The Court of Appeals of Oklahoma is immediately below; Supreme Court of the United States opinion is located at the bottom of this file.
William Wayne THOMPSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
1986 OK CR 130; 724 P.2d 780; 1986 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 318
August 29, 1986, Filed
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Nevertheless, the evidence against the appellant was so strong that the error does not require reversal. See Newbury v. State, 695 P.2d 531 (Okl.Cr.1985). Two witnesses -- Donetta Bradford, appellant's girlfriend, and Charlesetta Garcia, Bobby Glass' girlfriend -- testified that appellant told them that he had shot Charles in the head and cut his throat. Charlotte Mann, Anthony Mann's former wife, heard appellant tell his mother that Charles Keene was dead, that he had killed him, and that Vicki -- the victim's ex-wife and the appellant's sister -- did not have to worry about him anymore.
When appellant and the other co-defendants left their house on the evening of the murder, appellant told Bradford, "We're going to kill Charles." When they returned several hours later, appellant was wet from the chest down, his nose was bleeding, and he no longer had on the cap he had been wearing when he left.
Myrtle and Malcolm "Possum" Brown, who lived near the Washita River, returned from a vacation and retired early the night Charles Keene was killed. They were awakened by a gunshot and barking dogs. A man pounded on the door and shouted, "Possum, let me in. They're going to kill me." The Browns looked outside and saw three or four men beating another man. They heard one of the men say, "This is for the way you treated our sister." Mr. Brown telephoned the sheriff, but the men left soon after they realized the Browns were home and witnessing the fray. It was too dark for the Browns to identify any of the men.
The O.S.B.I. analyzed a stain on the Browns' front porch carpet and discovered it was caused by human blood group A, the same blood type of the victim. An expended .45 caliber Winchester Western cartridge case was found in the Browns' front yard; the same type of ammunition was used to kill Charles Keene. In the Browns' dogpen, fabric was found that had the same type design as the cap appellant had worn the night of the homicide.
The above recitation of facts is by no means exhaustive, but is demonstrative of how strong the evidence against appellant was. In view of this evidence, we cannot say that the two color photographs, although gruesome, affected the jury's determination that appellant was guilty as charged.
Finding no errors which would affect the conviction of first degree murder, we affirm that judgment. We turn now to a review of the sentencing.
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The victim herein was abducted from his home, severely beaten by four men, shot twice, and had his leg broken and his throat and chest slashed with a knife. When he attempted to escape and had a chance to call out for help, he was thrown into the trunk of a car. These facts amply support the conclusion that the murder was heinous, atrocious, or cruel.
The record discloses nothing to indicate that the death sentence was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. Although appellant was the youngest of the four assailants, his participation was hardly minimal. The evidence showed that he personally kicked the victim in the head, shot the victim in the head, slit the victim's throat, and dragged the victim's weighted body into the river. The jury's decision clearly was based on the overwhelming evidence of appellant's culpability for this truly heinous crime.
The judgment and sentence are hereby AFFIRMED.
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Thompson v. Oklahoma
Supreme Court of the United States
487 U.S. 815 (1988)
JUSTICE STEVENS announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion in which JUSTICE BRENNAN, JUSTICE MARSHALL, and JUSTICE BLACKMUN join.
Petitioner was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The principal question presented is whether the execution of that sentence would violate the constitutional prohibition against the infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments"{GO>1} [487 U.S. 819] because petitioner was only 15 years old at the time of his offense.
I
Because there is no claim that the punishment would be excessive if the crime had been committed by an adult, only a brief statement of facts is necessary. Petitioner was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The principal question presented is whether the execution of that sentence would violate the constitutional prohibition against the infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments" because petitioner was only 15-years old at the time of his offense.
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In concert with three older persons, petitioner actively participated in the brutal murder of his former brother-in-law in the early morning hours of January 23, 1983. The evidence disclosed that the victim had been shot twice, and that his throat, chest, and abdomen had been cut. He also had multiple bruises and a broken leg. His body had been chained to a concrete block and thrown into a river, where it remained for almost four weeks. Each of the four participants was tried separately and each was sentenced to death.
[Facts culled from the state case:]
The evidence at trial showed that appellant, his brother Anthony James Mann, Bobby Glass, and Richard Jones murdered Charles Keene, the appellant's former brother-in-law, in the early morning hours of January 23, 1983. Keene was shot once in the head and once in the chest, and his throat, chest, and abdomen had been cut. He also had multiple bruises and abrasions, especially about his face and head, and his left leg was broken. Keene's body was chained to a concrete block and thrown into the Washita River, where it remained undiscovered until February 18, 1983. The four co-defendants were tried separately. Each received the death penalty.
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II
The authors of the Eighth Amendment drafted a categorical prohibition against the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, but they made no attempt to define the contours of that category. They delegated that task to future generations of judges, who have been guided by the "evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101 (1958) (plurality opinion) (Warren, C.J.).} In performing that task, the Court has reviewed the work product of state legislatures and sentencing juries, and has carefully considered the reasons why a civilized society may accept or reject the death penalty in certain types of cases. Thus, in confronting the question whether the youth of the defendant -- more specifically, the fact that he was less than 16 years old at the time of his offense -- is a sufficient reason for denying the State the power to sentence him to death, we first review relevant legislative enactments, then refer to jury determinations, and finally explain why these indicators of contemporary standards of decency confirm our judgment that such a young person is not capable of acting with the degree of culpability that can justify the ultimate penalty.
III
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The conclusion that it would offend civilized standards of decency to execute a person who was less than 16 years old at the time of his or her offense is consistent with the views that have been expressed by respected professional organizations, by other nations that share our Anglo-American heritage, and by the leading members of the Western European community.{GO>31} Thus, the American Bar Association{GO>32} and the American Law Institute{GO>33} have formally expressed their opposition to the death penalty for juveniles. Although the death penalty has not been entirely abolished in the United Kingdom or New Zealand (it has been abolished in Australia, except in the State of New South Wales, where it is available [487 U.S. 831] for treason and piracy), in neither of those countries may a juvenile be executed. The death penalty has been abolished in West Germany, France, Portugal, The Netherlands, and all of the Scandinavian countries, and is available only for exceptional crimes such as treason in Canada, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. Juvenile executions are also prohibited in the Soviet Union.
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VI
Petitioner's counsel and various amici curiae have asked us to "draw a line" that would prohibit the execution of any person who was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. Our task today, however, is to decide the case before us; we do so by concluding that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit the execution of a person who was under 16 years of age at the time of his or her offense.
The judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to enter an appropriate order vacating petitioner's death sentence.
It is so ordered.