Commonwealth v. Smyrnes, R., Aplt.

[J-105-2016]
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
EASTERN DISTRICT
SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, JJ.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : No. 725 CAP
:
: Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence
Appellee : entered on 3/1/13 in the Court of
: Common Pleas, Westmoreland County,
v. : Criminal Division at No. CP-65-CR-
: 0000848-2010. Post Sentence Motions
: denied on 3/4/16
RICKY SMYRNES, :
:
Appellant : SUBMITTED: October 28, 2016
OPINION
CHIEF JUSTICE SAYLOR DECIDED: February 22, 2017
This is a capital direct appeal arising out of Appellant’s participation, with a group
of five other individuals, in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Jennifer Lee
Daugherty. The case is a companion one to that of co-perpetrator Melvin Knight. See
Commonwealth v. Knight, ___ Pa. ___, ___ A.3d ___, 2016 WL 6873044 (Pa. Nov. 22,
2016).
I. Background
In February 2010, Ms. Daugherty visited Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where she
encountered Appellant and his five co-perpetrators, including Knight; Appellant’s
girlfriend, Angela Marinucci; and Amber Meidinger, with whom the victim was previously
acquainted. As matters progressed, Marinucci expressed animosity and jealousy
toward the victim, apparently related to their respective expressions of romantic
interests in Appellant.1
Most of the relevant events that subsequently transpired occurred in Appellant’s
apartment. The conflict between Marinucci and Ms. Daugherty escalated, and “family
meetings” among the co-perpetrators ensued, during which they agreed to inflict
progressively worse humiliation and abuse upon the victim, who initially had been
invited to -- but came to be imprisoned in -- the apartment. Over a prolonged period of
time spanning several days, Ms. Daugherty was bullied, she was forced to ingest
prescription medications and noxious substances, she was choked and beaten, her hair
was cut against her will by Appellant and Knight, she was raped by Knight, and she was
bound with holiday-light strings and garland.
Ultimately, the group voted to kill the victim. Appellant forced her to write a
staged suicide note, after which Appellant and Knight dragged her to the bathroom;
Knight repeatedly and fatally stabbed her; Appellant slit her wrists (albeit superficially);
Appellant and Knight choked her as she lay dying; and her body was placed in a trash
can.
Appellant and Knight moved the can and body outside to a remote location,
where these were discovered the next day. Apparently in light of developing evidence
that a disturbance had occurred in Appellant’s apartment, police began to interview the
co-perpetrators, and inculpatory statements were obtained.
Meidinger pled guilty to murder and served as a central prosecution witness at
Appellant’s capital trial, where she attested to the above events. After the jury received
1
There are indications in the record that Marinucci in fact maliciously lured Ms.
Daugherty, who was challenged with cognitive limitations, to Greensburg. See, e.g.,
N.T., Feb. 8, 2016, at 709.
[J-105-2016] - 2
instructions concerning accomplice and conspiratorial liability, Appellant was convicted,
inter alia, of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping.
At the penalty hearing, the Commonwealth pursued, and the jury found present,
the aggravating circumstances involving torture and a significant history of felony
convictions involving the use or threat of personal violence. See 42 Pa.C.S. §§9711(d)
(8), (9). One or more jurors also found mitigation in the form of “mental illness,
childhood physical abuse, [and] childhood sexual abuse.” N.T., Feb. 28, 2013, at 1191.
Upon balancing, however, the jurors unanimously agreed that the aggravating factors
outweighed the mitigation and, accordingly, returned the death verdict. See 42 Pa.C.S.
§9711(c)(1)(iv).
This direct appeal followed, in which Appellant presents fifteen claims for relief.
II. Sufficiency of the Evidence
While Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his
first-degree murder conviction,2 this Court automatically undertakes such review in
capital direct appeals. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Rivera, 603 Pa. 340, 354, 983 A.2d
1211, 1220 (2009). In considering the proofs, we are cognizant that a defendant cannot
be convicted of first-degree murder under a vicarious liability theory, such as
accomplice or conspiratorial liability, unless the fact-finder determines, upon proof
beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant personally harbored a specific intent to
kill. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Pagan, 597 Pa. 69, 102, 950 A.2d 270, 290 (2008).
Of course, on appellate review, evidential sufficiency is assessed in the light most
2
Appellant, however, does challenge the sufficiency of the evidence of aggravation
relevant to the jury’s penalty determination. That separate matter, therefore, is
discussed in the course of addressing his specific arguments. See infra Part IV(E).
[J-105-2016] - 3
favorable to the Commonwealth, which secured the verdict. See, e.g., Rivera, 603 Pa.
at 354-55, 983 A.2d at 1220.
Here, although Appellant did not inflict the fatal wounds, the record contains
much evidence demonstrating that he intentionally conspired to, and aided in, bringing
about Ms. Daugherty’s death with a malicious state of mind. See Commonwealth v.
Moore, 594 Pa. 619, 628, 937 A.2d 1062, 1067 (2007) (discussing the elements of first-
degree murder, including the requirements of specific intent to kill and malice). Indeed,
Meidinger’s testimony portrays Appellant as the leader of the group of co-perpetrators.3
There is also much evidence of consciousness of guilt on Appellant’s part, including his
participation in attempting to create the appearance of a suicide, removing the victim’s
3
See, e.g., N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 560 (reflecting Meidinger’s testimony that Appellant
was in control of his apartment); id. at 575, 595-96 (indicating that Appellant set out to
embarrass and humiliate the victim); id. at 589-93 (demonstrating Appellant’s efforts to
conceal the victim’s presence in the apartment from outsiders); id. at 596-97 (stating
that Appellant and Knight stripped the victim of her clothes and cut her hair with shears);
id. at 601, 607 (attesting that Appellant directed other co-perpetrators not to allow the
victim to leave the apartment); id. at 605 (reflecting that Appellant hit and kicked Ms.
Daugherty); id. at 609 (evidencing Appellant’s question to Ms. Daugherty: “Why should I
let you live?”); id. at 619 (memorializing Appellant’s orchestration of the vote among the
co-perpetrators concerning whether the victim should live or die); id. at 621 (evincing
that Appellant and Knight bound the victim); id. at 622-24 (reflecting that Appellant
directed the victim to write the suicide note and his explanation to co-perpetrators that
he wished for the killing to appear as if it were a suicide); id. at 624-25 (evidencing
Appellant’s directive to Knight, immediately before the killing, that “you know what to
do,” as well as Appellant’s participation in forcing the victim into the bathroom where
Knight stabbed her); id. at 626 (indicating that Appellant gave Knight the knife used to
kill the victim); id. at 631 (stating that, after the stabbings, Appellant expressed concern
that the victim still was not dead and, along with Knight, choked her with a holiday-light
string); see also Brief for Appellant at 6 (conceding that “[t]he group [of co-perpetrators]
unanimously voted to kill” Ms. Daugherty (emphasis added)).
The Commonwealth also adduced evidence from another witness indicating that
Appellant had confessed to her that he had participated in killing Ms. Daugherty. See
N.T., Feb. 11, 2013, at 875-876 (testimony of Laura Piper).
[J-105-2016] - 4
body from his apartment, and cleaning up the crime scene. See, e.g., N.T., Feb. 7,
2013, at 622-24, 636-37. In short, the evidence of record amply supports vicarious
criminal liability, on Appellant’s part, for the capital crime as determined by the jury’s
verdict.
