Police - Police - King Of Pain (1984 Extended)
Scott Williams, an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation, and Mike Rowe, a Winston-Salem police detective, testified that after a month spent investigating the confession by the man now charged with the crime, Willard E. Brown, they believe that Hunt had no part in the attack on Sykes.
Police - Police - King of pain (1984 extended)
Brown, 43, was identified late last year through DNA testing. When confronted by the police, he confessed to the crime and said he acted alone. Brown has been charged with murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping. His next court date has not been set.
The police officers who investigated Hunt in 1984, 1986 and 1990 all declined comment or did not return phone calls. But outgoing Police Chief Linda Davis and her successor, Pat Norris, both said they support Hunt's exoneration.
In Keith's motion to vacate Hunt's conviction, he makes note of the physical similarities between Hunt and Brown. Both were dark-skinned black men. Brown was 24 and Hunt was 19 at the time of the murder. Brown was 5 feet 7 and weighed 130 pounds in 1986 when he was questioned by police; Hunt is 5 feet 10 and weighed about 150 pounds in 1984.
Those two men told investigators back in 1984 that they saw a black person and a white person fighting on the hillside, but they didn't stop because they assumed they were vagrants. Brown also told investigators that he ran toward the fire station, which is exactly what a third witness, Johnny Gray, told police in 1984.
The 911 call was the first clue in the case. But the caller, Gray, lied and told police he was Sammy Mitchell, a man who was known to police because of his long arrest record. When police went looking for Mitchell that night, they met Hunt, who spent most of his time that summer hanging around with Mitchell.
"In this day and age, the statements from the SBI and Winston-Salem police chief are the closest thing one gets to an admission that Darryl Hunt is absolutely innocent of the crime," said Steve Drizin, a law professor at Northwestern University.
[3] The KABCO severity scale is used by the investigating police officer on the scene to classify injury severity for occupants with five categories: K, killed; A, disabling injury; B, evident injury; C, possible injury; O, no apparent injury.(7) These definitions may vary slightly for different police agencies.
[5] The KABCO severity scale is used by the investigating police officer on the scene to classify injury severity for occupants with five categories: K, killed; A, disabling injury; B, evident injury; C, possible injury; O, no apparent injury.(7) These definitions may vary slightly for different police agencies.
On the morning of October 22, 1984, the day set for trial, Harris, at the suggestion and recommendation of counsel, met with prosecuting attorneys and police officers. Evid.TR 20-21. Harris was accompanied by his counsel, and gave a recorded, detailed statement of his version of the events, including an admission that he fired one of the two fatal shots at Turner. Vol. 1, VRP 69-92; Plaintiff's Trial Ex. 14. Trial began in the afternoon of October 22, 1984 and continued to the morning of October 26, 1984. A verdict of guilty to the charge of aggravated murder in the first degree was entered by the jury in the afternoon of the same day. Vol. 3, CP 1178. The penalty phase was scheduled to begin on the morning of October 31, 1984.
The parties have stipulated to several key facts pertaining to these issues: Stip. Facts No. 11 verifies that counsel did not obtain an expert to prepare a social history. Stip. Facts No. 12 verifies that counsel did not retain an investigator to interview witnesses. Stip. Facts No. 69 states that the police reports provided to counsel contained the names of 32 individuals with knowledge of the events pertaining to the murder. Nineteen of these individuals testified at the guilt phase. Stip. Facts No. 70 states that counsel interviewed only 3 of those individuals before trial: Ray Meeks, Valerie Stevens, and Annie Sue Bayless.
Counsel did not obtain an independent evaluation of the ballistic evidence or the forensic evidence in the case. Such an investigation may have led to information useful in creating a defense to the charges, especially since two individuals were charged with the murder. Sgt. Parkhurst, the investigating police officer, did not believe that two individuals shot Turner, because of the locations of the bullet entries on Turner's body. Stip. Facts No. 84. Since the first shot was lethal, Sgt. Parkhurst believed that Turner would have fallen immediately, thereby making it impossible for Bonds to pass the gun to Harris to take a second shot. Stip. Facts No. 85, Parkhurst Evid.TR at 6-7. This information was contained in the police reports and autopsy, which were provided to counsel but was not elicited at trial. Stip. Facts Nos. 82 and 83. The need for an independent fact investigation was critical because Harris was the person who initiated police contact, provided evidence to the police, such as the bullets from the gun used to kill Turner, and kept up that contact until he caused them to turn their investigatory attention to him. Stip. Facts Nos. 29, 31, 32, and 33. Such an investigation was even more critical because Harris gave different versions of the murder at different times. Some of the most inculpatory versions may have been subject to attack, as stated above and in Grounds D, E, F, G, and N, infra.
