Anthony Doss

Case overview

Anthony Doss was sentenced to death on March 31, 1993 for his role in the armed robbery of a store and the killing of clerk Robert C. Bell in Grenada County, Mississippi.

Doss was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the murder of Robert C. Bell. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Doss’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Doss’s application for leave to file a motion to vacate judgment and sentence raised eight issues, and the court granted leave to proceed only on the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel during the mitigation or penalty phase and mental retardation under Atkins v. Virginia.

Timeline

• May 6, 1991 — Outside Sparks Stop-N-Shop in rural Grenada County, Doss, James, Coffey, and Freddie Bell sat at a picnic table drinking beer and eating potato chips as events began leading to the subsequent robbery and killing of clerk Robert C. Bell.
• May 9, 1991 — Each of Doss, Freddie Bell, and Coffey gave statements in the Memphis police department.
• January 1993 — Frederick Bell, Doss’s co-defendant, had his separate murder trial in Grenada County; Lewis Paul Griffin was also in that venire.
• August 14, 2001 — Dr. James R. Merikangas gave an affidavit.
• June 2002 — Atkins v. Virginia was decided by the United States Supreme Court.
• July 15, 2004 — The Mississippi Supreme Court decided the leave application en banc.
• May 2003 — Dr. Michael M. Gelbort examined Doss in Parchman.
• December 15, 1997 — The direct appeal decision was handed down in final form.

The offence

Armed robbery and killing of Robert C. Bell

On May 6, 1991, outside Sparks Stop-N-Shop, a small grocery store in rural Grenada County, Doss, James, Coffey, and Freddie Bell were sitting at a picnic table when the events giving rise to the subsequent murder began to unfold.

Freddie Bell mentioned that he needed money to get to Memphis and, according to the other three, Freddie asked them to join him in robbing Sparks. James and Coffey testified they said no to joining Freddie’s plan. They testified that Freddie then pulled out two guns and gave one to Doss. Doss testified that it was a .25 caliber gun.

James testified that Freddie told Doss they should “go in shooting.” Coffey testified that Doss then stated “Let's go. Let's go do it.” James and Coffey left to go to Coffey’s home nearby. A few seconds later they heard gun shots coming from Sparks.

Doss admitted that he was given the gun but testified that he did not agree to hurt anyone and that he was forced at gunpoint by Freddie to be involved. Doss admitted he went into the store to rob it.

Ballistics and evidence relating to the shooting

Three guns were tested by a Mississippi Crime Lab forensic scientist. The scientist testified that five of the nine bullet holes in the victim were matched to the .38 caliber pistol recovered and tested. Three of the remaining shots were similar but not a 100% match.

After the shooting ceased, Freddie and Doss ran from the store and headed up the same road that James and Coffey were on, where Doss and Freddie met them.

James testified that Doss was given the .25 caliber gun before entering Sparks. James testified that after the robbery Freddie had the original .22, as well as the .38, which was taken from Sparks. The .22 and .38 caliber pistols were later recovered from Freddie’s house, and the .25 caliber was recovered from the car of a friend who took them to Memphis.

Coffey testified that Doss said that he shot Bell in the neck and that it caused him to “hung lower” because he had “emptied his gun into” Bell. Coffey testified that Freddie also admitted to shooting Bell but did not offer any further comments. James testified that Doss admitted to shooting Bell.

The victim, Robert C. Bell, was dead. Freddie did not testify.

Statements made by Doss and contested details

After Doss and Freddie admitted to shooting Bell, Freddie said that he needed to get to Memphis. Before they left, Freddie allegedly threatened to kill James, stating that he did not want any witnesses. James testified that Doss stepped in and prevented Freddie from killing James.

James and Coffey confirmed that Doss and Freddie had stolen a pistol, a box of shells, and a gray money bag from Sparks. James confirmed, as did Doss himself, that Doss admitted to unsuccessfully trying to open the cash register.

Subsequently, Freddie, Doss, and Coffey went to Memphis leaving James in Grenada County. Coffey testified that he remembered Freddie wanting to go back to Grenada County to shoot James so that there were no witnesses, and that Doss said that he “was ready to do it” too. Doss denied suggesting that they should go back and shoot James.

Freddie, Doss, and Coffey were arrested in Memphis shortly thereafter. Each of the three gave statements in the Memphis police department on May 9, 1991. Doss, after signing a Miranda form, stated that Coffey was the person who shot Bell with the .38, but he subsequently admitted on cross-examination that his statement about Coffey being involved was a complete fabrication.

Doss contended that the statement he gave at trial was the “truth” and that the Memphis statement, which he admitted was riddled with lies, was given because he was “scared” and “knew they wouldn't believe me.”

Investigation and arrest

Doss, Freddie Bell, and Coffey were arrested in Memphis shortly after they traveled there, and each gave statements in the Memphis police department on May 9, 1991. Doss signed a Miranda form before giving his statement.