III. Guilt-Phase Claims for Relief
A. Alleged Failure to Disclose Impeachment Material
Appellant first complains that the prosecution failed to disclose to the defense
“any proposed plea agreement” between the Commonwealth and central prosecution
witness Meidinger. Brief for Appellant at 10. Citing to Commonwealth v. Strong, 563
Pa. 455, 761 A.2d 1167 (2000), Appellant explains that this type of information is
relevant to potential self-interest and bias. See id. at 463, 761 A.2d at 1171 (citing
United States v. Giglio, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S. Ct. 763, 766 (1972), for the proposition
that “[a]ny implication, promise or understanding that the government would extend
leniency in exchange for a witness’ testimony is relevant to the witness’ credibility”).
Additionally, Appellant asserts that, subsequent to her participation at his trial,
Meidinger was permitted to plead guilty to third-degree murder and related offenses,
receiving a negotiated sentence of forty to eighty years’ incarceration.
The Commonwealth responds by way of reference to Meidinger’s attestation at
Appellant’s trial to the effect that she had received no plea offers and did not enter into
any agreement in exchange for her testimony. See N.T., Feb. 7, 2016, at 529-30.
Rather, the Commonwealth indicates, Meidinger related that she appeared as a
prosecution witness to facilitate closure for the benefit of Ms. Daugherty’s family. See
id. at 657.
[J-105-2016] - 5
We agree with the Commonwealth that Appellant’s first claim is unsustainable,
because it lacks any tangible support. Accord Commonwealth v. Smyrnes, No. 848 C
2010, slip op. at 12 (C.P. Westmoreland Mar. 4, 2016) (“Defendant’s contention
amounts only to speculation, as he has presented no evidence whatsoever of any
promise or agreement between the Commonwealth and Meidinger.”). Appellant’s
suggested rationale -- that because a plea arrangement with Meidinger was
implemented after his trial therefore an agreement must have existed when she testified
-- rests on nothing more than the logical fallacy post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this,
therefore resulting from it) and is simply not a basis for relief from a conviction.
B. Claim of Late or Incomplete Discovery
Next, in a three-sentence argument, Appellant contends that the Commonwealth
consistently provided “either late or incomplete discovery,” prejudicing the defense.
Brief for Appellant at 10. Appellant observes that Rule of Criminal Procedure 573(b)(1)
imposes a mandatory duty upon the Commonwealth to disclose certain evidence.
In reply, the Commonwealth highlights Appellant’s failure to identify any specific
items that were not disclosed or to explain how abstractly-asserted late disclosures
prejudiced him. Given that the claim is presented solely through bald indications, it is
the Commonwealth’s position that it is waived. See Commonwealth v. Johnson, 604
Pa. 176, 191, 985 A.2d 915, 924 (2009) (“[W]here an appellate brief fails to provide any
discussion of a claim with citation to relevant authority or fails to develop the issue in
any other meaningful fashion capable of review, that claim is waived.”).
We agree with the Commonwealth that, in the absence of any elaboration
concerning the specific discovery items in question and/or the particular timing concerns
in issue, Appellant’s treatment of this claim is simply too cursory to be considered on its
merits. Accord Smyrnes, No. 848 C 2010, slip op. at 13 (“Because Defendant has not
[J-105-2016] - 6
provided any specific instances where discovery was not disclosed, and has instead
provided only a boilerplate allegation, this Court cannot engage in an analysis of
whether the Commonwealth actually violated any rules of discovery, or whether the
correct remedy was offered to Defendant.”).
C. Preclusion of Expert Testimony to Rebut Elements of Conspiracy
Appellant further contends that the trial court erred by granting the
Commonwealth’s motion in limine to prevent Doctor of Psychology Alice Applegate from
opining whether Appellant “had the requisite intent to engage in a Conspiracy to Commit
First Degree Murder.” Brief for Appellant at 11. He explains that psychiatric testimony
is generally admissible to negate the element of specific intent to commit first-degree
murder. See Commonwealth v. Weinstein, 499 Pa. 106, 114, 451 A.2d 1344, 1347
(1982). Momentarily, Appellant’s presentation shifts to an explanation that he had
produced an expert report from Dr. Applegate opining that Appellant was incapable of
understanding the asserted object of the conspiracy as a result of mental retardation.
Appellant’s argument then returns to the element of specific intent to commit first-
degree murder, stressing that the Commonwealth “must prove that each individual
taking part in [a] conspiracy equally and individually possess” such a particularized state
of mind. Brief for Appellant at 12 (citing Commonwealth v. Wayne, 553 Pa. 614, 630-
31, 720 A.2d 456, 464 (1998). Appellant concludes:
It follows that as criminal conspiracy to commit First Degree
Murder requires the same underlying elements of First
Degree Murder, and as psychiatric testimony is admissible to
negate First Degree Murder, it should be equally admissible
to negate the elements of Criminal Conspiracy to Commit
First Degree Murder.
Brief for Appellant at 12.
[J-105-2016] - 7
Appellant’s position would have substantial force -- relative to the question of
specific intent -- had he attempted, at trial, to present expert evidence to demonstrate
that he lacked such intent. The difficulty, however, is that he specifically and
repeatedly disavowed any attempt to do so. See Memorandum In Support of Providing
Expert Testimony to Negate the “Agreement” Element of the Conspiracy Charge in
Smyrnes, No. 848 C 2010, at 10 (“The Defendant intends on calling Dr. Applegate to
demonstrate to the trier of fact that he did not understand any agreement and/or its
objectives. This element is separate and apart from ‘intent.’” (emphasis added)); id. at
8 (“Intent is its own separate element and Dr. Applegate will not be addressing that
element.” (emphasis added)); accord N.T., Feb. 4, 2013, at 13 (reflecting defense
counsel’s assertion during a sidebar conference at trial that “I’m not arguing intent” to
support the admission of Dr. Applegate’s testimony).
In light of this approach taken in the pre-trial and trial proceedings, Appellant
cannot now rely upon the Weinstein decision’s narrow authorization “that psychiatric
testimony which speaks to the legislatively defined state of mind encompassing a
specific intent to kill is admissible.” Weinstein, 499 Pa. at 113, 451 A.2d at 1347.
Significantly, moreover, the Weinstein Court further explained that:
[P]sychiatric testimony relevant to the cognitive functions of
deliberation and premeditation is competent on the issue of
specific intent to kill. Thus psychiatric testimony is
competent in Pennsylvania on the issue of specific intent to
kill if it speaks to mental disorders affecting the cognitive
functions necessary to formulate a specific intent. Where, as
here, it does not, it is irrelevant and hence inadmissible.
Id. at 114, 451 A.2d at 1347 (emphasis added).
Appellant’s proffer of Dr. Applegate’s opinion, by its terms, falls outside this the
specific authorization and within the express prohibition. Further, his suggested
syllogism -- that because the elements of first-degree murder and conspiracy may
[J-105-2016] - 8
overlap, and expert mental-health testimony is admissible pertaining to the elements of
first-degree murder, the same rule should apply to conspiracy -- is a false one. In this
regard, the narrow rule of admissibility pertains only to a single element of first-degree
murder, i.e., specific intent to kill. While arguably the precept should extend to the
identical element of the crime of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Weinstein,
by its explicit terms, precludes extension to other elements of either crime.4 In the
circumstances, therefore, Appellant has failed to present any creditable basis for relief.
