Archie Quinn v. State of Mississippi
2016 Miss. LEXIS 203
| Miss. | 2016Background
- In the early morning of Sept. 28, 2008, Archie Quinn allegedly shot into Terry Johnson’s trailer; Stacy Gray was later found dead from multiple ballistic wounds. Quinn was indicted; the capital-murder count (burglary of a dwelling with intent to commit an assault resulting in death) was tried separately.
- Deputies encountered Quinn driving toward the scene; he shot himself in the head and survived; officers recovered his shotgun and a 9mm pistol; ballistics linked shells and a projectile to Quinn’s weapons.
- Quinn moved for a competency hearing and for an Atkins (intellectual disability) evaluation; mental-health evaluators produced multiple reports but ultimately found Quinn competent to stand trial; the trial judge adjudicated competence and excluded the death penalty under Atkins evidence.
- The jury was instructed on capital murder (burglary with intent to commit an assault), first-degree murder, and heat-of-passion manslaughter; Quinn was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole.
- On appeal Quinn argued (1) the jury instructions were incomplete because the trial court did not define the elements of the underlying offense (assault), and (2) trial counsel was ineffective in several specific respects.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Quinn) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jury instruction adequacy: whether burglary instruction must include elements of the intended crime | Instruction S-3A only named "assault" and did not explain elements (simple vs aggravated), who the victim was, or explicitly require proof of underlying elements beyond a reasonable doubt | Burglary requires only intent to commit "some crime" in the dwelling; the State need not prove the elements of the intended crime with particularity; the instruction fairly announced the law | Affirmed: no reversible error; instruction sufficient because only intent to commit some crime is an element of burglary (Windless controlling) |
| Preservation / plain error | Objected on appeal that instruction was inadequate | State notes no contemporaneous objection and no post-trial motion; review only for plain error | Court finds no error and in any event no plain error; procedural bar noted but merits addressed because capital case |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel — competency hearing and related failures | Counsel failed to challenge competency at hearing, failed to seek M’Naghten evaluation, failed to object to indictment specificity, and failed to object to replaying 911 in closing | State argues record does not affirmatively show constitutional ineffectiveness on its face | Claim dismissed without prejudice for post-conviction review; not resolved on direct appeal because record insufficient under Strickland standard |
| Admissibility / replay of 911 call at closing | Counsel objected earlier to the 911 evidence under Rule 403, but trial allowed it; complaint that prosecutor replayed call in closing | State relied on earlier ruling admitting the call as evidence | Court did not decide ineffectiveness on the merits; preserved for collateral review if raised in PCR |
Key Cases Cited
- Victory v. State, 83 So.3d 370 (Miss. 2012) (appellate review of jury instructions — evaluate instructions as a whole)
- Windless v. State, 185 So.3d 956 (Miss. 2015) (holding burglary requires intent to commit "some crime"; underlying crime elements need not be instructed with particularity)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Daniels v. State, 107 So.3d 961 (Miss. 2013) (clarifying that elements of the intended crime are not elements of burglary)
- Newburn v. State, 205 So.2d 260 (Miss. 1967) (State need not prove each element of intended crime when burglary is charged)
- Booker v. State, 716 So.2d 1064 (Miss. 1998) (only intent to commit some crime is required to establish burglary)