatric Association and American Catholic Conference that the execution of the mentally retarded is cruel and unusual).

. Naturally, such an analysis will also require consideration of Article I, § 13 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.