Thompson v. State

553 So. 2d 153, 1989 WL 125354
Supreme Court of Florida·Decided October 19, 1989·No. 69352·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

553 So.2d 153 (1989)

Raymond Michael THOMPSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 69352.

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 19, 1989.
Rehearing Denied December 28, 1989.

*154 Jane D. Fishman, Plantation, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Deborah Guller, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Raymond Michael Thompson appeals his conviction and sentence of death for the first-degree murder of Jimmy Savoy. Pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution, we have jurisdiction.

Savoy, an old friend and associate of Thompson's, allegedly stole approximately *155 $600,000 from Thompson and fled from South Florida to Massachusetts. According to witnesses, Thompson put out an "open contract" on the life of Jimmy Savoy. Bobby Davis, another of Thompson's associates, testified pursuant to a plea agreement that in March 1982, Davis, Thompson, and two other associates located Savoy in South Florida and kidnapped him. They then took Savoy out to sea on Thompson's boat and tortured him by beating. Afterwards Savoy was wrapped in chains, shot by Thompson in the back of the head, and dumped overboard.

Following conviction for first-degree murder, the jury recommended that Thompson be sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial judge found there was no reasonable basis for this recommendation and overrode it, sentencing Thompson to death. The court found the following aggravating circumstances:

1. Thompson had been convicted of a prior violent felony (a 1950 rape conviction in Illinois);
2. The murder was committed while engaged in an enumerated felony (kidnapping);
3. The murder was committed for pecuniary gain;
4. The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and
5. The murder was cold, calculated, and premeditated.

The court found no mitigating circumstances, rejecting evidence and expert testimony that Thompson's capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. The court also rejected other evidence in mitigation.

Thompson raises four issues concerning the guilt phase of the trial and two additional issues regarding his sentencing. Only one of the guilt phase issues merits discussion.[1] Thompson argues that the state failed to disclose exculpatory material pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The material in question is an affidavit sworn to by the state's star witness, Bobby Davis, that contained statements which contradicted his trial testimony. Thus the material could have been used, if disclosed, to impeach the credibility of a central state witness. The United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 676, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3380, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985), that if there is a reasonable probability the result of the proceeding would have been different had the evidence been disclosed, then failure to disclose the evidence is reversible error. The subject of the contradictory statements involves Thompson's role in the actual kidnapping of Savoy and the amount of money Savoy was accused of stealing. For the reasons which follow, we believe the failure to disclose this affidavit while error was harmless and thus did not constitute reversible error.

The standard by which constitutional error is determined is materiality, and the undisclosed information must be viewed "in the context of the entire record." United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 112, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2402, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). The apparent contradiction in the affidavit regarding the amount of money Savoy allegedly stole is a classic example of statements which are not material. The question of whether Savoy stole $400,000 or $600,000 has no probative significance in the context of the entire record. While it is true that Davis' statement in the affidavit that Thompson was not present during the actual kidnapping does conflict with his trial testimony, we believe that, in the context of the entire record, this contradiction does not raise a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different.

First, it should be noted that the "contradiction" is more in the form of an omission rather than an affirmative statement of fact that conflicts with another affirmative statement of fact. Davis was asked to list the people who he remembered were present at the scene of Savoy's kidnapping *156 and he failed to list Thompson's name among the other three people who were present. Moreover, Davis' statements and testimony do not conflict on the important point that the kidnapping took place at Thompson's behest and under his direction. Most importantly, there is no contradiction as to the facts of the killing.

Thus, despite the fact that the affidavit given by Davis conflicted with trial testimony, such conflict does not raise a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different. See Bagley, 473 U.S. at 682, 105 S.Ct. at 3383. The United States Supreme Court has defined "reasonable probability" as "a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." Id. We are convinced that the result in this case would have been the same. Accordingly, we affirm Thompson's conviction for first-degree murder.

Thompson raised two issues pertaining to the penalty phase of the trial. One concerns the override of the jury's recommendation of life and the other relates to the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty statute.[2]

Before turning to the override, we must address the validity of the aggravating circumstances found by the trial court. Thompson alleges error in two of the aggravating factors. Initially, Thompson argues that his 1950 conviction in Illinois for rape is too remote in time and place to be considered a valid aggravating factor. However, the statute is silent as to when or where a previous conviction for a violent felony must have taken place. § 921.141(5)(b), Fla. Stat. (1983). Therefore this aggravating circumstance is valid.

Thompson further argues that the finding of the aggravating circumstance that the crime was committed for pecuniary gain was not supported by the record. He points to the testimony of two state witnesses that Thompson stated he did not care about the money but merely wanted to "get" Savoy. There is no doubt that Thompson's conduct was motivated in part by revenge. However, it is clear that the purpose of the beatings inflicted in the boat was to prevail upon Savoy to divulge where the money was located. As Thompson told Savoy, "you can die easy or you can die hard." The evidence supports the conclusion that the crime was committed for pecuniary gain.

We now turn to the trial court's override of the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment. An override may be sustained only when there is no reasonable basis upon which the jury could have based its recommendation. Tedder v. State, 322 So.2d 908 (Fla. 1975). Thompson argues that the evidence demonstrated that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Thompson v. State, 553 So. 2d 153, 1989 WL 125354 (Fla. 1989).

553 So. 2d 153 (Thompson v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. v. State of Florida
136 So. 3d 1125 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2014)
Taylor v. State
3 So. 3d 986 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2009)
Camellon v. State
741 So. 2d 1179 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1999)
State v. Swartz
734 So. 2d 448 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1999)
Thompson v. State
731 So. 2d 1235 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1998)
Hernandez v. State
632 So. 2d 246 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1994)
Williams v. State
622 So. 2d 456 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1993)
Coleman v. State
610 So. 2d 1283 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1992)
Robinson v. State
610 So. 2d 1288 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1992)
Kelley v. Dugger
597 So. 2d 262 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1992)