Brownfield v. State

266 So.3d 777

James Ben BROWNFIELD

v.STATE of Alabama

CR–14–0863

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

December 15, 2017

Opinion Issued on Application for Rehearing April 27, 2018

Certiorari Denied June 15, 2018

Alabama Supreme Court 1170702

Benjamin Fishman, Chad Peterman (withdrew 07/19/2016), Lia Brooks (withdrew 08/02/2017), and Anthony DeCinque (withdrew 04/19/2017), and William F. Cavanaugh, New York, New York, for appellant.

Luther Strange and Steve Marshall, attys. gen., and William D. Dill, and Audrey K. Jordan asst. attys. gen.

KELLUM, Judge.

James Ben Brownfield appeals the circuit court's denial of his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R. Crim. P., in which he attacked his capital-murder convictions and sentence of death.

Facts and Procedural History

In 2004, Brownfield was convicted of three counts of capital murder in connection with the murders of his sister, Brenda McCutchin ("Brenda"), his brother-in-law, Latham McCutchin ("Latham"), and Brenda's three-year-old grandson, Joshua Hodges ("Joshua"). Specifically, Brownfield was convicted of murdering Latham during the course of a burglary, see § 13A–5–40(a)(4), Ala. Code 1975, of murdering Latham, Brenda, and Joshua during one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, see § 13A–5–40(a)(10), Ala. Code 1975, and of murdering Joshua, who was under 14 years of age, see § 13A–5–40(a)(15), Ala. Code 1975. By a vote of 11–1, the jury recommended¹ that Brownfield be sentenced to death for his capital-murder convictions. The trial court followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Brownfield to death. This Court affirmed Brownfield's convictions and sentence on direct appeal, Brownfield v. State, 44 So.3d 1 (Ala. Crim. App. 2007), the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed this Court's judgment, Ex parte Brownfield, 44 So.3d 43 (Ala. 2009), and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review, Brownfield v. Alabama, 562 U.S. 1003, 131 S.Ct. 505, 178 L.Ed.2d 370 (2010). This Court issued a certificate of judgment on May 26, 2010.

The facts of the case were set out in this Court's opinion on direct appeal:

"The trial court set out the following statement of the evidence, which we adopt:

" ‘At some time in the late evening hours of December 23, 2001, or the early morning hours of December 24, 2001, Brenda Whitehead McCutchin, Joshua Dewayne Hodges, and Latham Durwood McCutchin were murdered in their homes in Scottsboro, Alabama. At the time of their deaths, Brenda was forty-seven years old, Joshua was three years old, and Latham was sixty-four years old.

" ‘After consuming Xanax pills on the night of December 23, 2001, the twenty-seven year old defendant, James Ben Brownfield, Jr., became enraged with his sister, Brenda Whitehead McCutchin, over drugs and money. While Brenda and her grandson, Joshua Dewayne Hodges, were sleeping in their bed, the defendant decided to kill his sister and her estranged husband, Latham Durwood McCutchin. The defendant took a claw hammer into the room where Brenda and Joshua were sleeping and hit Brenda with it. When the defendant hit Brenda, Joshua awoke crying. At that time, the defendant began hitting both Brenda and Joshua with the claw hammer. Brenda suffered approximately twenty forceful blows to the head and other injuries to her body. Joshua suffered approximately sixteen blows to the head and other injuries to his body. Both Brenda and Joshua died from multiple blunt-force injuries. Before he left Brenda's house, the defendant attempted to burn the house with kerosene and a cigarette.

" ‘After killing Brenda and Joshua, the defendant took the claw hammer and a set of clean clothes and drove across town to the residence of his brother-in-law, Latham Durwood McCutchin. The defendant initially pretended a friendly visit with Latham but later inside the residence, the defendant informed Latham that he was going to kill him. The defendant and Latham struggled for the claw hammer with the defendant subduing Latham by hitting him with his fists and the hammer. Latham suffered numerous injuries. He suffered at least ten forceful blows to the head with the claw hammer, bruising to the lower chest, arms, and hands, fractured ribs and a fractured vertebra. Later, the defendant stabbed Latham in the heart and cut his throat with a knife. Latham died from multiple blunt-force injuries. After killing Latham, the defendant showered and dressed in the clean clothes. He gathered the soiled clothes, claw hammer, and knife and placed them in a garbage bag that he found at Latham's house.