D. Hearsay Statements Made by the Victim
Appellant asserts that the trial court erred by admitting declarations of the victim
through the hearsay testimony of Meidinger. The complained-of statements are: “Jen
was saying that she was going to [be] marrying [Appellant],” N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 549,
and “Jen was, uhm, asking [Appellant] to sleep with her,” id. at 559. According to
Appellant, the Commonwealth’s purpose in adducing these was to demonstrate that the
victim had a romantic interest in Appellant, motivating the murder, which was at “the
behest of an envious Angela Marrinucci – the Appellant’s girlfriend.” Brief for Appellant
at 14.
Apparently because Appellant’s trial counsel did not specifically object to the
evidence as it was adduced onto the record, he takes the position that the trial court had
4
Appellant’s arguments are not framed to adduce a policy assessment from this Court
concerning the restrictiveness of the Pennsylvania approach as posited in Weinstein. In
this regard, we note only that jurisdictions diverge widely in their treatments. See
generally PAUL H. ROBINSON, 1 CRIM. L. DEF. §64 (2016) (summarizing the four main
positions taken by American courts, i.e.: admitting any evidence of mental disease or
defect to negate any culpable state of mind that is an element of the offense; allowing
such evidence only to negate a specific-intent element; permitting such evidence only in
murder cases to negate malice or premeditation; and foreclosing admission of any
evidence of mental illness or infirmity short of insanity).
[J-105-2016] - 9
made a threshold ruling allowing those statements. See id. at 13 (asserting that, in
response to the defense’s blanket objection to Meidinger’s testimony concerning
anticipated hearsay, the trial court “indicated that the statements fell under the
exception to the hearsay rule as excited utterances”). We take a different view of the
record, however.
During the relevant interchange, Appellant’s guilt-phase attorney asked the trial
court to instruct Meidinger not to address any statements made by the victim to her.
See N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 514. The trial judge, however, declined to do so on the basis
that she wished to hear the relevant questions in context before rendering rulings on
objections. See id. (reflecting the trial court’s assertion that “I won’t know [whether
hearsay exceptions apply] until I hear them”). The discussion segued into a focus on
the victim’s statement “why are you doing this to me” as she was being beaten, see id.
at 515-517, and during this interchange the trial judge expressed a belief that such a
statement qualified as an excited utterance, see id. at 516. In response to the defense’s
continued effort to secure a blanket preclusive ruling, the following interchange ensued:
[The Prosecutor]: Judge, he’s asking us to give a foundation
when we won’t don’t [sic] know what the objection is.
THE COURT: [Counsel], I certainly can’t remember every
word that Ms. Meidinger said.
[Defense Counsel]: I’m not suggesting that. We flushed out
those hearsay exceptions and it’s on the record. I just don’t
want to keep standing up and objecting so I will try to object
consistent with your ruling so as not to disrupt the court.
THE COURT: I’m not stopping you from objecting, believe
me. You try the case whatever way you need to try it. As I
[J-105-2016] - 10
said, I can’t remember everything she said, what Meidinger’s
testimony was. We’ll just address them as they come up.
[Defense Counsel]: No problem.
Id. at 517-18 (emphasis added).
On this record, we differ with Appellant’s position that the trial court issued a
threshold ruling permitting any and all testimony by Meidinger concerning statements by
the victim on a wholesale basis. Rather, while guilt-phase counsel may have had a
different impression, the record only reflects that the trial court denied Appellant’s
request for a blanket preclusive ruling. To the degree that counsel conveyed a
perspective that a broader ruling had been made authorizing admission of Meidinger’s
testimony concerning any and all statements of the victim, and stated his own desire to
curtail his objections during Meidinger’s testimony, neither expression reflects an actual
ruling by the trial court that would relieve the lawyer of the obligation to lodge timely
objections to the testimony going forward.
Accordingly, we conclude that Appellant’s present challenge to the relevant
statements is unpreserved.
E. Cross-Examination of Meidinger Concerning Medication Effects
In his next claim for relief, Appellant takes the position that the trial court
erroneously precluded his lawyer from adequately exploring the effect upon prosecution
witness Meidinger’s ability to think rationally and recall events when she failed to take
her prescription mediation. The relevant background is as follows.
At the outset of his cross-examination of Meidinger, guilt-phase counsel
confirmed that the witness had not been taking her prescription medications, one of
which was an antipsychotic drug, throughout the events giving rise to the killing of the
victim. Further, he elicited testimony from Meidinger indicating that, when unmedicated,
[J-105-2016] - 11
she does not think rationally, her ability to perceive is altered, and it is difficult for her to
understand what is happening around her. See N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 649. The
witness, however, denied suffering from hallucinations. See id.
Continuing the line of inquiry, guilt-phase counsel asked “Your ability to retain
information is also affected when you do not take your medication?” Id. At this
juncture, the district attorney lodged an objection and the following discussion ensued
among him, defense counsel, and the trial judge:
[The Prosecutor]: Judge, I’m going to object. This has to be
limited to a time frame. Is this before February 2010?
[Defense Counsel]: She said she wasn’t on her meds. I’m
asking what happens when she is not –
[The Prosecutor]: During that time.
THE COURT: Just say at that time this happened to you.
[Defense Counsel]: When you’re not on your meds. In order
for me to establish what happened at that time when she’s
not on her meds I’m sure there’s things that happened to her
that were happening in 2010.
[The Prosecutor]: He’s asking a general when you don’t
take your meds what happens to you. Do you have any
issues.
THE COURT: Just ask about what was happening to you in
February 2010.
[Defense Counsel]: I’m going to get to that. I wanted to
establish what happens to her when she’s not on her meds
and I want to establish if these things were happening to her
if that’s okay.
[The Prosecutor]: Whatever happens to her when she
doesn’t take her meds prior to February 2010 is not relevant.
[J-105-2016] - 12
[Defense Counsel]: It’s very relevant, judge.
[The Prosecutor]: It’s not. What’s relevant is if he’s going
after her recollection of what occurred during the time period
when this happened, then the only thing that is relevant is
during that time period.
THE COURT: During the time period. I would agree
because she could respond differently in a different time.
She could respond now. She might be on a different
medication now. I don’t know. Just confine it to at that time,
February of 2010.
N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 649-51; accord id. at 662 (reflecting the trial judge’s indication to
defense counsel that “[y]ou can ask about how [Meidinger] used her meds”).
In the subsequent questioning, Meidinger denied that she suffered from any
diminishment of her ability to recall the events surrounding the killing. See, e.g., id. at
654 (“I remember everything that happened in that house. There’s just a lot of things
that happened in there.”); id. (“I remember clearly everything that happened but on the –
of step by step it’s hard for me to do it like in order.”). At this point, guilt-phase counsel
shifted his inquiries to other subjects.
After alluding to the above background, the argument presented in Appellant’s
brief proceeds as follows:
The ability to perceive, remember, and relate events lies at
the core of a witness’s competency. See Com[monwealth]
v. Ware, [459 Pa. 334, 353,] 329 A.2d 258, 268 (1974). If
Meidinger’s lack of medication substantially affected her
competency as proposed by her limited testimony, the Court
should have allowed defense counsel to explore this issue in
the purview of the jury to better assess her credibility.
Brief for Appellant at 14-15.
