Jones v. State

322 So.3d 979

Antonio Devoe JONES

v.STATE of Alabama

CR-13-1552

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

November 22, 2019

Rehearing Denied May 15, 2020

Certiorari Denied September 11, 2020

Alabama Supreme Court 1190647

*Note from the reporter of decisions: Judge Kennedy, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice, was appointed to preside over this case upon the recusal of the circuit judges in the 20th Judicial Circuit. Justice Kennedy recused himself from this case on January 24, 2011, and Judge Head, circuit judge of Coffee County, was then appointed to preside over this case.

Leonard E. Hudson (withdrew 02/02/2017); Richard K. Wray (withdrew 02/02/2017); Steven A. Miller, and Denise M. Ware of Reed Smith, LLP, Chicago, Illinois; and Carmen F. Howell, Enterprise, for appellant.

Steve Marshall, atty. gen., and Kevin W. Blackburn, Stephen M. Frisby (withdrew 01/11/2019), and Audrey K. Jordan, asst. attys. gen., for appellee.

On Remand from the Alabama Supreme Court

KELLUM, Judge.

The appellant, Antonio Devoe Jones, an inmate currently incarcerated on Alabama's death row, appeals the circuit court's summary dismissal of his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R. Crim. P., in which he attacked his capital-murder conviction and sentence of death.

Facts and Procedural History

In 2004, Jones was convicted of murdering Ruth Kirkland during the course of a burglary. See § 13A-5-40(a)(4), Ala. Code 1975. The jury, by a vote of 11 to 1, recommended that Jones be sentenced to death. The trial court sentenced Jones to death. This Court affirmed Jones's conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Jones v. State, 987 So. 2d 1156 (Ala. Crim. App. 2006). The Alabama Supreme Court denied certiorari review, and this Court issued the certificate of judgment on January 25, 2008. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review on October 6, 2008. Jones v. Alabama, 555 U.S. 833, 129 S.Ct. 52, 172 L.Ed.2d 55 (2008).

On direct appeal, this Court set out the facts of the crime:

"The State's evidence tended to show that on the afternoon of December 31, 1999, 80–year–old Ruth Kirkland drove her 1990 white Cadillac automobile to the grocery store to purchase groceries. Mrs. Kirkland, who had lived alone since the death of her husband, was a petite woman, who had suffered a stroke, leaving her with a limp and a weak right arm. As a result of the stroke, Mrs. Kirkland used a walker or a cane to get around. It was generally known in the community that Mrs. Kirkland kept money inside her house.

"According to testimony at trial, because of her condition, it took Mrs. Kirkland several trips to carry her groceries inside, and it became dark before she got all her groceries into her house. Because Mrs. Kirkland did not like to be outside after dark, she left the remaining groceries in her car for the night.

"Some time later, Antonio Jones went to Mrs. Kirkland's house, turned off the circuit breakers outside, and went inside. From the evidence, the police were unable to determine whether Jones broke into the house or whether Mrs. Kirkland opened the door to investigate the power failure, allowing Jones to enter unimpeded.

"Upon gaining entry to the house, Jones beat and kicked Mrs. Kirkland as she attempted to defend herself. Jones broke Mrs. Kirkland's wrists as she attempted to ward off his blows. In addition to using his hands and feet to assault Mrs. Kirkland, Jones also used one of Mrs. Kirkland's walking canes and a broken chair leg to savagely beat Mrs. Kirkland. Splatters of Mrs. Kirkland's blood were found in various locations and pieces of her broken cane were found in several different rooms.

"At some point, Jones dumped the contents of Mrs. Kirkland's purse on the floor. Mrs. Kirkland kept the keys to her car in her purse. He also searched the house for the money Mrs. Kirkland reportedly kept in her house, ransacking the house, leaving open several drawers and cabinets. Mrs. Kirkland's body was found near the armoire where she kept her money. Jones took Mrs. Kirkland's car keys -- and possibly other undetermined items -- and left Mrs. Kirkland's house driving her white Cadillac.

"That same evening, Linda Parrish, Mrs. Kirkland's daughter, became concerned when she was unable to contact her mother by telephone. Mrs. Parrish asked her son, Brent Parrish -- a Dothan police officer -- to go by Mrs. Kirkland's house and check on her. Officer Parrish arrived at his grandmother's house shortly before 8:00 p.m. He noticed that no lights were on inside the house and that Mrs. Kirkland's white Cadillac was missing. As he approached the house, Officer Parrish discovered that the back door was open. Officer Parrish notified the police and waited for help to arrive. When the other officers arrived, the police entered Mrs. Kirkland's house and discovered her body lying on the floor.

