Summary
The Illinois Supreme Court reviewed Latasha Pulliam's amended post-conviction petition challenging her death sentence, including claims of ineffective assistance of counsel during the aggravation-mitigation phase. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part, remanding for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Pulliam had an intellectual disability and therefore could not be executed under Atkins v. Virginia.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present additional mitigating evidence concerning Pulliam's abusive childhood, mental impairment, and possible brain damage.
- Whether the State's use of testimony from a court-ordered fitness examination violated Pulliam's constitutional rights.
- Whether appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the display of a book cover prejudiced Pulliam at sentencing.
- Whether the death sentence was invalid because the verdict form for one felony-murder aggravating factor omitted a required mental state.
- Whether the trial court improperly responded to the jury's question concerning the consequences of failure to reach a unanimous sentencing verdict.
- Whether, under Atkins v. Virginia, the case required a hearing to determine whether Pulliam was mentally retarded and therefore constitutionally ineligible for execution.
Holdings
- Pulliam was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on her claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present additional mitigation evidence because the proposed evidence was largely cumulative of the mitigation presented and, in light of the overwhelming aggravating evidence, did not establish a reasonable probability of a different sentencing result.
- The admission of testimony concerning Pulliam's court-ordered fitness examination did not violate her constitutional rights because Pulliam first introduced psychiatric and mental-status evidence, permitting the prosecution to offer evidence from the examination under Buchanan v. Kentucky.
- Pulliam was not prejudiced by appellate counsel's failure to challenge the display of the cover of The Force of Sex as affecting sentencing because the book was not presented to the jury during sentencing and the aggravating evidence was overwhelming.
- The alleged omission of the required mental state from the verdict form for the felony-murder aggravating factor did not invalidate Pulliam's death eligibility because the jury separately and validly found another statutory aggravating factor under section 9-1(b)(7).
- The trial court acted within its discretion by directing the jury to continue deliberating rather than giving the defense-requested explanation of the consequence of a nonunanimous verdict.
- The cause had to be remanded for a de novo evidentiary hearing to determine whether Pulliam was mentally retarded and therefore constitutionally ineligible for execution under Atkins v. Virginia.
Key quotations
“"[C]linical definitions of mental retardation require not only subaverage intellectual functioning, but also significant limitations in adaptive skills such as communication, self-care, and self-direction that became manifest before age 18."” (236)
“Consequently, in the interests of judicial economy, we choose to remand this cause to the circuit court for a de novo evidentiary hearing to determine whether defendant is mentally retarded and therefore, under Atkins, may not be executed.” (237)
Factual background
Pulliam was convicted of participating in the sexual assault and killing of a six-year-old child, who sustained 42 distinct injuries from strangulation, puncture wounds, and blunt-force trauma. At sentencing, the defense presented evidence of Pulliam's abusive childhood and diminished intellectual functioning, while the State presented extensive aggravating evidence, including evidence of other sexual and physical assaults. Experts disagreed about whether Pulliam was mildly mentally retarded: the defense experts identified intellectual disability, while the State's expert disputed that diagnosis.
Procedural history
Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Pulliam was convicted of murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to death. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences on direct appeal, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. Pulliam then filed a post-conviction petition alleging, among other things, ineffective assistance in the investigation and presentation of mitigation evidence. The circuit court dismissed the amended petition without an evidentiary hearing; the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for an Atkins hearing.
Remand instructions
Remand to the Circuit Court of Cook County for a de novo evidentiary hearing to determine whether Pulliam is mentally retarded and therefore may not be executed under Atkins v. Virginia. The circuit court's dismissal was affirmed in part and reversed in part.