The STATE, Respondent, v. Michael James LANEY, Appellant.
No. 26123.
Supreme Court of South Carolina.
Heard Jan. 5, 2006. Decided March 6, 2006.
Rehearing Denied April 6, 2006.
627 S.E.2d 726
On Farnsworth‘s appeal, we reverse. On Davis‘s appeal, we affirm. The case is remanded to the circuit court for trial.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART.
TOAL, C.J., MOORE, J., and Acting Justices CLYDE N. DAVIS, JR., and DONNA S. STROM, concur.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant Attorney General Melody J. Brown, all of Columbia; and Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent.
Justice BURNETT:
Michael James Laney (Appellant) was charged with two counts of murder; two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of or attempted commission of a violent crime; arson to a dwelling; criminal sexual conduct, first degree; and kidnapping. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. We reverse and remand for a new sentencing proceeding.
FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On September 25, 2000, Dorothy Hancock and Thelma Godfrey were murdered in Hancock‘s home in Greenville County. The victims were neighbors and both in their eighties. Around 9:15 p.m. that night, John Gillard, another neighbor, heard a loud noise. Upon investigation, he saw smoke coming from Hancock‘s house and observed Hancock‘s garage door had been smashed and her car was missing. He entered the garage and saw Hancock‘s body on the floor. Gillard‘s wife reported the incident to 911. Responding to the call, a firefighter found Godfrey‘s body in a bedroom; her body was tied to a chair with a telephone cord and was covered with tape, a sheet, and a cloth.
Ward testified Godfrey had stab and incise wounds to the neck which included a cut trachea. He determined the incise wounds caused Godfrey‘s death.
David Tafaoa of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) testified as an expert in arson investigation. He opined the fire in Hancock‘s house was intentionally set by someone pouring an ignitable liquid in four different areas of the house. Alex Layton of SLED testified several swatches of carpet from Hancock‘s house tested positive for the accelerant gasoline.
On September 26, 2000, Appellant was arrested in North Carolina as a suspect in the double homicide. Officers testified the coveralls Appellant was wearing at the time of his arrest smelled of gasoline. Hancock‘s blood was found on the coveralls and on Appellant‘s underwear. Appellant‘s blood was under Hancock‘s fingernails and his semen was on her body. Appellant‘s fingerprints were on a phone base and an end section of cut tape collected from under the bedspread in the room where Godfrey was found.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, Appellant presented mitigating evidence regarding his mental ability and health. Two doctors testified Appellant was not mentally retarded but had mental illnesses. Another doctor testified Appellant‘s IQ was between borderline intellectual functioning and mild mental retardation. The State sought the death penalty based on the following statutory aggravating circumstances: (1) the murder was committed while in the commission of a criminal sexual conduct in the first degree; (2) the murder was committed while in the commission of a kidnapping; and (3) two or more persons were murdered by Appellant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct.
After finding Appellant guilty as charged, a jury recommended the death penalty. Appellant was sentenced to death for each of the murders, thirty years imprisonment for criminal sexual conduct, and twenty years imprisonment for arson, to be served consecutively. Appellant was not sentenced for the kidnapping and weapon convictions.
ISSUES
- Did the trial court err by not charging the jury that a life imprisonment sentence meant life without parole because the State offered evidence of Appellant‘s future dangerousness?
- Do the cases of Atkins v. Virginia and Ring v. Arizona, decided by the United States Supreme Court after Appellant‘s trial, require Appellant‘s case to be remanded for a new sentencing proceeding before a jury?
- Did the trial court lack subject matter jurisdiction to sentence Appellant to death because the murder indictments did not identify any statutory aggravating circumstances necessary to expose Appellant to a punishment of death?
STANDARD OF REVIEW
In criminal cases, this Court sits to review errors of law only and is bound by factual findings of the trial court unless an abuse of discretion is shown. State v. Wilson, 345 S.C. 1, 5, 545 S.E.2d 827, 829 (2001). An abuse of discretion
LAW/ANALYSIS
I. Jury Charge
Appellant argues the trial judge erred by failing to charge the jury that a life imprisonment sentence meant life without parole. We agree.
