Mark Anthony Duke

Case record: Mark Anthony Duke

Background

Mark Anthony Duke was 16 years old when he committed a capital offense. He resided in Shelby County, Alabama.

The offence

Mark Anthony Duke was convicted of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Randy Gerald Duke, Dedra Mims Hunt, Chelisa Nicole Hunt, and Chelsea Marie Hunt, because those murders were committed “pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct.” See § 13A-5-40(a)(10), Ala. Code 1975.

The Shelby County Circuit Court jury found Duke guilty of four counts of capital murder.

Duke was convicted in the March 23, 1997 murders of his father, Randy Duke, 39; the elder Duke’s fiancée, Dedra Mims Hunt, 29; and Ms. Hunt’s daughters, 7-year-old Chelsea Hunt and 6-year-old Chelisa Hunt.

Witnesses testified Duke was angry that his father had denied him use of a truck, and that Duke and Samra entered the house intending to kill the four. According to testimony, Duke shot his father after telling him “I'll see you in hell.” The woman was shot and the girls stabbed, and their throats were slit.

A reporter writing about Duke described that Duke’s mother and sisters attended the trial, but did not speak on his behalf.

Investigation

The case involved testimony that Duke enlisted friends to help him, and that transportation to and from the house was provided to Duke and Samra on the day of the killings.

The trial record included testimony that Duke and Samra shot the adults and then killed the girls by cutting their throats.

People involved

Defendant

• Mark Anthony Duke — defendant; convicted of capital murder of four people.

Victims

• Randy Gerald Duke — father; aged 39.
• Dedra Mims Hunt — fiancée of Randy Duke; aged 29.
• Chelsea Marie Hunt — daughter of Dedra Mims Hunt; aged 7.
• Chelisa Nicole Hunt — daughter of Dedra Mims Hunt; aged 6.

Other participants mentioned

• Samra — 21 during trial period described; convicted of four counts of capital murder last year and sentenced to death; testified against Duke.
• Michael LaFayette Ellison — 18; pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in exchange for testifying against Duke.
• David Layne Collums — 19; pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in exchange for testifying against Duke.

(Other friends were mentioned in narrative describing that Duke enlisted several friends to help him; their names were not provided in the narrative portion.)

Trial

The jury needed less than 35 minutes to find Duke guilty.

Duke’s defense attorneys did not dispute that he killed his father, but they portrayed Randy Duke as a heavy drinker who abused his son.

A witness testified that Duke and Samra entered the house intending to kill the four. Samra testified that Duke shot his father and Ms. Hunt and slashed Chelisa’s throat. Samra admitted cutting Chelsea’s throat, but said Duke was holding the little girl down.

Prosecutors claimed Collums and Ellison provided Duke and Samra with transportation to and from the house the day of the killings.

The reporter’s narrative described that Duke enlisted several friends to help him, that Brandon Samra was one of those friends, and that Samra testified against Duke during the trial.

The reporter’s narrative also stated that because of a Supreme Court ruling, Duke would not be executed and would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Sentencing

The circuit court sentenced Duke to death in 1999.

Following a remand after the United States Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals instructed the Shelby Circuit Court to set aside Duke’s sentence of death and resentence him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Appeals

Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals (direct appeal)

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Duke’s capital-murder conviction and sentence of death on direct appeal. Duke v. State, 889 So. 2d 1 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003).

Alabama Supreme Court

The Alabama Supreme Court quashed Duke’s petition for a writ of certiorari. Ex parte Duke, 889 So. 2d 1 (Ala. 2004).

United States Supreme Court

Duke petitioned the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.

On March 7, 2005, the United States Supreme Court granted Duke’s petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, and remanded Duke’s case for further consideration in light of Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (2005). Duke v. Alabama, 543 U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 1588 (2005).

The opinion stated that the record indicated that Duke was 16 years old when he committed the capital offense.

The opinion quoted and applied Roper v. Simmons, which held that it was a violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to impose a death sentence on a defendant under the age of 18 at the time the criminal offense was committed. The opinion also stated that Roper abrogated Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989), which upheld death sentences for offenders who were 16 or older.

The opinion stated that because Duke’s case was pending on certiorari to the United States Supreme Court when Roper v. Simmons was released, the holding of that case applied to him, citing:

• “'[A]ll defendants whose cases were still pending on direct appeal at the time of the law-changing decision should be entitled to invoke the new rule.'” United States v. Johnson, 457 U.S. 537, 545 n. 9 (1982). See also Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314 (1987).

The opinion concluded:

• Duke’s sentence of death must be vacated.
• The Supreme Court’s decision had no bearing on Duke’s conviction for capital murder.
• The case was remanded to the Shelby Circuit Court to set aside the sentence of death and resentence Duke to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, described as “the only other sentence available for a defendant convicted of capital murder.” See § 13A-5-45(a), Ala. Code 1975.

Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals after remand

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals issued an opinion dated May 27, 2005, with the opinion delivered by Wise, Judge, on remand.

The disposition was:

• AFFIRMED AS TO CONVICTION;
• REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS AS TO SENTENCE.

McMillan, P.J., and Cobb, Baschab, and Shaw, JJ., concur.

Outcome

The sentence of death was vacated, and Duke was remanded for resentencing to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Aftermath

The narrative stated that after the Supreme Court ruling, Duke was moved to a state prison in Atmore.

The narrative also stated that a website about juveniles on Alabama’s death row said: “Mark has been incarcerated since he was 16 years old. He welcomes new penfriends and encourages the more mature correspondent to contact him at ...” The narrative said the website invited the writer to visit Duke’s website, but it had been removed.