"Concluding that Mrs. Kirkland's assailant had taken her automobile, the police began searching for the white Cadillac. Around 9:00 p.m., an officer spotted a white Cadillac matching the description of Mrs. Kirkland's. The officer activated his emergency lights, signaling the driver to stop; however, the driver failed to stop. The officer requested assistance, and several other patrol cars responded. Eventually, the police were able to stop the car near a K–Mart discount department store on the north side of Dothan. Inside the car were Jones; his sister, Lakeisha Jones; Lakeisha's baby; and Lakeisha's boyfriend. Jones, whose clothes and shoes were bloodstained, was taken into custody. During a search of the car, police discovered a number of items, including Mrs. Kirkland's remaining groceries, two of Mrs. Kirkland's walking canes, and a torn and empty envelope from SouthTrust Bank apparently given to Mrs. Kirkland when she made a withdrawal. Neither Lakeisha nor her boyfriend knew anything about Mrs. Kirkland's murder. Lakeisha did, however, tell the police that Jones was acting strangely when he picked them up earlier that evening.

"Jones was transported to the Dothan Police Department. At some point, Jones voluntarily stated that he knew where to find bloody clothes related to Mrs. Kirkland's murder. Officer Jon Beeson then informed Jones of his constitutional rights in accordance with Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Jones declined to sign a waiver-of-rights form, but he did agree to accompany police officers to a bridge on Honeysuckle Road where, he claimed, the true killers of Mrs. Kirkland had disposed of their bloody clothing. Before taking Jones to the bridge, officers had him remove the clothes and shoes he was wearing when he was taken into custody. Jones agreed, and he changed clothes. The clothing he had been wearing was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for testing.

"Thereafter, the police took Jones to the bridge on Honeysuckle Road, where they unsuccessfully searched for the reported bloody clothing. The officers also searched for footprints in the area and found none. After daylight, the officers returned to the site but again found no evidence that would support Jones's claims.

"Back at the police station, Jones asked to speak to Officer Beeson again. Before talking with Jones, Beeson informed Jones of his Miranda rights a second time. At 2:55 a.m. on January 1, 2000, Jones signed a waiver-of-rights form, acknowledging that he understood his rights and that he had not been threatened or promised anything in exchange for his statement. Jones told Beeson that three other men had killed Mrs. Kirkland. Jones denied any involvement in Mrs. Kirkland's killing; he claimed that he was not present when Mrs. Kirkland was killed and that the blood on his clothes came from being around the three killers. Additionally, Jones claimed that the white Cadillac he was driving belonged to his grandfather.

"Around 5:30 a.m., Jones asked to speak with Officer Beeson again, stating that he wanted to tell Beeson the ‘whole story.’ Sgt. Jim Stanley told Jones that Beeson was unavailable, and Jones indicated that he wished to tell Stanley ‘the rest of the story.’ Sgt. Stanley took Jones into his office, where they were joined by Officer Donovan Kilpatrick. Before allowing Jones to give his statement, Sgt. Stanley asked Jones if he remembered his Miranda rights. Jones indicated that he did. Jones proceeded to give the officers additional information regarding Mrs. Kirkland's murder. As Jones related his version of events, Sgt. Stanley made notes of what Jones told them. During Jones's second statement, he admitted being present at Mrs. Kirkland's house during the murder. Jones claimed, however, that the other three men had entered the house with the intent to commit a robbery. He claimed that when he entered Mrs. Kirkland's house, one of the three men was beating her with a walking cane. According to Jones, he took the cane away from Mrs. Kirkland's assailant and telephoned 911 for emergency assistance in an attempt to save Mrs. Kirkland. Jones also claimed that the other three men took Mrs. Kirkland's car. He claimed that after he telephoned for assistance and turned the circuit breakers back on, he became scared and fled the scene on foot. Only later, Jones claimed, did he meet up with the other three who at that time were driving Mrs. Kirkland's car. When the officers attempted to verify Jones's claims, they discovered that the three men Jones claimed had killed Mrs. Kirkland all had alibis. Likewise, no 911 emergency calls had been received from Mrs. Kirkland's home that night."

Jones, 987 So. 2d at 1158-60 (footnotes omitted).¹

On January 23, 2009, Jones timely filed the instant Rule 32 petition.² He filed an amended petition in April 2013. In July 2013, the State filed its response and moved to dismiss the petition. On June 19, 2014, the circuit court issued a 72-page order summarily dismissing the amended petition, and Jones appealed. By order dated December 12, 2017, this Court dismissed the...