In addition to those individuals named in the police reports, Stip. Facts Nos. 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, and 81 describe various available individuals who had knowledge of events pertaining to the murder, or of Harris's social and mental history. None of these individuals were interviewed by counsel and none of the information they had, either for defense at the guilt phase, or mitigation at the penalty phase, was presented by the defense. Counsel made the decision not to interview individuals whose names were provided to associate counsel by Harris. Haist Dep. at 11-12. Counsel did meet with Sgt. Parkhurst on two occasions before the CrR 3.5 hearing. Evid.TR at 13. Counsel, however, did not conduct the CrR 3.5 hearing on behalf of Harris. Associate counsel represented *1257 Harris at that hearing. See Ground F, infra.
Because of his poor preparation, counsel did not appear to fully understand the implications of Harris's 22 October 1994 statement that he fired the second shot at Turner. Based on forensic evidence, police believed that Turner was killed by only one man. Parkhurst Evid.TR at 6-7; Stip. Facts No. 85 and Ex. G to Stip. Facts. Counsel testified that his trial strategy changed after hearing this statement. He testified that he was surprised with Harris's new version of the events and he was essentially left without a theory of defense. There was no reason to allow Harris to make this statement as part of a reasonable defense strategy and to have suggested or allowed it was not competent. Cease Dep. at 41-42. See Grounds C and F, infra.
Counsel was assisted by attorneys employed in his office, particularly one associate. Evid.TR at 6. Although there is no documentary information regarding the amount of time the associate spent with Harris, the associate testified that he met with Harris at the jail to review information he learned from the police reports, less than ten times, probably three or four times. Haist Dep. at 55. He stated that he was unable to accomplish that purpose because Harris did not rationally respond to his specific questions; that Harris would shift to irrelevant subjects. Id. at 9-10.
Counsel erroneously substituted his personal judgment of Harris's competency and mental state for the expertise of mental health professionals. Because of his personal opinion of Harris, he failed to present to the evaluating team at Western State Hospital copies of letters which he, police and judges had received from Harris. Stip. Facts No. 56. These letters contained delusional beliefs and bizarre statements. As was seen in the development of the case, Harris's beliefs and statements were accepted as true because they were unchallenged and were used against him time and time again. Although Harris has the right to free speech, it was appropriate that his counsel determine if Harris's speech was based on truth or was the product of a mentally ill, or impaired, man.
Harris does not specifically attack the validity of the trial court's ruling on the statements at issue in the CrR 3.5 hearing. Harris complains that counsel did not represent him at this critical step in the pretrial proceedings, leaving his interests in the hands of an inexperienced associate. The hearing transcript showed that many statements given by Harris at different times and in different ways were in issue. Some statements were oral, some written, some initiated solely by Harris, some given in response to police interrogation, and some given in response to polygraph examinations. It is not clear that counsel or the associate had copies of all of the statements or were fully informed of all of the circumstances in which each of the statements were made.
Counsel was apparently unaware that Harris's version of the events were implausible based on the forensic evidence. The record in this court is clear that Sgt Parkhurst, the investigating police officer, did not believe *1263 that two individuals shot Turner, because of the locations of the bullet entries on Turner's body. Stip. Fact No. 84. Since the first shot was lethal, Sgt. Parkhurst believed that Turner would have fallen immediately, thereby making it impossible for Bonds to pass the gun to Harris to take a second shot. Stip. Facts No. 85, Parkhurst Evid.TR at 6-7. This information was contained in the police reports and autopsy, which were provided to counsel but was not elicited at trial. Stip. Facts Nos. 82 and 83.
Harris now presents numerous witnesses and documentary evidence which counsel did not present at the penalty phase. There is a large volume of information detailing mental and emotional problems beginning in the first grade of school. Harris has a well documented history of delusional thinking, paranoia, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, and depression. Stip. Facts Nos. 71 through 81 show that counsel did not interview various family members and thus did not know the full scope of Harris's delusional beliefs. Harris now presents numerous letters which he wrote to counsel, police officers, court, family members which are replete *1270 with nonsensical information and bizarre beliefs. Ex. H to Stip. Facts. Harris was not evaluated by his own psychological expert as to his mental state. The evaluating team at Western State Hospital was not presented with Harris's full psychological full background. Positive aspects of Harris's personality were not explored or presented. The dismissal of the manslaughter conviction, complete with the positive reasons for it, was not presented to the jury. 041b061a72