Heath A. WILKINS, Appellant, An ex post facto law is one which proscribes an act criminal not so proscribed when committed or one which enlarges the penalty after the violation. at 796. 2d 203 (1985). It was nearing closing time. The chronology tells a tale belying this assertion. banc 1982), cert. Judge McFarland again reviewed the variety of rights available to the defendant for the asking. 2d 993 (1986). This point was raised only in defendant's third amended Rule 24.035 motion filed May 16, 1989, nearly twelve months after his initial pro se filing. denied, 469 U.S. 873, 105 S. Ct. 229, 83 L. Ed. Defendant properly filed his first amended motion August 24, 1988, but the third amended motion raising the Miranda objection was filed more than six months after the deadline. The court then offered defendant one last chance to withdraw his plea of guilty to first degree murder and again defendant declined informing the court he wished to proceed as previously stated. Mistakenly, defendant suggests Miller v. State, 498 S.W.2d 79 (Mo.App.1973), is controlling here. § 565.020.2, RSMo Supp.1990. On August 10, 1985, defendant, then 16 years of age, was arrested with his accomplices in Kansas City, about two weeks following the murder. They took a towel out of the bag and wiped their shoes so that they would not *412 leave mudprints. In this case involving a guilty plea, our review is to determine whether counsel's alleged deficiencies affected the voluntariness of the plea. This Court ruled that the admission of the presentence investigation report is admissible by reason of Rule 29.07(a) and the admission of the "victim impact statement" did not run afoul Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S. Ct. 2529, 96 L. Ed. denied, 469 U.S. 873, 105 S. Ct. 229, 83 L. Ed. A finding of competence to proceed to trial is tantamount to a finding that one is competent to enter a plea of guilty. 2d 143 (1987). Counsel appointed to represent defendant in proceedings before this Court have briefed and argued numerous points of law. Missouri law allows for certification of juveniles to stand trial as adults. He had abused inhalants, stimulants and depressants since age six. Theresa Wilkins (“Mother”) appeals the judgment of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County emancipating Jimmy Wilkins (“Child”) and awarding James Wilkins (“Father”) $9,676 in overpaid child support. at 87. [8] Counsel invite the Court to consider whether sentencing a minor to die constitutes a per se violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Federal Constitution. Id. Defendant remained firm in his intention. As to the appointment of a guardian or its equivalent this suggestion ignores the fact that defendant was then within the aegis of the circuit court, his mental condition was at issue in an ongoing proceeding before that tribunal. "The murdered individual was a witness or potential witness in any past or pending investigation or past or pending prosecution, and was killed as a result of his status as a witness or potential witness." [2] Defendant also expressed a desire to seek the death penalty as his punishment. 1982) (defendant age seventeen); State v. Allen, 710 S.W.2d 912 (Mo.App.1986) (defendant age sixteen); State v. White, 694 S.W.2d 802 (Mo.App.1985) (defendant age seventeen); State v. Scott, 651 S.W.2d 199 (Mo.App.1983) (defendant age sixteen). Allen fell to the floor. The Court conducts its mandatory review, § 565.035, RSMo 1986, of a sentence of death, imposed following a hearing to determine punishment, § 565.032.2, RSMo Cum.Supp.1983. The death penalty was never intended to punish crimes committed by juveniles and is totally disproportionate to the punishment of similar crimes committed by those of similar age. This action was aborted when a police officer came into the area and defendant threw the murder knife into the lake. 2d 847 (1984) (defendant aged eighteen years, four months; no significant history of criminal activity; death sentence affirmed), and State v. Blair, 638 S.W.2d 739 (Mo. On April 29, prior to the plea hearing, defendant was brought before the court and given the waiver and guilty plea forms for all three charges. of Supreme Court of Missouri opinions. Summary: Skytaurus Wilkins was born on 09/11/1979 and is 41 years old. Even though defendant's point was ruled on direct review, defendant in this postconviction proceeding frames the issue in somewhat different language, tangentially asserting defendant was denied his right to counsel because his "waiver" was not "knowingly, voluntarily or intelligently made" for the reason that "appellant was mentally incompetent to proceed as his own counsel." See State v. Battle, 661 S.W.2d 487, 493-95 (Mo. On direct review counsel raised the issue of defendant's competency to stand trial and this Court rejected that challenge. Rule 24.035(h). Subscribe to Justia's Free Summaries In testing sufficiency, the reviewing court does not weigh the evidence but accepts as true all evidence and reasonable inferences that tend to support the finding. On October 8, defendant was charged by information with first degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. denied, 459 U.S. 1188, 103 S. Ct. 838, 74 L. Ed. Since at least age ten or eleven, Wilkins had used LSD, by admission his favorite drug. & Criminology 553, 553 (1984) (examining cases where convicted murderers voluntarily terminated appeals that would have delayed their executions). In this connection a defendant need not have the skills and experience of a lawyer to competently and intelligently choose self-representation. Lashley had been committed to various institutions and was considered to be of average intelligence. At the June 27 sentencing hearing, defendant appeared with Duchardt present in the courtroom still in his advisory role. banc 1987); sub. At the arraignment, Duchardt entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on behalf of defendant. at 961 (juveniles may validly waive both self-incrimination and right to counsel privileges). [9] We also note "the issue ... is not whether any similar case can be found in which the jury imposed a [death] sentence, but whether the death sentence is excessive or disproportionate in light of `similar cases' as a whole." The final and a most chilling factor to be considered is the nature of defendant himself and his attitude toward human life. Appointed counsel Fred Duchardt of the Clay County Public Defender's Office represented Wilkins and entered a plea of "not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect excluding responsibility" or "not guilty" to all the charges against defendant. 2d 306 (1989). The point is denied. Just one mitigating factor might permissibly outweigh several aggravating circumstances under this provision and require the imposition of only life imprisonment and not the death penalty. Counsel suggest that the weighing of mitigating factors is a quantitative or tallying process. The conviction and sentence were affirmed in State v. Wilkins, 736 S.W.2d 409 (Mo. Defendant acknowledged that he understood this and only then did the court conduct the requisite examination prefatory to acceptance of a guilty plea. On this information, appellate counsel was appointed, new briefs were submitted and new oral arguments heard. A competency hearing was set for April 16th to inquire into the competency of the defendant at the time of his act as well as his present competency to stand trial. Section 565.032.2(12). During the proceedings, defendant's competence was displayed and was not lost on the court whose many hours of counseling and conversation with defendant gave him special insight and understanding of the factual and legal issues. The governing statutes on this matter do not bear out defendant's contention. On the evening of July 27, 1985, the four individuals were together. We can but sympathize with Duchardt for the dilemma in which he found himself. If this unsupported allegation were true, defendant has not shown how it might have affected the voluntariness of his guilty plea. nom. The Court ordered defendant examined by the Department of Mental Health of Missouri to determine defendant's competence to waive counsel on appeal and ordered the case held under submission pending the report. 14, Donnelly, J. dissenting. On August 12, Mr. Fred Duchardt of the Clay County Public Defender's Office was appointed defense counsel and on August 15, a certification hearing was conducted in the juvenile court to determine whether defendant should stand trial as an adult. Issue was alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. For reasons stated in the memorandum provided to the parties, we affirm. He was diagnosed as possessing a borderline personality, schizotypal personality, and perhaps developing schizophrenia. Section 211.071, RSMo 1986, provides that any child between the ages of fourteen and seventeen who is alleged to have committed an offense which would be considered a felony if committed by an adult may after an appropriate hearing be "transferred [from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court] to the court of general jurisdiction and prosecuted under the general law." He had completed nine years of education and had an intelligence quotient of 105.[2]. On these bases, one examing psychiatrist suggested defendant's dysfunctioning may have a genetic component. As a result, we appointed appellate counsel for him instead of relying on an amicus curiae. 11 Law and Psychology Review 1 (Spring, 1987). 1979), where the court held appointment of such a legal "assistant" was appropriate. Defendant for his third point alleges that Duchardt rendered ineffective assistance of counsel during defendant's murder trial in that he called an adverse witness to testify against defendant; failed to cross-examine this adverse witness; failed to present contrary medical testimony as to defendant's mental state; abandoned defendant during the trial; failed to object to the court's finding that defendant was competent to *498 proceed; and failed to investigate the law and facts pertaining to the defendant's competence to proceed pro se. The life sentence, defendant, eighteen, stabbed an eighty-year old woman with twelve-inch! 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