In response, the Commonwealth acknowledges that the impact of drugs on a
witness’s ability to perceive, remember, and relate events is a relevant inquiry on cross-
[J-105-2016] - 13
examination. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Harris, 578 Pa. 377, 388, 852 A.2d 1168,
1174 (2004).5 Nevertheless, the Commonwealth highlights this Court’s precedent
limiting the relevant time period pertaining to such inquiries to those surrounding the
criminal episode in question. See, e.g., id. (indicating that, while intoxication of the
witness at the time of the occurrence is generally relevant, “the jury should not consider
for impeachment purposes the use of drugs or alcohol at other irrelevant times”
(emphasis in original)); Commonwealth v. Small, 559 Pa. 423, 444, 741 A.2d 666, 677
(1999). See generally ROGER PARK & TOM LININGER, NEW W IGMORE IMPEACHMENT AND
REHAB. §8.2.2 (1st ed. 2017 Supp.) (“Courts are reluctant to allow impeachment that
simply refers to the fact of alcoholism or substance abuse without specific reference to
impairment of the perception or memory at issue in the instant case.”). Moreover, the
Commonwealth observes that Appellant has not explained with any specificity how the
trial court impermissibly limited his counsel’s cross-examination or how it prejudiced
him.
We agree with the Commonwealth’s position. As the trial court observed, the
questions posed to Meidinger by defense counsel were highly generalized and
untethered to the time period addressed by her testimony, to the degree that there was
not even an assurance that responses would so much as involve the same medications
as were prescribed at that time. Although the limitation imposed by the trial court to
February 2010 may have been unduly restrictive (as, for example, a depiction by the
witness of impairments due to the same period of abstinence from the same
5
Cf. Greene v. Wainwright, 634 F.2d 272, 276 (5th Cir. 1981) (holding that categorical
limits imposed by a trial court on the cross-examination of a central prosecution witness
-- thus preventing the defense from addressing mental-health concerns arising from an
incident of the witness’s bizarre behavior reasonably contemporaneous with the alleged
criminal episode for which the defendant was on trial -- violated the defendant’s
constitutional right of confrontation).
[J-105-2016] - 14
medications in January 2010, if there were any such impairments, might be deemed
relevant), guilt-phase counsel made no effort to sharpen his inquiries along these sorts
of lines. Rather, the defense’s highly general questions simply were met with a
meritorious challenge to their abstractness.
In this vein, we agree with the Maryland Court of Appeals’ admonition that:
A trial judge's refusal to allow a line of questioning on cross-
examination amounts to exclusion of evidence; preservation
for appeal of an objection to the exclusion generally requires
a formal proffer of the contents and relevancy of the
excluded evidence. . . .
Of course, the proffer of a defendant whose cross-
examination has been restricted does not need to be
extremely specific, for the obvious reason that the defendant
cannot know exactly how the witness will respond, especially
when the cross-examination is an attempt to show bias.
Nevertheless, the proffer must at least be sufficient to
establish that the cross-examination will likely reveal
information nominally relevant to the proceeding. A simple
assertion that cross-examination will reveal bias is not
sufficient to establish a need for that cross-examination; it is
necessary to demonstrate a relevant relationship between
the expected testimony on cross-examination and the nature
of the issue before the court.
Grandison v. State, 670 A.2d 398, 413-14 (Md. 1995) (emphasis added; citations and
footnotes omitted).6
Here, at least in light of defense counsel’s failure to advise the trial court that he
intended to attempt to confine his questioning according to the prescription medications
in issue and any reasonably contemporaneous episodes of impairment, we discern no
error in the trial court’s exercise of its discretionary authority to control the cross-
6
Although this passage is focused on cross-examination pertaining to bias, it
reasonably extends more broadly to other instances of cross-examination such as the
present one.
[J-105-2016] - 15
examination. See Commonwealth v. Ballard, 622 Pa. 177, 200, 80 A.3d 380, 394
(2013) (“The scope of cross-examination is a matter within the discretion of the trial
court and will not be reversed absent an abuse of that discretion.”).
F. Cross-Examination Pertaining to Escape Planning
Appellant next argues that the trial court should have permitted the defense to
inquire more deeply than was allowed into Meidinger’s correspondence with co-
perpetrator Knight. Initially, during cross-examination, Appellant’s attorney was able to
adduce, from Meidinger, testimony that she and Knight remained in contact while
incarcerated via letters. See N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 658. When counsel asked whether
there was an attempt to “sneak letters by going through [a co-perpetrator’s] family or
[the witness’s] sister,” the trial court sustained a Commonwealth objection. Id. Counsel
then attempted to utilize a prior statement given by Meidinger to the effect that she
planned an escape from jail, to which the prosecutor also objected, see id. at 659, and
the trial court ultimately sustained the challenge on the basis that the conduct was not
crimen falsi, see id. at 667-68.
Appellant argues that the court’s ruling was erroneous, because Meidinger’s
escape planning through intermediaries demonstrated her ability for complex thought,
including planning, coordination, and problem solving. According to Appellant, the
information was essential to rebut purported allusions by the district attorney and the
trial judge, throughout Meidinger’s testimony, indicating that Meidinger was of limited
intelligence and incapable of understanding complex words and questions. In this
regard, Appellant cites to a passage of the trial transcript documenting a sidebar
discussion among the judge and the attorneys. See Brief for Appellant at 15-16
(quoting N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 668-669).
[J-105-2016] - 16
The Commonwealth replies that cross-examination into the alleged escape
attempt was irrelevant to the trial issues. Furthermore, it highlights that the jurors were
not privy to the sidebar discussion referenced by Appellant and suggests that
Meidinger’s intellectual capacities were not otherwise discussed before the jurors by
either the prosecutor or the trial judge.
Again, the trial court had broad discretion in the conduct of cross-examination,
“especially on collateral matters.” Commonwealth v. Garcia, 478 Pa. 406, 425, 387
A.2d 46, 56 (1978). Here, we credit the Commonwealth’s position, in the first instance,
that Appellant has failed to demonstrate that the prosecution portrayed its witness
before the jury as incapable of complex thought. Accordingly, and given that such
asserted portrayal is encompassed within an essential proposition grounding
Appellant’s present argumentation, this claim necessarily fails.
G. Photograph of the Victim
Next, Appellant complains that the trial court erred in permitting the
Commonwealth to introduce into evidence a photograph of the victim over a defense
objection. According to Appellant, the photograph was outdated, as it was taken nearly
two years before the killing, and it depicted a young, innocent-looking woman which was
not representative of the victim’s appearance closer in proximity to her death. It is
Appellant’s position that the photograph was irrelevant to the trial issues and served
only to engender sympathy.
The Commonwealth, for its part, relies upon the general rule that the admission
of photographic evidence is a matter vested within the sound discretion of the trial court.
See Brief for Appellee at 23 (citing Commonwealth v. Tharp, 574 Pa. 202, 222-23, 830
A.2d 519, 531 (2003)). The Commonwealth observes that the photograph showed the
victim’s appearance before her hair was shorn by Appellant and Knight and she was
[J-105-2016] - 17
grievously injured as depicted in the autopsy photographs; this, the Commonwealth
posits, assisted the jury in evaluating the nature of the Appellant’s and his co-
perpetrators’ conduct. According to the Commonwealth, the fact that Ms. Daugherty
appeared to be young and innocent is of no moment, as the victim’s mother testified
that the photograph accurately depicted her appearance before the murder. N.T., Feb.