Trial

Juror dishonesty during voir dire

Doss argued that during voir dire a prospective juror, Lewis Paul Griffin, failed to answer a question that would have led to a challenge.

The trial judge asked the following:

“I was about to ask the question, how many of you, if any, have ever had an occasion where you might have used any of these men to represent you or any member of your family. Now, remember, that would mean that the District Attorney might have had occasion in his official capacity to prosecute a crime, which he prosecutes in the name of the state of Mississippi, but it might have involved a member of your family as a victim. You may have come in contact with them because of that. In the case of Mr. Bailey [Doss's attorney], of course, it might have been either a plaintiff or defendant. Have they ever represented you or a member of your family? Randall O. Poss stated that he had used District Attorney Doug Evans “as a personal attorney to draw up wills and such” but stated that would not pose a problem for him. Barbara Ann Spence stated that she had “used Mr. Evans for some things,” that these matters had been concluded and would pose no problem. Jesse Fields stated that Evans helped his father with a bad check. The trial judge then asked whether any of the attorneys had been on the “opposite side,” stating that “in the District Attorney's case that would mean he might have prosecuted you or a member of you family. Anyone at all? I take it then that none of you have ever had an occasion where these men have been on the opposite side. They have never prosecuted you or a member of your family that might have been charged with a felony, and they have never represented the opposite side in a civil matter, either.”

Lewis Paul Griffin did not answer and eventually served on the Doss jury.

Lewis Paul Griffin’s earlier voir dire in the Bell trial

A couple of months earlier, in January 1993, Frederick Bell had his separate murder trial in Grenada County, and Griffin was in that venire. In that voir dire, after a juror stated that District Attorney Evans was “our lawyer,” the trial judge stated:

“I wanted to say, also, that, of course, he could have represented you in private practice in some manner, and I want to know that, as well.”

At that point, Griffin stated that Evans represented him in a custody case during a divorce, but that would make no difference if selected as a juror in Bell’s case. Bell’s defense counsel peremptorily struck Griffin.

Shackling claim

Doss argued that he was shackled throughout his trial in a manner apparent to the jury and that at least four jurors saw him. Doss joined motions filed by co-defendant Frederick Bell in a pretrial hearing on November 30, 1992, including a motion to preclude the sheriff’s department from bringing Frederick Bell or Anthony Doss into court in shackles and to limit the number of uniformed officers in the courtroom.

The circuit court ruled:

“I require that they have some restraint in view of representation being made to the Court, and I believe it being undenied that they are under charges from other jurisdictions also, and, therefore, they will be restrained. However, I will ask the Sheriff to do so in a manner which will be least obtrusive to the jury or anyone else involved in the trial. I will not limit the number of uniformed officers, at this time, in the courtroom. I may do so later when I see how many we've got.”

Doss relied on four “affidavits” to argue that four jurors saw him in shackles. Two were statements by interviewers working for the defense team about what former jurors Susan Honeycutt and Joycelyn Clark Mitchell said, described as hearsay. The other two statements, apparently made by former jurors Maxine Brock and S.D. Booker, were not notarized.

The court held the claim was procedurally barred and concluded there was no prejudice based on the affidavits and the jurors’ observations of shackling.

Sentencing

Ineffective assistance of counsel in the penalty phase

Doss argued ineffective assistance of counsel in the sentencing phase for failure to present mitigation evidence.

Doss presented an affidavit from his trial attorney, Lee Bailey, stating that he did not seek school, medical, mental health, or other records because he did not realize the importance of records for sentencing; he did not seek advice from a mental health expert or funds for a mental health expert or any mental health evaluation; and he did not obtain records resulting from the investigation of criminal charges against Doss in Shelby County, though he obtained the indictment and judgment.

Bailey stated that he obtained the appointment of an investigator, Kelvin Winbush, also investigator for Freddie Bell. Bailey stated that Winbush told him he had interviewed Doss’s aunt Lillie Moore; Doss’s sisters Lucretia Monger and Mavis McCaster; Doss’s brothers Marvin Doss and Randy Doss; and John Westmoreland; and that all stated Doss was a good and/or quiet person who got involved with the wrong crowd. Bailey did not follow up with these witnesses or ask them to testify at the sentencing phase.

Bailey stated that Winbush told him he had contacted two teachers in Bruce, a Mrs. Parker and a Coach Smith, and it was questionable whether these people knew Anthony Doss or whether they had mistaken him for Frederick Bell. Bailey stated that he did not realize a conflict might result from using Winbush given that one potential defense strategy was to blame Bell as the instigator of the shooting.

Bailey stated he interviewed only Doss’s mother and an aunt for a few minutes. Bailey stated that he felt he did a good job defending the case at the guilt phase but did not know what he was doing as to the sentencing phase.

