Dickerson v. State
2015 Miss. LEXIS 337
| Miss. | 2015Background
- Victim Paula Hamilton was attacked January 25, 2011: shot, stabbed, doused with gasoline and burned; she died. Multiple family members and two passing reverends witnessed or encountered aftermath; eyewitnesses identified David Dickerson as assailant.
- Police found Dickerson shortly after, with corroborating physical evidence (bloodstained clothing, a matching firearm, discarded clothes, motorcycle nearby).
- A grand jury indicted Dickerson for capital murder (resulting in death), first-degree arson, and armed robbery. He was convicted by a jury; jury recommended death for capital murder and sentenced him to consecutive terms for arson and robbery.
- Pretrial competency and Atkins (intellectual disability) evaluations were performed: three forensic examiners found Dickerson competent to stand trial and not intellectually disabled; trial court so held.
- On appeal Dickerson raised ten issues (competency, indictment and evidence sufficiency on arson, evidentiary rulings, Atkins instruction, various sentencing instruction and constitutional challenges, proportionality, cumulative error). The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed convictions and death sentence, rejecting each claim except separate opinions urged narrowing/reform on Atkins application.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Dickerson) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competency to stand trial | Court’s competency finding contradicted expert evidence; his mental disorders impaired competence | Three experts concluded Dickerson was competent; standard is whether finding is "manifestly against the overwhelming weight of the evidence" | Affirmed: trial court’s competency determination upheld; experts supported competence and no manifest error |
| Atkins / intellectual disability instruction | Requested jury instruction on Atkins; alternatively, mental illness should bar death sentence | State: Atkins protects only intellectually disabled, not mentally ill; experts found no intellectual disability | Denied: no expert evidence of intellectual disability; Chase procedure controlling; Atkins not extendable to mental illness |
| Arson indictment and sufficiency of evidence | Indictment insufficient and evidence failed to prove intent to burn trailer | Indictment pleaded statutory elements; eyewitnesses saw gasoline poured on victim/trailer and fire followed; jury can infer intent | Affirmed: indictment sufficient; evidence permitted reasonable inference defendant set fire intentionally |
| Admission of inflammatory evidence (911 call, autopsy photos, prior acts) | Such evidence was unduly prejudicial and cumulative; stipulation would avoid gruesome exhibits | State: evidence relevant to identity, course of events, and intent; prior acts relevant to motive; judge did not abuse discretion | Affirmed: 911 call and color autopsy photos admissible; prior bad-acts testimony admissible and contemporaneous objection waived |
| Sentencing instructions (D-11 re deadlock) | Jury should have been instructed that failure to agree yields life without parole | Jury was informed of possible outcomes; no contemporaneous error requirement for tendered instructions | Denied: Court reasonably refused instruction; jury was properly informed of options |
| Jury verdict re: aggravators (initial defective verdict) | Judge should have entered life because initial verdict omitted statutory aggravators | State: judge may order defective verdict reformed under statute; jury returned amended verdict finding aggravators | Affirmed: judge properly ordered jury to reform defective verdict; final verdict valid |
| Validity of aggravators (burglary/HAC) | Aggravators unsupported or unconstitutionally vague; mental illness negates HAC | State: felony-murder aggravator may be used in both phases; HAC instruction narrowed by pattern language; evidence showed multiple wounds, prolonged death | Affirmed: both aggravators supported by evidence; HAC instruction proper and not unconstitutionally vague |
| Constitutional attacks on sentencing scheme (Apprendi/Ring, indictment, Enmund/Tison, lethal injection) | Various challenges to procedure and statutory language; lethal injection method challenge | State: prior Mississippi and federal authority reject these contentions; procedural defaults apply; lethal injection protocol constitutional | Denied: Court rejects each constitutional challenge; statutes upheld; lethal injection challenge procedurally barred and meritless |
| Disproportionality due to mental illness | Death sentence disproportionate given chronic mental illness and cognitive deficits | State: mitigation presented to jury; experts did not support intellectual disability; comparative review supports proportionality | Affirmed: sentence not excessive or disproportionate; jury weighed mitigation and aggravators |
| Cumulative error | Combined trial errors denied fair trial | Since individual claims lack merit, cumulative-error claim fails | Denied: no cumulative error found |
Key Cases Cited
- Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) (categorical Eighth Amendment bar to executing intellectually disabled persons)
- Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (bar on death penalty for juvenile offenders)
- Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960) (competency standard: factual and rational understanding and ability to consult with counsel)
- Lowenfield v. Phelps, 484 U.S. 231 (1988) (guilt-phase findings may serve to narrow class for death penalty at sentencing)
- Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982) (death penalty invalid for felony participants who neither killed nor intended to kill)
- Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (1987) (death may be permitted for major participants with reckless indifference)
- Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008) (standard for Eighth Amendment challenge to method of execution)
- Chase v. State, 873 So.2d 1013 (Miss. 2004) (Mississippi procedure and definitions for adjudicating Atkins claims)
- Hearn v. State, 3 So.3d 722 (Miss. 2008) (standard of review for competency findings)
- Conner v. State, 138 So.3d 143 (Miss. 2014) (sufficiency-of-evidence standard)