12, 2013, at 1130.
This Court has disapproved of the use of a live-victim photograph to demonstrate
that a victim was a life in being, where such element is uncontested in a murder case.
See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Rivers, 537 Pa. 394, 406-07, 644 A.2d 710, 716 (1994).
According to the Rivers Court, “[o]nly where the victim’s character or physical abilities
are called into question will such evidence be relevant.” Id. at 407, 644 A.2d at 716.
Here, we differ with the dictum that there are only two possible instances in which
an in-life photograph of a victim might be relevant in a murder case. Presently, the
Commonwealth established a plausible basis for relevance, contrasting the length of the
victim’s hair as depicted in the picture and verified by Ms. Daugherty’s mother (longer
style with curled ends) with the appearance when the victim’s body was presented for
autopsy (at which time her hair was cut close to the scalp in a haphazard fashion, see
N.T., Feb. 5, 2013, at Exs. C-14, 16, 17, 18). The contrasting images were
corroborative of Meidinger’s testimony concerning an instance of domination which
occurred during the kidnapping ordeal preceding Ms. Daugherty’s murder.
We recognize that it was by no means essential to the prosecution to place this
photograph before the jury. Moreover, we caution the Commonwealth concerning the
value of restraint in scenarios involving potential prejudice connected with such non-
essential evidence. Nevertheless, given that the photograph had some relevance, and
[J-105-2016] - 18
the limited use of it made by the Commonwealth,7 we decline find an abuse in the trial
court’s discretionary evidentiary ruling.
H. Limitations on Expert Testimony Related to Duress
Appellant next claims that the trial court erred in limiting Dr. Applegate’s guilt-
phase testimony adduced to support a defense of duress. Appellant explains that,
during the guilt phase of trial, defense counsel called Dr. Applegate to elaborate on
mitigating circumstances connected with the crime, including her opinion that Appellant
is mildly mentally retarded, thus rendering him susceptible to influence by others and,
as relevant here, to Knight. See N.T., Feb. 13, 2013, at 1220-1288. Brief for Appellant
at 17 (“[T]he defense attempted to submit a mitigating factor of the Appellant’s character
as it related to his susceptibility to duress to establish that the Appellant acquiesced in
the commission of the crime out of fear of the co-defendant, Melvin Knight.”). According
to Appellant, however, the trial court limited the testimony with regard to duress,
“impeding Appellant’s ability to present mitigating circumstances.” Brief for Appellant at
17. Appellant notes that, in capital cases, defendants may present any admissible
evidence relevant to any mitigating circumstances, including any evidence regarding the
character and record of the defendant. See Brief for Appellant 17 (citing Ballard, 622
Pa. at 212, 80 A.3d at 401, and Commonwealth v. Travaglia, 611 Pa. 481, 498, 28 A.3d
868, 878 (2011)).
7
In questioning the victim’s mother about the picture, the prosecutor only asked if the
photograph represented an accurate image of her daughter when she last left the
parents’ home and whether the length of her hair was similar to that shown. See N.T.,
Feb. 12, 2013, at 1150-1151. In his closing remarks, the prosecutor then referred to the
photograph a single time, again in connection with the hair-cutting episode. See N.T.,
Feb. 14, 2013, at 1389.
[J-105-2016] - 19
Preliminarily, Appellant’s argument confuses a defense as to criminal culpability
at the guilt-phase of a capital trial, namely duress, see Commonwealth v. Markman, 591
Pa. 249, 283, 916 A.2d 586, 606 (2007), with the presentation of mitigating evidence in
a capital sentencing proceeding, see 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(c), (e). Moreover, as the
Commonwealth observes, Appellant has not identified any portion of the trial transcript
in which the trial court restricted Dr. Applegate’s testimony as it pertained to duress.8
Under such circumstances, we find the presentation of this claim to be underdeveloped
to the extent that it does not warrant further consideration. See Johnson, 604 Pa. at
191, 985 A.2d at 924.
IV. Penalty-Phase Claims for Relief
A. Denial of Motion In Limine to Preclude the Torture Aggravator
Appellant contends that the aggravating factor of torture, see 42 Pa.C.S.
§9711(d)(8), by its terms, cannot apply in instances in which a killing is physically
perpetrated by an accomplice or conspirator. In this regard, Appellant analogizes the
torture aggravator to the aggravating circumstance of killing in the perpetration of a
felony, see id. §9711(d)(6), which this Court has found only applies if the defendant
served as an actual instrumentality of the victim’s death. See Commonwealth v.
Lassiter, 554 Pa. 586, 595, 722 A.2d 657, 662 (1998) (plurality). Appellant emphasizes
8
Indeed, from our independent review, it appears that most of the objections asserted
by the Commonwealth during the course of Dr. Applegate’s direct examination were
overruled by the trial court. See, e.g., N.T., Feb. 13, 2013, at 1237, 1247, 1248, 1252,
1257, 1263, 1270, 1286. Those that were sustained would not appear to have
meaningfully curtailed Appellant’s presentation of the expert testimony. See, e.g., id. at
1232 (reflecting the sustaining of an objection to the effect that a question was leading);
id. at 1250 (in response to a prosecution objection, requiring defense counsel to
rephrase a question); id. at 1271 (directing defense counsel to “move on” from further
inquiry into information that had not been relied upon by the expert).
[J-105-2016] - 20
that the Lassiter lead opinion focused on the word “committed” -- which appears in both
the in-perpetration-of-a-felony and torture aggravators -- and explained that the term
requires the defendant to have perpetrated the murder “in the sense of bringing it to
completion or finishing it.” Id.
The Commonwealth, for its part, relies on Commonwealth v. Daniels, 537 Pa.
464, 644 A.2d 1175 (1994), in which this Court approved the application of the torture
aggravator to a conviction for first-degree murder premised on an accomplice liability
theory. See id. at 470, 473-74, 644 A.2d at 1178, 1180. The Commonwealth, however,
candidly recognizes that the appellant, in Daniels, does not appear to have raised the
argument that the torture aggravator simply does not concern those who only are
vicariously liability for a killing. See Brief for Appellee at 28.9
Insofar as Appellant’s position rests on Lassiter, we note that there is a material
distinction between Sections 9711(d)(6) and (d)(8). The former is phrased in the active
9
The Commonwealth also argues that Lassiter can be distinguished because the
plurality opinion indicates that “if an accomplice is found guilty of first-degree murder,
the Commonwealth may still seek the death penalty if it can prove that an aggravating
circumstance other than §9711(d)(6) applies.” Lassiter, 554 Pa. at 596, 722 A.2d at
662. From this, the Commonwealth reasons that “the prohibition against using the
(d)(6) aggravator against an accomplice was only to be applied to (d)(6).” Brief for
Appellee at 28.
The fact that a proscription against the use of the Section 9711(d)(6) aggravator against
an accomplice applies only to that aggravator is self-evident and is irrelevant to
consideration of the argument that the reasoning by which the Court determined that
such aggravator does not apply to an accomplice applies equally to another provision of
the statute, i.e., the torture aggravator, because the latter contains some of the same
material language as the former. Cf. Commonwealth v. Chapman, ___ Pa. ___, ___,
136 A.3d 126, 132-33 (2016) (reasoning that the word “felony,” as used within two
different aggravating circumstances, should be accorded the same meaning).
