Randy William Gay v. State of Arkansas, 2021 Ark. 3

Background

Randy William Gay was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death; this court affirmed on direct appeal in Gay v. State (2016).
Gay filed a Rule 37.5 postconviction petition alleging multiple claims, including eight ineffective-assistance-of-counsel grounds and several other procedural and constitutional challenges.
The Garland County Circuit Court held a hearing and denied the Rule 37.5 petition.
On appeal of the postconviction denial, Gay argued (among other things) that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and challenge aggravating factors related to second-degree murders of Glen Gay and Jim Kelly.
The Supreme Court held that the circuit court’s written order did not contain the specific findings of fact and conclusions of law required by Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.5(i) as to that last ineffective-assistance claim, and reversed and remanded solely for entry of an order complying with Rule 37.5(i).
The remand is confined to that single claim; no new claims may be raised, other unargued claims are abandoned, and the circuit court was directed to complete the order within 60 days of mandate.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Right to a fair and impartial jury	Gay contended juror bias deprived him of a fair jury	State defended jury selection and verdict	No reversible relief granted here; not the basis for remand
Ineffective assistance of counsel (aggregate)	Multiple failures by trial counsel warranted relief	State said counsel was effective	Only one specific ineffective-assistance claim (failure to investigate/challenge two aggravators) required further findings; remanded for Rule 37.5(i) compliance
Failure to investigate/challenge aggravators (Glen Gay & Jim Kelly murders)	Counsel failed to adequately investigate and challenge these aggravating factors	State asserted counsel’s performance was adequate and petition was properly denied	Circuit court failed to make required written findings/conclusions as to this claim; reversed and remanded for specific findings under Rule 37.5(i)
Form 3 death-penalty jury instruction (mercy)	Form 3 barred the jury from exercising mercy	State argued the instruction was proper	Not the basis for reversal; remand limited to ineffective-assistance claim only
Statutory/constitutional adequacy of death sentence	Sentence did not meet statutory or constitutional requirements	State maintained sentence was proper	No relief granted here on appeal
Ambiguity of verdict forms & prosecutorial reference to remorse	Verdict forms ambiguous; prosecution used lack of remorse as nonstatutory aggravator	State defended form clarity and closing argument	Not reversed; these claims were not the basis of remand

Key Cases Cited

Gay v. State, 2016 Ark. 433 (affirming conviction and death sentence)
Fudge v. State, 354 Ark. 148 (2003) (discussing Rule 37.5 postconviction procedures for death-penalty cases)
Echols v. State, 344 Ark. 513 (2001) (Rule 37.5(i) imposes a more exacting duty to make specific findings)
Decay v. State, 2013 Ark. 185 (distinguishing Rule 37.5(i) from Rule 37.3(c) as to who frames issues)