Greathouse v. State

650 So. 2d 599, 1994 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 352, 1994 WL 445461
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 19, 1994
DocketCR-93-0316
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 650 So. 2d 599 (Greathouse v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greathouse v. State, 650 So. 2d 599, 1994 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 352, 1994 WL 445461 (Ala. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

MONTIEL, Judge.

The appellant, Joe Michael Greathouse, was indicted for rape in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-6-61, Code of Alabama 1975. The jury found Greathouse guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced him to 40 years in prison.

The evidence adduced at trial tended to show the following. The victim in this case, T.T., testified that she had been out with friends and had returned home shortly after midnight on March 12, 1993. When she came in, she said, she locked the deadbolt behind her. T.T. said that while she was [601]*601getting ready for bed, she heard a crashing sound. She walked into the living room and saw that her living room door was cracked opened. When she touched the doorknob,. T.T. said, the door casing fell to the floor. T.T. testified that she looked out, but that she did not see anything unusual. As she turned to go back inside, T.T. said, Great-house was suddenly in front of her, “charging” at her. T.T. said Greathouse pushed her back onto a loveseat, and pushed the door closed with his feet. T.T. said she was trying to get to the door, but Greathouse dragged her away with his hand over her mouth. T.T. said that at one point she got her mouth free and screamed as loud as she could, but that Greathouse hit her, causing her head to hit the wall with enough force to raise a knot on her head. When she tried to scream again, T.T. said, Greathouse hit her with the back of his hand causing her nose to bleed. She said he dragged her to the bedroom, pushed her down onto the bed and climbed on top of her. T.T. testified that Greathouse started kissing her on the mouth but she did not kiss him back, and that she did not consent to be kissed by him. T.T. testified that Greathouse removed his shorts and tried to get her to perform oral sex on him, but she kept turning her face away and kept her mouth closed. Greathouse had his knees across her shoulders, holding her down, T.T. said. She added that she was resisting as much as she could, but that she could not move much because of his weight.

T.T. said Greathouse pulled her nightshirt up to her chin and kissed her on her chest and stomach. He inserted his fingers into her vagina, then had sexual intercourse with her. T.T. testified that during this episode she was afraid and that she had not consented to have sexual intercourse with Great-house.-

After he finished, T.T. said, Greathouse pushed her back into the living room, and motioned for her to turn off the television and the lights. After she did so, he pushed her back into the bedroom, pushed her onto the bed, then left the room, and closed the door behind him. T.T. said Greathouse never said anything throughout her ordeal.

T.T. said when Greathouse left, she ran downstairs to get help and saw a neighbor. She said she told the neighbor she had been raped, and the neighbor’s girlfriend called the police. T.T. was taken to the hospital and examined. In court, T.T. identified Greathouse as the man who raped her.

Katherine McGeehan of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences testified that she found semen in the jeans that T.T. wore to the hospital, as well as on the nightshirt T.T. was wearing when the incident occurred. The semen stains were consistent with blood samples taken from Greathouse. A hair found on the bed at T.T.’s apartment was tested and was found to be consistent with Greathouse’s hair.

Sergeant Sorrells of the Dothan Police Department testified that after Greathouse was read his Miranda rights he signed a waiver of those rights, and confessed to raping T.T. Sorrells said the police did not threaten Greathouse or make any promises to him or induce him to make the statement.

Although Greathouse did not testify at the trial, he did testify during a suppression hearing. At the hearing, he testified that the police had induced him to give a statement by telling him he would be charged with a lesser offense or a lower bond would be set if he would “come clean” with them. On cross-examination, Greathouse said he had once been a reserve deputy with the Geneva County Sheriffs Department and that he had been present when offenders had been arrested and read their Miranda warnings.

I

Greathouse claims that his trial counsel was ineffective because, he says, he failed to request a jury instruction for lesser included offenses and he failed to present mitigating evidence during the sentencing portion of the trial. Our review of the record, however, shows that this issue was never presented to the trial court and is being raised for the first time on appeal. Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel may not be considered for the first time on direct appeal. Ex parte Jackson, 598 So.2d 895 (Ala.1992).

[602]*602II

Greathouse contends that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his confession, which he claims was involuntary. Greathouse claims police induced him to confess by telling him he would be charged with a lesser offense or that bond would be set at a lower amount if he would “come clean” with them. In his brief to this court, Greathouse also contends that he was held in isolation for two days and denied contact with an attorney or with his wife, and that police had told him that they did not have to provide an attorney because he was already in custody. He also claims that at the time of his arrest, he was under the influence of steroids. Great-house’s claims as to this issue are without merit.

Sergeant Sorrells of the Dothan Police Department testified that Greathouse was given Miranda warnings twice, but that he did not ask for an attorney. Further, Sorrells said, he never told Greathouse that if he talked with police, he would be charged with a lesser offense or that a lower bond would be set. In fact, Sorrells testified, he told Great-house that the range of punishment was left to the district attorney’s office and the judge, and that he could not do anything for Great-house. In addition, Sorrells said, he told Greathouse that he could not make any promises. He said he did not discuss the amount of bond "with Greathouse. Finally, Sorrells said that when he talked with Great-house, Greathouse did not seem to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. ' Furthermore, Greathouse had been a reserve deputy sheriff, and was familiar with his rights. He signed waivers acknowledging that he made his statement without any promises or inducements.

When the evidence concerning the voluntariness of a statement is conflicting, a question of fact is presented to the trial court. Callahan v. State, 557 So.2d 1292 (Ala.Crim.App.) aff'd, 557 So.2d 1311 (Ala.1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 881, 111 S.Ct. 216, 112 L.Ed.2d 176 (1990). “When there is conflicting evidence of the circumstances surrounding an incriminating statement or a confession, it is the duty of the trial judge to determine its admissibility, and if the trial judge decides it is admissible, his decision will not be disturbed on appeal unless found to be manifestly contrary to the great weight of the evidence.” Ex parte Matthews, 601 So.2d 52 (Ala.1992), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 112 S.Ct. 2996, 120 L.Ed.2d 872 (Ala.1992). The trial court need only be convinced of the voluntariness of the statement by a preponderance of the evidence. Malone v. State, 452 So.2d 1386 (Ala.Crim.App.1984).

In this case, the trial court’s determination that Greathouse’s statement was given voluntarily, without any kind of inducement, is supported by a preponderance of the evidence.

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Related

Williams v. State
795 So. 2d 753 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1999)

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650 So. 2d 599, 1994 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 352, 1994 WL 445461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greathouse-v-state-alacrimapp-1994.