Unfortunately, however, the Commonwealth fails to discuss the issue in terms of the
substantive language common to both the in-perpetration-of-a-felony and torture
aggravators that Appellant expressly has placed in issue.
[J-105-2016] - 21
voice, requiring that “the defendant committed a killing while in the perpetration of a
felony.” 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(6) (emphasis added). Conversely, the latter is phrased in
the passive voice, dictating that “[t]he offense was committed by means of torture.” Id.
§9711(d)(8). Thus, Section 9711(d)(8) bears an interpretation that an accomplice or
conspirator of the defendant could be the instrumentality of the death, even though
Section 9711(d)(6) does not allow for such an interpretation. Indeed, given the
phraseology employed in Section 9711(d)(8), we find this to be the more likely meaning
intended by the General Assembly.
We realize that this Court is charged with imposing a narrowing construction
upon the death penalty statute consistent with both the rule of lenity and constitutional
norms. See Chapman, ___ Pa. at ___, 136 A.3d at 133 (citing Zant v. Stephens, 462
U.S. 862, 877, 103 S. Ct. 2733, 2742 (1983) (holding that, to satisfy the constitutional
standard derived from Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S. Ct. 2726 (1972), an
aggravating circumstance “must genuinely narrow the class of persons eligible for the
death penalty and must reasonably justify the imposition of a more severe sentence on
the defendant as compared to others found guilty of murder”)). Nevertheless, the Court
is not bound to impose the narrowest construction possible in derogation of legislative
intent. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Wooten, 519 Pa. 45, 53, 545 A.2d 876, 880 (1988).
When a criminal defendant is vicariously liable for a first-degree murder and
himself possesses both the intention to kill and to torture -- which the jury at Appellant’s
trial found was true of him -- we conclude that the “offense” can have been “committed
by means of torture,” although the defendant was not the actual instrumentality of the
death. 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(8). In this regard, we find it implausible that the Legislature
[J-105-2016] - 22
would have intended that the term “offense” would not subsume the actual killing in a
first-degree murder case.10
The remainder of Appellant’s arguments in the pertinent passages of his brief
contesting the sufficiency of the evidence to establish torture, particularly given that
Appellant was not a direct, physical instrumentality in causing Ms. Daugherty’s death.
See Brief for Appellant at 18-21. In the present framework – i.e., in the context of a
claim styled as a challenge to the trial court’s failure to award pre-trial relief -- such
contentions are technically moot. See Commonwealth v. Walter, 600 Pa. 392, 401, 966
A.2d 560, 565 (2009) (“Any claims of inadequacy [the a]ppellant alleges with respect to
pre-trial matters have been rendered moot by the subsequent independent judicial
judgment confirming the existence of the aggravating circumstance in this case.”
(internal quotations and citations omitted)). Accordingly, we will consider the sufficiency
question in connection with our review, below, of the portion of Appellant’s brief
specifically directed to such subject. See infra Part IV(E).
10
We are cognizant of the Lassiter plurality’s focus on the word “committed” and
acknowledge that the term is common to both the in-perpetration-of-a-felony and torture
aggravators. Nevertheless, the Lassiter lead opinion simply may have taken for granted
that the word is preceded by the specification that “the defendant committed” the killing,
42 Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(6) (emphasis added), which is simply absent from the torture
aggravator, which, again, requires only that “the offense was committed” by means of
torture, id. §9711(d)(8) (emphasis added).
We also realize that this Court has previously discussed the aggravating circumstance
of torture in the active voice. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Haney, ___ Pa. ___, ___,
131 A.3d 24, 39 (2015) (quoting Commonwealth v. Karenbauer, 552 Pa. 420, 447, 715
A.2d 1086, 1099 (1998) (indicating that “the Commonwealth must prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally inflicted on the victim a considerable
amount of pain and suffering that was unnecessarily heinous, atrocious, or cruel,
manifesting exceptional depravity” (emphasis added))). In this line of cases, however,
the Commonwealth had adduced evidence of the defendant’s physical perpetration of
the killings; thus, the specific issue now before the Court simply did not arise.
[J-105-2016] - 23
B. Use of Juvenile Adjudications and Burglary as Crimes of Violence in
Aggravation
Appellant next contends that the trial court erred by permitting the
Commonwealth to present Appellant’s juvenile adjudications for aggravated indecent
assault and burglary, based on conduct that occurred when he was eleven years old, in
support of the significant-history-of-violent-felony-convictions aggravator. See 42
Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(9). Appellant first highlights that juvenile adjudications bear limited
relevance in discretionary sentencing determinations outside the capital sentencing
arena. See, e.g., 204 Pa. Code §303.6(a)(1) (conditioning the counting of juvenile
adjudications in determining prior record scores upon, inter alia, the offense having
occurred on or after the defendant’s fourteenth birthday). Appellant then discusses “an
illogical incongruity that allows the Commonwealth to utilize juvenile adjudications of an
eleven year old as an aggravating factor to impose the death penalty.” Brief for
Appellant at 24.
Appellant does not identify where in the record a challenge to the
Commonwealth’s use of juvenile adjudications has been preserved, as is required under
Rule of Appellate Procedure 2117(c). From our own review of the record, we find it to
be noteworthy that Appellant conceded for purposes of pre-trial motions that juvenile
adjudications are admissible to establish the (d)(9) aggravator under precedent of this
Court. See Brief in Support of Defendant’s Motion to Strike and/or Quash Aggravating
Factors in Smyrnes, No. 848 C 2010, at 1 (“For the purposes of this Motion, the
Defendant concedes that it is appropriate for the Commonwealth to proceed with and
introduce evidence (juvenile adjudications) pertaining to [the (d)(9)] aggravating factor.”
(citing, inter alia, Commonwealth v. Baker, 531 Pa. 541, 567-68, 614 A.2d 663, 676
(1992))). During the penalty phase, moreover -- although Appellant lodged an objection
[J-105-2016] - 24
to the use of his adult conviction for conspiracy to commit burglary, discussed below --
he also does not appear to have raised the age factor as a basis for preclusion of the
juvenile adjudications, as he attempts now. Accordingly, we find this aspect of his
present contentions to be waived. See generally Commonwealth v. Freeman, 573 Pa.
532, 560-61, 827 A.2d 385, 402 (2003) (abolishing the doctrine of relaxed waiver in
capital direct appeals).
Appellant furthermore advances an argument that, because his juvenile
adjudication for burglary was of an unoccupied home, and his adult conviction for
conspiracy to commit burglary was of a facility that was not adapted for overnight
accommodations, neither should be deemed to reflect a crime of violence for purposes
of the (d)(9) aggravator. Again, however, Appellant fails to specify any place in the
record where such challenges have been preserved. See Pa.R.A.P. 2117(c).11 Indeed,
the transcript appears to demonstrate that there was an explicit concession by penalty-
phase counsel directed to these matters. See N.T., Feb. 19, 2013, at 39 (reflecting
penalty-phase counsel’s remark at sidebar that “[t]he law is clear that a burglary is per
se a crime of violence so I’m not arguing that”). See generally Commonwealth v. Rios,
591 Pa. 583, 624, 920 A.2d 790, 814 (2007) (indicating, in the context of a capital post-
conviction appeal, that “burglary is always classified as a violent crime in
Pennsylvania”), disapproved on other grounds, Commonwealth v. Tharp, 627 Pa. 673,
101 A.3d 736 (2014). The argument that the attorney did present was that a conviction
for conspiracy to commit burglary should not be treated the same as one for the
11
Although certainly Appellant’s penalty-phase counsel emphasized these factors in her
cross-examination of Commonwealth witnesses, see, e.g., N.T., Feb. 19, 2013, at 162,
it does not appear that she offered them to the trial court as a basis for contesting the
admissibility of the juvenile adjudication for burglary and/or conviction for conspiracy to
commit burglary.
