calvert antwine
Calvert Antwine, Antwine v. Delo, 54 F.3d 1357 (8th Cir. 1995)
Calvert Antwine was convicted of killing two brothers, one of whom was his employer in a drug-dealing business, and sentenced to death in 1985. On appeal from the denial of Mr. Antwine’s federal habeas petition, the Eighth Circuit reversed Mr. Antwine’s death sentence based on two claims.
Prosecutorial Misconduct, Penalty Phase (Eighth Amendment Caldwell v. Mississippi Violation and 14th Amendment Due Process Violation)
During closing arguments, the prosecutor made comments suggesting that Mr. Antwine’s death by gas would be “quick, painless, and humane,” which the Eighth Circuit concluded undermined the jurors sense of responsibility in violation of Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 (1985). Antwine, 54 F.3d at 1361. “The danger [in this argument] is that the jurors, faced with a very difficult and uncomfortable choice, will minimize the burden of sentencing someone to death by comforting themselves with the thought that the death would at least be instantaneous, and therefore painless and easy.” Id. at1362.
The Eighth Circuit also found the prosecutor’s description of an “instantaneous” death combined with a comment suggesting that a death sentence would be cheaper for tax payers than a life sentence, amounted to a 14th Amendment due process violation because no evidence in the record supported those comments and they were improper. 54 F.3d at 1363-1364 (relying on Newlon v. Armontrout, 885 F.2d 1328 (8th Cir. 1989). The jury instruction that the prosecutor’s comments are not evidence did not cure the violation. Id.
Procedural Bar (State Court Merits Review Removes Procedural Bar to Caldwell Claim)
As the Eighth Circuit pointed out, the district court’s conclusion that this claim was procedurally defaulted was based on a flawed reading of the Missouri Supreme Court’s opinion denying state post-conviction relief. Although the claim was subject to a procedural bar because it was not raised on direct appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision to address the claim on the merits removed any bar to federal review. Antwine, 54 F.3d at 1361 (citing Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797 (1991)).
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Penalty Phase
The Eighth Circuit held that Mr. Antwine’s death sentence should be reversed for a second reason: his counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present evidence of Antwine’s mental state at the time of the offense. Had counsel obtained an independent mental health examination, they would have discovered that Antwine suffered from bi-polar disorder, and there is a reasonable chance that Antwine would not have been sentenced to death had the jury hear about this mental impairment. Antwine, 54 F.3d at 1368. Counsel’s conclusion that a mental-impairment argument at penalty would be inconsistent with the theory of self-defense and their decision to appeal to mercy instead of presenting “an elaborate presentation of mitigation evidence” was not reasonable because it was not based on a more full investigation of Antwine’s mental health. Id. at 1367. Note: This decision involves a pre-AEDPA analysis of the Missouri Supreme Court’s rejection of this claim.