Ruiz v. State

655 S.W.2d 441, 280 Ark. 190, 1983 Ark. LEXIS 1484

• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas
• Decided: July 18, 1983
• Docket: CR 80-147
• Status: Published

Opinions

Per Curiam.

Petitioners Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton were first convicted in the Circuit Court of Logan County of capital murder in the June 29, 1977, robbery, kidnapping and shooting deaths of Marvin Ritchie and Opal James. The jury returned death sentences. On appeal, we reversed and remanded for a new trial in another part of the district. Ruiz & Denton v. State, 265 Ark. 875, 582 S.W.2d 915 (1979). The two men were again tried and again death sentences were imposed. We affirmed on appeal. Ruiz & Denton v. State, 275 Ark. 94, 617 S.W.2d 6 (1981). Petitioners then sought postconviction relief pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule 37. The petition was denied on its merits. Ruiz & Denton v. State, 275 Ark. 410, 630 S.W.2d 44, cert. denied, 103 S.Ct. 181 (1982). They have now filed a second petition under Rule 37.

This Court will not entertain a subsequent petition under Rule 37 unless the original petition was specifically denied without prejudice to filing a second petition. Williams v. State, 273 Ark. 315, 619 S.W.2d 628 (1981). Since petitioners’ original petition was denied with prejudice, they are not entitled to a second petition even though theirs is a capital case.

Petitioners were prompted to file this petition by an Order of the United States District Court instructing them to raise the issue of whether a comparative review of petitioners’ case with other death penalty cases had been conducted by this Court. Although the words “comparative review” may not appear in our opinion, such a review has been afforded in every capital case since the practice was made a part of our appellate review process in Collins v. State, 261 Ark. 195, 548 S.W.2d 106 (1975), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 878 (1977). See Hill v. State, 278 Ark. 194, 644 S.W.2d 282 (1983). We have modified the death sentence in cases where it was not appropriate. See Henry v. State, 278 Ark. 478, 647 S.W.2d 419 (1983); Neal v. State, 274 Ark. 217, 623 S.W.2d 191 (1981); Sumlin v. State, 273 Ark. 185, 617 S.W.2d 372 (1981); Giles v. State, 261 Ark. 413, 549 S.W.2d 479 (1977). In petitioners’ case the death sentences were carefully and deliberately compared to sentences in other capital cases and it was found that the death penalty was fully justified by the heinous murders of the two victims. We have not seen, and we are not likely to see, a more callous murder than those perpetrated by the petitioners. Marvin Ritchie and another man, David Small, were handcuffed together and forced into the trunk of a vehicle. Petitioners took Small’s watch from his wrist and then shot both men at point-blank range. Small survived despite a critical wound and provided crucial testimony against petitioners. Opal James, who was apparently kept alive to guide petitioners out of rural Logan County, was found dead two days later of a single bullet through the head. The evidence of petitioners’ guilt was overwhelming. At trial the jury found aggravating circumstances which were clearly sufficient to warrant the death penalty but no mitigating circumstances. This Court reviewed the facts of the case and the imposition of the death penalty on two appeals and in a petition for postconviction relief. We did not find the death sentences to have been arbitrarily or capriciously imposed in those examinations, and we will not grant petitioners yet another opportunity for review.

Petition dismissed.

Hickman, J., concurs.