[J-105-2016] - 25
substantive crime of burglary. See N.T., Feb. 19, 2013, at 39. This, position, however,
is not advanced in the present briefing and, accordingly, also is not available for review
at this juncture.
C. Opinion of the Forensic Pathologist Regarding Torture
Appellant asserts that the trial court should not have permitted the forensic
pathologist presented by the Commonwealth at the penalty stage, Cyril H. Wecht, M.D.,
to testify that various of the stab wounds inflicted upon Ms. Daugherty were perpetrated
to inflict pain and suffering. According to Appellant, such testimony exceeded the scope
of the pathologist’s expertise. See Pa.R.E. 702 (sanctioning the admission of an expert
opinion based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge beyond that
possessed by laypersons if it “will help a trier of fact to understand the evidence or to
determine a fact in issue”). It is Appellant’s position that Dr. Wecht “possesses nothing
in his educational background, nor was he ever qualified as an expert in psychiatry or
psychology, that would have allowed him to offer an opinion, with any degree of
scientific certainty, as to the state of mind of the Appellant.” Brief for Appellant at 27.
Additionally, Appellant contends that Dr. Wecht’s testimony usurped the jury’s function
in determining intent.
The Commonwealth, for its part, highlights the decisional law approving
testimony by pathologists concerning pain and suffering. See, e.g., Commonwealth v.
Johnson, 615 Pa. 354, 388-89, 42 A.3d 1017, 1036-37 (2012). According to the
Commonwealth, the broader testimony concerning the intent of the actor during the
stabbing of the victim was equally within the scope of the expertise of a forensic
pathologist.
In the course of developing the challenge to Dr. Wecht’s testimony during the
penalty proceedings, penalty-phase counsel offered several reasons against admission.
[J-105-2016] - 26
First, counsel renewed the objection based on Lassiter. See N.T., Feb. 25, 2013, at
336-338. She also claimed a lack of adequate notice that the Commonwealth would
adduce the relevant testimony from the pathologist. See id. at 343-346. Finally,
counsel asserted that an expert witness may not opine as to ultimate issues for the jury,
such as intent. See id. at 347.
We have addressed and rejected Appellant’s position regarding Lassiter above.
See supra Part IV(A). With respect to the notice issue, Appellant does not presently
advance such matter in his brief. In terms of the ultimate-issue concern, Pennsylvania
Rule of Evidence 704 specifies that “[a]n opinion is not objectionable just because it
embraces an ultimate issue.” Pa.R.E. 704. Finally, Appellant does not specify where in
the record his present challenge to Dr. Wecht’s expert qualifications to render an
opinion concerning intent to torture was preserved, see Pa.R.A.P. 2117(c), and, from
our own review, it does not appear that this was raised in the penalty proceedings.
Accordingly, this facet of his claim also is not available for present consideration.
D. Rebuttal Concerning Ability to Plan Activities of Daily Living
Appellant next challenges certain of the Commonwealth’s evidence offered to
rebut expert testimony presented by the defense to the effect that Appellant was
mentally retarded and, therefore, ineligible for capital sentencing. See Atkins v. Virginia,
536 U.S. 304, 321, 122 S. Ct. 2242, 2252 (2002) (holding that the Eighth Amendment to
the United States Constitution prohibits the imposition of the death penalty upon
offenders who are mentally retarded). Such testimony included attestations that
Appellant had a limited capacity to plan activities of daily living. See, e.g., N.T., Feb. 25,
2013, at 481-483 (testimony of defense witness Dr. Alice Applegate).
By way of counterpoint, among other evidence, the Commonwealth adduced
testimony from Ms. Carol Danube, who supervised a group home, relating that
[J-105-2016] - 27
Appellant called her on the telephone to advise that he would be removing a young
woman from the facility. See N.T., Feb. 27, 2013, at 927. Appellant indicated that he
would be assuming supervision of the woman’s funds and assisting her in day-to-day
living. See id. It was the Commonwealth’s position that such testimony demonstrated
that Appellant was capable of planning.
According to Appellant, “[i]t remains unclear how an individual making unrealistic
demands and braggadocios arguments demonstrates a distinct ability to plan.” Brief for
Appellant at 28-29. Appellant notes that the testimony conveyed nothing to establish an
understanding, on Appellant’s part, of the procedure for actually assuming control or
guardianship over the individual. It is therefore Appellant’s position that the evidence
was non-probative and, moreover, inflammatory. See id. at 29.
From our point of view, the evidence in question concerned a collateral matter
with limited relevance and potential prejudice, and it would have been preferable for the
trial court to sustain Appellant’s timely objection. Nevertheless, applying the high
threshold in assessing whether a trial court has abused its discretionary authority to
admit evidence, see, e.g. Commonwealth v. Hairston, 624 Pa. 143, 157, 84 A.3d 657,
664-65 (2014) (explaining that finding an abuse of discretion on appellate review
requires the the trial court’s decision be “a result of manifest unreasonableness, or
partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will, or such lack of support as to be clearly erroneous”
(quoting Commonwealth v. Dillon, 592 Pa. 351, 359, 925 A.2d 131, 136 (2007)), and
recognizing that it is not sufficient that an appellate court might have reached a different
conclusion, see id., ultimately we discern no actionable error.
E. Sufficiency of the Evidence to Support Imposition of the Death Penalty
In a short passage of his brief cross-referencing arguments presented in other
sections, Appellant contends that “there is an insufficient basis upon which the jury
[J-105-2016] - 28
could, and should, have imposed the death sentence in this matter.” Brief for Appellant
at 29.
With regard to the aggravating circumstance involving a significant history of
violent felony convictions, see 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(9), we have rejected Appellant’s
legal challenge as presented to the juvenile-adjudication and burglary aspects. See
supra Part IV(B). Moreover, given this Court’s precedent that such adjudications, as
well as a burglary conviction, qualify as “convictions involving the use or threat of
violence to the person” for purposes of the (d)(9) aggravator, 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(9),12
several such convictions validly were available to the jury to ground its determination.
Concerning the torture aggravator, Appellant has otherwise argued that the killing
in the present case cannot satisfy the statutory requirement that it be committed “by
means of torture,” when various of the heinous abuses inflicted upon Ms. Daugherty did
not actually result in her death. Appellant acknowledges that, in this case, “the actors
engaged in a course of conduct of depraved actions: forcing the victim to drink urine
and feces, cutting her hair, assaulting her, and binding her wrists and ankles.” Brief for
Appellant at 19. Nevertheless, it is Appellant’s position that, “[a]s heinous as these acts
may have been, her death resulted from an entirely different course of conduct – the
fatal stab wounds inflicted by co-defendant Melvin Knight.” Id.
Appellant also draws a sharp distinction between the deplorable abuses taking
place before the “family vote” to murder Ms. Daugherty and those taking place after it.