" ‘The defendant left Latham's house and went to a Christmas party where he saw friends and acquaintances. He told his friend, Nick Logan, that he was moving to Tennessee because he and Brenda had argued and she had kicked him out of the house. Later, the defendant left the party and drove toward Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama. He placed the garbage bag of evidence in a dumpster in Stevenson and drove back to Scottsboro. The defendant had contact with friends throughout the day of December 24, 2001. The night of December 24, 2001, the defendant went to Tammy Farmer's apartment. During conversations with Tammy, his girlfriend, the defendant confessed to the murders of Brenda, Joshua, and Latham.

" ‘Concerned about his father, Rodney McCutchin traveled to Latham McCutchin's house. Rodney and his son found the body of Latham and called 911. The Scottsboro Police Department immediately began an investigation into the death of Latham. During the investigation, they obtained information that implicated Brenda McCutchin and her brother, the defendant, James Ben Brownfield, Jr. On the morning of December 25, 2001, the Scottsboro Police Department obtained a search warrant to search the home of Brenda McCutchin. Upon searching the home, the police discovered the bodies of Brenda and her grandson, Joshua. The Scottsboro Police Department intensified their search for Brenda's car and the defendant.

" ‘At approximately 10:00 A.M. on December 25, 2001, the Scottsboro Police Department located Brenda's car and the defendant at the apartment of defendant's girlfriend, Tammy Farmer. The defendant was apprehended and transported to the Scottsboro Police Department. On December 25 and 26, 2001, the defendant gave Investigators Robert Petty and Doug Hood of the Scottsboro Police Department a statement of confession to the murders.’

"(C. 345–347.) The trial court also noted that the evidence indicated that Brownfield wrote messages on the walls of both residences: At Latham's house Brownfield wrote ‘This was necessary Ben. I'm sorry for your family. They deserved it.’ (C. 351) and at Brenda's residence those messages were throughout the house and included comments such as ‘ "Fuck this God," "Fuck this world," "I'll be dead too," "It's about to pick up," "Don't look for me," "Tammy I love you Always Never 4–get Baby," "Killing is my business," and "My whole life I have been ran over. It's stopping now." ’ (C. 353.)

"The evidence further indicated that although Brenda McCutchin and Latham McCutchin were married, they were separated and no longer lived together, and that Brownfield lived with Brenda and Joshua at Brenda's house on Wallace Lane in Scottsboro. The evidence also indicated that the victims did not die immediately upon the striking of the first blows; rather, they survived for some period before succumbing to their injuries. Further, each of the victims had what were characterized as defensive wounds, indicating that they attempted to ward off at least some of the blows from the hammer. Finally, Brownfield presented evidence indicating that he had consumed seven or eight Xanax pills on the night of the murders and that he had also used crystal methamphetamine a number of times in the week preceding the murders."

Brownfield, 44 So.3d at 6–8 (footnote omitted).²

On February 14, 2011, Brownfield timely filed the instant Rule 32 petition, raising numerous claims, including claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and appellate counsel.³ On October 3, 2011, the State filed an answer to Brownfield's petition. Brownfield filed an amended petition on January 9, 2012.⁴ The State filed an answer to the amended petition on March 13, 2012, and a motion to dismiss the amended petition on April 25, 2012. Brownfield also filed several discovery requests, which the State responded to. After conducting a hearing on the State's motion to dismiss and Brownfield's discovery requests on July 22, 2012, the circuit court issued an order on October 9, 2012, summarily dismissing several of the claims in Brownfield's petition but ordering an evidentiary hearing on Brownfield's claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and appellate counsel and his claims of juror misconduct and prosecutorial misconduct.⁵

The evidentiary hearing was conducted over the course of five days in July and August 2013, and the circuit court permitted the parties to file post-hearing briefs. Brownfield filed his post-hearing brief on May 8, 2014. The State did not file a post-hearing brief but, instead, on July 21, 2014, filed what it styled as an "Answer to Post–Hearing Brief and Proposed Order on James Ben Brownfield's Amended Rule 32 Petition for Post–Conviction Relief." (C. 1045.) The State's answer was a single paragraph followed by a 127-page proposedorder. Brownfield filed a reply to the State's proposed order on August 27, 2014. On February 24, 2015, the circuit court adopted almost verbatim the State's proposed order as its final order denying Brownfield's petition. On March 18, 2015, Brownfield filed a written objection to the circuit court's adopting the State's proposed order. The circuit court did not specifically rule on Brownfield's written objection; therefore, that objection was deemed denied by operation of law 30 days after the circuit court's final order disposing of Brownfield's petition. See, e.g., Loggins v. State, 910 So.2d 146, 148–49 (Ala....