Ward v. State.2
2015 Ark. 61
| Ark. | 2015Background
- Bruce Earl Ward was convicted of the 1989 capital murder of a convenience-store clerk and, after multiple resentencings and appeals, was sentenced to death in 1997; this motion seeks recall of the 1997 sentencing mandate.
- Ward moved for state-funded psychiatric experts under Ake before the 1997 penalty phase; the trial court denied the Ake motion and ordered a state-hospital (Act III) evaluation, which Ward refused to cooperate with and which the hospital team terminated as incomplete but reported no signs of psychosis.
- At the 1997 penalty phase, defense presented historical and mitigation evidence (school records, prior psychological testing and testimony, affidavits), and the jury found one mitigating circumstance on a form part that lacked the "at-the-time-of-the-murder" wording.
- In 2008 Ward underwent a single-session forensic evaluation by Dr. William Logan, who diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia and concluded Ward was incompetent during the 1997 penalty phase; that report was not part of the 1997 record.
- Ward’s motion to recall the mandate raises two principal claims: (1) an Ake violation/failure to provide an independent mental-health expert and resultant incompetence at sentencing; and (2) that the jury instruction/verdict forms limiting mitigation to factors existing "at the time of the murder" violated the Eighth Amendment by preventing consideration of life-history mitigation.
- The Supreme Court of Arkansas denied recall: it held the state-hospital evaluation satisfied Ake precedent, rejected reliance on the 2008 Logan report (not in the 1997 record), and found no record evidence that the verdict form/instruction produced a constitutional deprivation warranting recall.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Ake required appointment/funding of an independent mental-health expert and whether denial was a breakdown in the appellate process | Ward: counsel sought Ake experts; record shows competency concerns; state-hospital exam inadequate; 2008 Logan report shows schizophrenia and incompetence at 1997 sentencing | State: Ward refused/cooperated poorly with state-hospital exam; hospital exam satisfied Ake; Logan’s 2008 single exam post-dates record and is unreliable | Denied — state-hospital evaluation satisfied Ake; Ward failed to make the threshold showing and Logan’s 2008 report is not part of the 1997 record, so no appellate-process breakdown |
| Whether the "at-the-time-of-the-murder" wording on verdict forms/instruction unconstitutionally limited jury consideration of mitigating evidence | Ward: language and prosecutor argument could have led jurors to discount longstanding life-history evidence, violating Penry/Skipper | State: jury could consider past experiences that affected Ward at time of murder; evidence admitted and no instruction forbade consideration | Denied — record does not show reasonable likelihood jurors were inhibited; similar claims previously rejected (Thessing/Nooner) and no extraordinary error shown |
Key Cases Cited
- Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (constitutional right to access to psychiatric assistance for indigent defendants when sanity likely to be a significant factor)
- Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (Eighth Amendment requires jurors be able to give effect to mitigating evidence)
- Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1 (mitigating evidence of defendant’s character and record must be considered)
- Robbins v. State, 353 Ark. 556 (Ark. Supreme Court recall-of-mandate is an extraordinary remedy to correct appellate-process errors)
- Thessing v. State, 365 Ark. 384 (challenge to "at-the-time-of-the-murder" mitigation language rejected)
- Creed v. State, 372 Ark. 221 (state-hospital evaluations ordinarily satisfy Ake)
- Dirickson v. State, 329 Ark. 572 (statutory procedures and Ake; state-hospital evaluation suffices)
- Boyde v. California, 494 U.S. 370 (speculation that jury was inhibited is insufficient for reversal)