See id. at 19-20 (“As there was seemingly no intent to kill [Ms.] Daugherty before the
unanimous ‘family vote,’ [Ms.] Daughtery was not killed by means of torture, but rather a
distinct stabbing event taking place subsequent to a vote.”); see also id. at 21
12
See Baker, 531 Pa. at 567-68, 614 A.2d at 676 (holding that juvenile adjudications
qualify as “convictions” for purposes of the significant-history aggravator); Rios, 591 Pa.
at 624, 920 A.2d at 814 (depicting burglary as a per se crime of violence).
[J-105-2016] - 29
(recognizing that the acts of Appellant toward the victim were “demeaning and
assaultive” but asserting that they nonetheless “lacked a causative connection with her
death”). Furthermore, Appellant stresses this Court’s approach, in prior cases involving
asserted torture, of maintaining a limiting construction of the aggravating circumstance.
See, e.g., id. at 20 (citing Commonwealth v. Ockenhouse, 562 Pa. 481, 492, 756 A.2d
1130, 1136 (2000)).
From our point of view, however, the jury was not obliged to gauge Appellant’s
intent according to the timing of the “family vote” to commit murder. Notably, the
Commonwealth had adduced extensive evidence that Appellant was in control of his
own apartment, see N.T., Feb. 7, 2013, at 560; he repeatedly threatened Ms. Daugherty
and stated that he wanted to embarrass and humiliate her, see id. at 572, 575, 580,
595-96; he participated in pouring oatmeal and spices on her head, see id. at 584; he
directed and assured that the victim would be held against her will and concealed from
outsiders in the apartment, see id. at 589, 591; he and Knight cut the victim’s hair
against her will and stripped her of her clothes, see id. at 594, 596-597, 601, 607; he
told others not to allow the victim to leave the apartment, 601, 607; he hit and kneed the
victim, see id. at 605, 609; he administered to the victim medication that was prescribed
for another, see id. at 605; he asked the victim why he should permit her to live, see id.
at 609; he called a meeting among the co-perpetrators to determine whether Ms.
Daugherty should die, see id. at 619; he told Knight to retrieve holiday-light strings from
the attic to bind the victim, see id. at 620; he participated in actually binding the victim
with the strings and garland, see id. at 621; he forced the victim to write the false
suicide note, see id. at 622-624; he directed Knight to proceed with the killing, see id. at
624; he supplied Knight with the murder weapon, see id. at 626; he slit the victim’s
wrists, see id. at 629, and he participated in choking the victim with light strings as she
[J-105-2016] - 30
was dying, see id. at 631. Moreover, the jury was entitled to determine that many of the
twenty-four stab wounds inflicted on the victim by Knight -- after Appellant directed
Knight that “you know what to do,” id. at 624 -- were intended to cause further pain and
suffering unnecessary to the actual killing.
Significantly, the entire course of conduct may be deemed relevant to
determining whether the victim was tortured, not merely the final act giving rise to the
victim’s death. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Chambers, 602 Pa. 224, 255, 980 A.2d 35,
53 (2009). Moreover, the evidence is reviewed in the light most favorable to the
Commonwealth as verdict winner. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Powell, 598 Pa. 224,
256, 956 A.2d 406, 425 (2008).
Here, in our judgment, the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to
support a determination that “[t]he offense was committed by means of torture,” 42
Pa.C.S. §9711(d)(8), by demonstrating that a considerable amount of pain and suffering
was inflicted upon Ms. Daugherty that was “unnecessarily heinous, atrocious, [and]
cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity,” Commonwealth v. Karenbauer, 552 Pa. 420,
447, 715 A.2d 1086, 1099 (1998), and that Appellant possessed the specific intention
for this to occur. See Commonwealth v. Johnson, 615 Pa. 354, 388–89, 42 A.3d 1017,
1036–37 (2012) (discussing the requirement of specific intent to torture).13 We
13
The intent to torture may be proven from the circumstances surrounding the killing.
Commonwealth v. Cox, 546 Pa. 515, 536, 686 A.2d 1279, 1289 (1996). Factors to be
considered in determining whether the torture aggravator applies include, but are not
limited to:
(1) the manner in which the murder was accomplished,
including the number and type of wounds inflicted; (2)
whether the wounds were inflicted on a vital or non-vital area
of the body; (3) whether the victim was conscious when the
wounds were received; and (4) the duration of the episode.
(continued…)
[J-105-2016] - 31
appreciate that the statute by its terms requires a connection between the torture and
the killing itself, Chambers, 602 Pa. at 252, 980 A.2d at 51, and conclude that the
Commonwealth’s evidence concerning the twenty-four stab wounds inflicted on Ms.
Daugherty upon Appellant’s direction was in itself enough to satisfy such requirement.
F. Weight of the Evidence Pertaining to Penalty
Appellant contends that the death verdict was against the weight of the evidence.
His sole argument developed in the pertinent section of his brief rests on his position
that the Commonwealth was permitted to utilize two aggravating circumstances (torture
and significant history of violent felony convictions) that were improper and unduly
prejudicial to the defense. See Brief for Appellant at 29. The argument thus lacks
merit, in light of his failure to demonstrate such invalidity via preserved claims. See
supra Part IV(A), (B), (E).
G. Refusal to Appoint an Expert to Address Death-Row Conditions
Appellant’s last claim involves a challenge to the trial court’s refusal, at the post-
sentence motions stage, to appoint an expert witness with knowledge of the conditions
under which capital prisoners are housed on death row. Appellant asserts that such
conditions are inhumane and violate the proscription of the Eighth Amendment to the
United States Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment.
Our statutory duty on review of a death sentence is to correct preserved trial
errors and to engage in the specific statutory review required by the Legislature.
See 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(h)(2), (3). Here, however, Appellant’s claim is not directed to
(…continued)
Powell, 598 Pa. at 255-56, 956 A.2d at 425 (citing Ockenhouse, 562 Pa. at 493-94, 756
A.2d at 1137).
[J-105-2016] - 32
such considerations but, rather, toward the circumstances of his imprisonment (which
obviously are amenable to redress if warranted). Although such challenges have been
deemed cognizable by Pennsylvania courts, see, e.g., Lopez v. Pa. DOC, 119 A.3d
1081, 1090-92 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015), we decline to require the trial courts to appoint
experts to facilitate their advancement in the context of a direct appeal challenging a
capital judgment of sentence.
H. Statutory Review
At this stage, we are required to affirm Appellant's judgment of sentence unless
we find it to have been the product of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor, or
that the Commonwealth's evidence does not support at least one aggravating factor.
See 42 Pa.C.S. §9711(h)(3). After reviewing the record, we are persuaded that the
sentence imposed upon Appellant was not the product of passion, prejudice, or any
other arbitrary factor, but rather, resulted from the evidence that Appellant deliberately
and maliciously participated in the torture and murder of Ms. Daugherty, as well as the
jurors' appropriate service of their function in capital litigation per the governing statutory
scheme. Finally, we have otherwise found that the evidence was sufficient to establish
both aggravating circumstances found by the jury, based on this Court’s prior
precedent. See supra Part IV(E).
V. Holding
The judgment of sentence is affirmed, and the Prothonotary is directed to
transmit the record to the Governor as directed by the death-penalty statute. See 42
Pa.C.S. §9711(i).
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Justices Baer, Todd, Donohue, Dougherty and Mundy join the opinion.
Justice Wecht did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case.
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