Kelvin Winbush’s mitigation investigation

Kelvin Winbush’s affidavit stated that this was his first mitigation investigation and that he was also the investigator for Freddie Bell. Winbush identified Lillie Moore, Lucretia Monger, Mavis McCaster, Marvin Doss, Randy Doss, and John Westmoreland (a friend) as favorable mitigation witnesses.

Winbush identified Coach Smith, a teacher and coach in Bruce, as someone who knew Anthony and said he “behaved fairly well for the most part.”

Winbush stated he gave Bailey contact information for some witnesses, and Bailey knew Winbush had contact information for them all. Winbush stated that he was never asked to follow up with witnesses, arrange subpoenas, arrange their presence at trial, or look for additional witnesses after his initial report. Winbush stated he was not asked to do any investigating in Chicago.

Carolyn Watkins and records from Chicago/Shelby County

Carolyn Watkins, a public defender who handled Doss’s murder charge in Shelby County, stated in an affidavit that she obtained school records for Doss from Chicago; Doss’s medical records from Chicago, including records involving a 1986 head injury; and the 1988 psychological report done at the University of Mississippi. Watkins stated that Lee Bailey never requested these records.

Affidavits supporting mitigation

Doss attached affidavits from Sadie Doss (Doss’s mother), Verlene Forest Williams, Carolyn Phillips (an aunt), Ernestine Williams (an aunt), Lucretia Monger, Randy Doss, Roselyn Monette Jackson (an aunt), Mary Jennings (an aunt), John Westmoreland, Annette James (a girlfriend), Marvin Doss (Anthony’s half-brother), Q.T. Doss (a family member), Lillie Moore, Sandra Price (a daughter of Sam “Joe” Brown, who lived with Doss’s mother in Chicago), Chantay Price (Sandra Price’s sixteen-year-old daughter), Varnado McDonald (step-sister of Lucretia Monger), Carrie Cole (an aunt), Rosie Caldwell (a friend of Doss’s mother), and Sam Phillips (Doss’s biological father).

The affiants stated that Doss was shy and quiet and not a violent person. They also stated there were times when Doss seemed to go into a seizure or trance and did not respond to people. They asserted Doss had mental or medical problems beginning with his mother’s drinking and drug use during pregnancy; followed by lead poisoning and head injuries during Doss’s childhood; and that mental illness seemed to run in the Doss family.

The affiants stated Doss was easily led by Frederick Bell, whom they described as a bad, violent person from a violent family, and that Doss began to run with a bad crowd when he moved from Chicago to Mississippi. They also stated that Doss’s birth and upbringing in Chicago were riddled with crime, drug abuse and poverty.

The affiants blamed Sam Brown for much of the misfortune in Chicago. They alleged Sam Brown was violent and abusive toward Doss, his mother, and the rest of the family; took money from the family to buy drugs and gamble; and sold drugs and introduced children to drugs. The affiants stated Doss apparently believed Sam Brown was his biological father for much of his early life.

Post-conviction standards and decision to grant an evidentiary hearing on sentencing mitigation

The court relied on Strickland v. Washington and Mississippi cases including Burns v. State, Wiggins v. Smith, Davis v. State, Woodward v. State, and Leatherwood v. State.

The Mississippi Supreme Court acknowledged discrepancies among Doss’s supporting affidavits, but concluded Doss had made a sufficient showing under Strickland to entitle him to an evidentiary hearing in the Grenada County Circuit Court on ineffective assistance of counsel during the mitigation or penalty phase and his claim of mental retardation.

Appeals and post-conviction

Application for leave to file motion to vacate judgment and sentence

Doss filed an application for leave to file motion to vacate judgment and sentence, raising eight issues:

1. Juror dishonesty
2. Shackling during trial
3. Ineffective assistance of counsel in the guilt phase
4. Ineffective assistance of counsel in the sentencing phase
5. Mental retardation precluding the death penalty under Atkins v. Virginia
6. Use of avoiding arrest aggravator
7. Disproportionate sentence since he was not the trigger man
8. Cumulative error

The court granted leave to proceed in the Grenada County Circuit Court for an evidentiary hearing on the merits of ineffective assistance of counsel during the mitigation or penalty phase and the claim of mental retardation under Atkins and the standards and procedures set forth in Chase v. State. Leave was denied in all other respects.

Avoiding arrest aggravating circumstance

Doss argued it was error to allow the jury to consider an aggravating circumstance that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest.

This issue was treated as having been raised and decided on direct appeal. The court found the argument was without merit and referenced its direct appeal reasoning, including analysis of facts supporting the instruction and reference to Chase v. State and Taylor v. State.