Appellant contends a jury charge that life imprisonment meant life without parole was required under Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994); Shafer v. South Carolina, 532 U.S. 36, 121 S.Ct. 1263, 149 L.Ed.2d 178 (2001); and Kelly v. South Carolina, 534 U.S. 246, 122 S.Ct. 726, 151 L.Ed.2d 670 (2002), because the State offered evidence of Appellant‘s future dangerousness. The State concedes it submitted evidence supporting Appellant‘s future dangerousness during the sentencing phase of the trial.1 The State further concedes due process required Appellant be given an opportunity to inform the jury of parole ineligibility, but contends the issue is procedurally barred from review. In the alternative, the State argues due process was not violated because Appellant‘s counsel told the jury that life imprisonment meant life without parole.
After reviewing the entire record, we find the issue sufficiently preserved for review on appeal. Further we find it unnecessary to address the State‘s due process argument to resolve this issue.
In Shafer and Kelly, the United States Supreme Court held that where a defendant‘s future dangerousness is at issue in a capital sentencing proceeding, and the only sentencing alter-
In State v. Shafer, 352 S.C. 191, 202, 573 S.E.2d 796, 801-02 (2002), we stated, “given the United States Supreme Court‘s decision in Kelly, the better practice is for trial judges to give the capital sentencing jury a parole eligibility charge whether it is requested or not.”3 Today we conclude where a defendant‘s future dangerousness is at issue in a capital sentencing proceeding, and the only sentencing alternative to death available to the jury is life imprisonment without parole, the trial judge shall charge the jury, whether requested or not, that life imprisonment means until the death of the defendant without the possibility of parole. The trial judge erred in failing to charge the jury that life imprisonment meant until the death of Appellant without the possibility of parole be-
II. New Sentencing Proceeding under Atkins v. Virginia and Ring v. Arizona
Appellant argues the intervening cases of Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), and Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), require his case be remanded for a new sentencing proceeding. We disagree.
Appellant‘s trial began on October 8, 2001, and he was sentenced to death on October 19, 2001. The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Atkins on June 20, 2002, which held the execution of a mentally retarded person is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court left to the states the task of developing methods to enforce this constitutional restriction upon the execution of sentences. In Ring, issued on June 24, 2002, the United States Supreme Court held an Arizona statute, which allowed the trial judge to determine the presence or absence of the aggravating factors required by Arizona law for the imposition of the death penalty, violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in capital prosecutions.
We issued Franklin v. Maynard, 356 S.C. 276, 588 S.E.2d 604 (2003), on November 3, 2003. In Franklin, we addressed the following issues: (1) the definition of mental retardation; (2) the procedure for making the mental retardation determination in post-Atkins cases; and (3) the procedure for making the mental retardation determination in cases where the defendant was sentenced to death prior to Atkins. For the definition of mental retardation, we referred to the definition established by the legislature in
In Franklin, we concluded that in post-Atkins cases the mental retardation determination is a two-step process. First,
Also in Franklin, we found where the defendant was sentenced to death prior to Atkins, statutory procedures were already in place. Under
Appellant argues this Court should modify the procedure set forth in Franklin for post-Atkins cases because mental retardation is a factual issue which must be determined prior to imposing the death penalty, similar to an aggravating circumstance, and under Ring that fact must be found by a jury. In Ring, the Supreme Court stated that “[c]apital defendants ... are entitled to a jury determination of any fact on which the legislature conditions an increase in their
Appellant has confused the issues of eligibility for the death penalty and a fact on which the legislature conditions an increase in a defendant‘s maximum punishment. The General Assembly has not conditioned an increase in a defendant‘s maximum punishment on the fact the defendant is not mentally retarded. The fact a defendant is not mentally retarded is not an aggravating circumstance that increases a defendant‘s punishment; rather, the issue is one of eligibility for the sentence imposed by a jury. See People v. Smith, 193 Misc.2d 462, 751 N.Y.S.2d 356 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.2002) (rejecting argument prosecution is required by Atkins and Ring to affirmatively prove defendant is not mentally retarded at sentencing phase of capital murder trial); State v. Williams, 831 So.2d 835, 860 n. 35 (La.2002) (“The Supreme Court would unquestionably look askance at a suggestion that in Atkins it had acted as a super legislature imposing on all of the states with capital punishment the requirement that they prove as an aggravating circumstance that the defendant has normal intelligence and adaptive function. Atkins explicitly addressed mental retardation as an exemption from capital punishment, not as a fact the absence of which operates ‘as the functional equivalent of an element of a greater offense.’ “); Head v. Hill, 277 Ga. 255, 587 S.E.2d 613, 620 (2003) (“[T]he absence of mental retardation is not the functional equivalent of an element of an offense such that determining its absence or presence requires a jury trial under Ring.“); Howell v. State, 151 S.W.3d 450, 464-65 (Tenn.2004) (absence of mental retardation not an element of the offense and not required to be proven by the
Prior to and during Appellant‘s trial, mental retardation was a mitigating circumstance. In Atkins, the Supreme Court determined that mental retardation should be considered apart from mitigating circumstances. We conclude in post-Atkins cases, mental retardation is a threshold issue, decided by the trial judge as a matter of law in a pretrial hearing, that determines whether a defendant is eligible for capital punishment at all, and if not found as a threshold issue, mental retardation continues to be a mitigating circumstance under statutory law.
III. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Appellant contends the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to sentence him to death because the indictments for murder did not allege any aggravating circumstance which exposed him to the death penalty. Appellant asserts the Sixth Amendment of United States Constitution; Ring; Apprendi; and Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999), require indictments in state capital murder cases to allege aggravating circumstances. We disagree.
Subject matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong. State v. Gentry, 363 S.C. 93, 100, 610 S.E.2d 494, 498 (2005). Issues related to subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time. The indictment is a notice document, and a challenge to the indictment on the
We note the State, as required by statute, timely notified Appellant of its intention to seek the death penalty and identified the aggravating circumstances and related evidence the State intended to use at trial. See
This Court has recently addressed the issue of whether aggravating circumstances are elements of the offense of murder. In State v. Downs, 361 S.C. 141, 147-48, 604 S.E.2d 377, 380-81 (2004), this Court stated:
The [Supreme] Court expressly noted in both Apprendi and Ring that the cases did not involve challenges to state indictments. . . . More important, the Fourteenth Amendment has not been construed to incorporate the Fifth Amendment‘s Presentment or Indictment Clause. . . . State law governs indictments for state-law crimes. Under South Carolina law, aggravating circumstances need not be alleged in an indictment for murder.
S.C.Code Ann. § 17-19-30 (2003) . . . . The aggravating circumstances listed inS.C.Code Ann. § 16-3-20(C)(a) (2003) are sentencing factors, not elements of murder.
(internal citations omitted). See also State v. Crisp, 362 S.C. 412, 419-20, 608 S.E.2d 429, 433-34 (2005) (under South Carolina law, aggravating circumstances need not be alleged in murder indictment); State v. Wood, 362 S.C. 135, 144, 607 S.E.2d 57, 61 (2004), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 125 S.Ct. 2942, 162 L.Ed.2d 873 (2005) (same). Accordingly, the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction in Appellant‘s case.
CONCLUSION
Based on the above reasoning, we reverse Appellant‘s death sentence and remand this matter to the circuit court for a new sentencing proceeding consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
PLEICONES, J., concurring in a separate opinion.
Justice PLEICONES, concurring:
I concur, but write separately, because while I agree that the circuit court had subject-matter jurisdiction, and while I further agree that Appellant is entitled to a new sentencing proceeding because of the erroneous jury charge, I would not reach the issue of entitlement to a new sentencing under Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002). I nonetheless wish to elucidate my understanding of Franklin v. Maynard, 356 S.C. 276, 588 S.E.2d 604 (2003), to the extent that it differs from that expressed by the majority.
As the majority observes, if on remand Appellant argues that he was mentally retarded at the time of the crime, then the circuit court will be required to follow the procedure set forth in Franklin for determining mental retardation in post-Atkins cases.1 The judge will determine whether Appellant is mentally retarded as a preliminary matter. If the judge determines that Appellant is mentally retarded, then Appellant cannot be sentenced to death. If the judge determines that Appellant is not mentally retarded, then the issue will remain for the jury after the parties present their cases. If the jury determines, in the first instance, that Appellant is mentally retarded, then the death penalty cannot be imposed. Franklin, 356 S.C. at 279, 588 S.E.2d at 606. If the jury determines that Appellant is not mentally retarded, then it will proceed as in any death-penalty case, determining whether aggravating and/or mitigating circumstances exist, and if aggravating circumstances are found, whether to recommend death. See
My understanding of Franklin is the jury, post-Atkins, does not consider mental retardation as a “mitigating circum-
Only when the jury determines that the defendant is not mentally retarded does it consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Then, the jury must consider the state of the defendant‘s mental health and determine whether it constitutes a “mitigating circumstance.” See
In sum, I concur in the majority opinion in all substantive respects. I disagree only with the use of the term “mitigating circumstance” with respect to a jury‘s determination in a post-Atkins case whether the defendant is mentally retarded.