Direct appeal discussion (avoiding arrest)

Doss’s direct appeal discussion included the following enumerated points supporting the instruction:

1. Doss admitted he went into the store with a gun to rob it.
2. Freddie had said before entering the store that they were “going to go in shooting.”
3. Doss supposedly said “Let's go. Let's go do it” immediately before entering Sparks.
4. Bell hollered as he was shot and had several shots through his hands indicating he was neither armed nor posed a threat to robbers’ escape.
5. According to Coffey, once Doss was on his way to Memphis, Doss was ready to go back and kill James to eliminate a possible witness.
6. Doss admitted he went to Memphis so that he would not get caught.

The direct appeal discussion noted that facts 2, 3, and 5 were denied by Doss during trial. The court found the argument unpersuasive and without merit.

In the post-conviction proceedings, Doss argued Taylor should affect the standard and that evidence about attempting to avoid arrest after the murder was irrelevant under Taylor’s approach. The court rejected the claim as without merit.

Proportionality / nontrigger defendant

Doss argued the death sentence was disproportionate because the jury did not find he killed or attempted to kill Robert C. Bell, and that Frederick Bell was the shooter.

The court treated this as having been decided on direct appeal, referencing Enmund factors and accomplice liability principles. The court held the issue was without merit and also addressed arguments regarding res judicata and comparisons to other death penalty cases.

Cumulative error

Doss argued he was entitled to a new guilt and sentencing trial, or at least a new sentencing trial, due to cumulative effect of errors.

The court held the cumulative error claim was unconvincing, concluding there was little error and denying relief on that issue.

Outcome

Leave to seek post-conviction relief was granted in part and denied in part.

The Mississippi Supreme Court granted Anthony Doss leave to proceed in the Grenada County Circuit Court only on:

• ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing phase, and
• his Atkins claim on mental retardation.

Leave was denied on all other claims including juror dishonesty, shackling, ineffective assistance in the guilt phase, use of avoiding arrest aggravator, proportionality, and cumulative error. The court also noted a separate dissent in part regarding the Atkins claim.

Other details

Federal and Mississippi case references within the leave proceedings

The leave proceedings cited multiple governing authorities and discussed their standards, including:

• Odom v. State for juror nonresponse analysis
• Strickland v. Washington for ineffective assistance
• Atkins v. Virginia and Mississippi’s implementation in Foster v. State and Chase v. State for mental retardation procedures
• Ring v. Arizona in rejecting the applicability of that decision to the Atkins issue
• Taylor v. State and Chase v. State relating to avoiding arrest aggravator
• Bullock v. State, Reddix v. State, and other proportionality-related authorities
• Wiggins v. Smith, Davis v. State, Woodward v. State, Leatherwood v. State, and Burns v. State for sentencing-phase mitigation investigation duties

Mental retardation evidentiary materials considered

Doss’s Atkins-related evidentiary materials included:

• Dr. Michael M. Gelbort’s neuropsychological evaluation in Parchman in May 2003 with test scores 68 verbal, 79 performance, and 71 IQ, and a statement that the scores were virtually identical to those in the distant past and supported a borderline mentally retarded range and qualification for diagnosis of mental retardation in terms of intellectual impairment.
• Dr. James R. Merikangas’s affidavit dated August 14, 2001 stating the University of Mississippi psychological report suggested organic brain damage and mental retardation and concluding that a neuropsychiatric evaluation was necessary.
• Jeffrey Eno’s affidavit describing development influences and providing a life history, including prenatal history, poverty, exposure to lead paint chips, a violent physically abusive step-father, dangerous area exposure in Chicago, physical injuries, exposure to violent crimes, family mental problem history, substance abuse and exposure to drug dealers, and psychiatric history.

The State denied mental retardation and relied heavily on the 1988 University of Mississippi psychological report, which included test results and a diagnostic impression of “conduct disorder, socialized, aggressive,” and did not state that Doss was retarded.

The State also argued that Doss’s life version conflicted with the 1988 report and that timing issues affected the claim.

Jury statements and quoted phrases appearing in the record

The leave proceedings included verbatim quoted phrases:

• “go in shooting”
• “Let's go. Let's go do it.”
• Coffey’s testimony: “hung lower”
• Coffey’s testimony: “emptied his gun into”
• Coffey’s testimony: Doss said he “was ready to do it” too
• Doss’s statements about the Memphis statement being “scared” and “knew they wouldn't believe me.”
• Doss’s in-trial positioning: his statement was the “truth”
• Doss’s direct quotes claimed by witnesses: “Let's go. Let's go do it.”

“behaved fairly well for the most part.”

Separation of the homicide victim and co-defendant in direct-appeal discussion

The direct-appeal portion of the leave proceedings discussed evidence about the store owner’s testimony that a .38 caliber gun was taken from the store during the robbery, ballistics matches between bullets retrieved from Bell’s body and the .38 caliber gun, and fingerprint evidence from the Mississippi Crime Laboratory matching fingerprints from the coke box behind the counter with those of Doss.