Murderpedia

 

 

Juan Ignacio Blanco  

 

  MALE murderers

index by country

index by name   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

  FEMALE murderers

index by country

index by name   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 

 

 
   

Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. To keep creating new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help the Murderpedia project stay alive. We have many
plans and enthusiasm to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really
need your help for this. Thank you very much in advance.

   

 

 

James Adolph CAMPBELL

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: September 11, 1992
Date of arrest: 5 days after
Date of birth: September 21, 1961
Victim profile: Katherine Price
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife
Location: Rowan County, North Carolina, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on July 8, 1993
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chronology of Events

01/27/2007 - Execution is delayed by Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens, ruling that the Council of State must approve changes to execution procedures.

01/10/2007 - Execution date is set for James Adolph Campbell

12/11/2006 - The Supreme Court of the United States denied Campbell's petition to review the decision of the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, dismissing his appeal.

07/28/1995 - The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed Campbell's conviction and sentence of death.

07/08/1993 - Campbell was sentenced to death in Rowan County Superior Court for the first degree murder of Katherine Price.  He also received two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for rape, a consecutive sentence of 40 years for kidnapping and a consecutive sentence of 10 years for burning personal property.

 
 

James Adolph Campbell

On September 11, 1992, the body of Katherine Price was found in a field in Rowan County, North Carolina. Price had sustained twenty-two knife wounds to her neck.

Five days later, North Carolina police officers arrested James Adolph Campbell for the murder. He confessed, and directed the police to various pieces of physical evidence, including the knife used to kill Katherine.

Campbell’s confession to police was both extensive and specific. He admitted to the following: Campbell initially met Katherine on September 8, 1992. On this day, he was searching for a weapon to kill himself and his ex-girlfriend, Tina, whom he had raped two days earlier.

The next morning, Katherine Price saw Campbell walking on the street, and she offered him a ride. He accepted her invitation. While she was driving, he placed a knife to her throat and forced her to a secluded area. Campbell concluded that he would kill Katherine because he "couldn’t leave the girl there and I couldn’t take her with me." He asked her to have sex with him, and although she allegedly agreed, he explained that under the circumstances "you could call it rape." 

After raping her twice, Campbell began choking Katherine in her car with such strength that one of his thumbs went numb. He then switched to strangling Katherine with a piece of her shirt. This, however, proved inadequate to kill Katherine, as her shirt ripped and she was still breathing.

Campbell thus removed Katherine from the vehicle, placed her where her body was later discovered, and "took my knife and stabbed her in the side of her throat. I sat and watched the blood come out of her throat and she was still moaning and groaning. I stabbed her many more times because I wanted her to die." Katherine Price finally succumbed. Campbell then took Katherine’s car and continued his search for a gun.

In the evening, he visited a woman with whom he had carried on a relationship since July. They drove to where Campbell had left Katherine Price’s car, and he set it ablaze. Later, in the presence of police, Campbell confessed that he killed Katherine Price because he had been unable to kill Tina.

On October 26, 1992, Campbell was indicted on several counts stemming from Katherine Price’s murder. He was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, the burning of personal property and armed robbery. A jury trial was held beginning in May 1993.

At trial, the state introduced substantial evidence of Campbell’s guilt, in addition to his confession to police. A doctor testified that stab wounds to Katherine Price’s neck caused her death, and that blood found on her body matched Campbell’s blood and her own.

Campbell’s brother-in-law testified that Campbell told him both that he killed an innocent person, and that he needed to dispose of his knife and tennis shoes.

The woman who was with Campbell when he burned a car testified about that incident, and that, after he was arrested, he admitted to her that he had killed a girl. Campbell’s former girlfriend Tina asserted that three days before Campbell killed Katherine Price, he had forced her to drive to a wooded area and had raped her there. Tina further testified that she had not gone to the police out of fear of Campbell.

Finally, three other women testified about prior crimes that Campbell had committed against them. He had kidnapped one of them, and raped the other two.

Campbell testified at trial that he did not murder Katherine Price. He claimed that he had previously confessed to killing her to protect the woman who testified regarding the burning of the car, who actually committed the murder.

According to Campbell, on the day of the murder he drove with Katherine Price to an area where he often took the other woman, and the two had consensual sex. He said the other woman subsequently arrived on the scene, saw the two of them together, and killed Katherine in a jealous rage. Campbell further declared that he had neither raped nor kidnapped the three women who testified for the prosecution about Campbell’s prior crimes.

On June 29, 1993, the jury convicted Campbell on all counts. A sentencing hearing was held from June 29 to July 8.

At the hearing, six witnesses testified for Campbell. Campbell and his two sisters testified about his abusive childhood. A former employer discussed Campbell’s good work habits, and the woman whom he had tried to blame the murder on described his capacity to love. Finally, a mental health professional opined extensively on Campbell’s mental state.

The prosecution, in addition to the evidence presented at the guilt phase, introduced the testimony of two more women who had been accosted by Campbell. Campbell had put scissors to the throat of one, and had taken the other to a field, tied her to a tree, and abandoned her.

The jury recommended that Campbell be sentenced to death. It found four aggravating circumstances: that Campbell was previously convicted of four felonies involving the use or threat of violence, that he murdered Price to avoid arrest, that the murder was committed while Campbell was engaged in rape and kidnapping and that the murder "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

At least one juror determined that a statutory mitigating circumstance was present, namely, that the murder was committed while Campbell "was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance."

Also, at least one juror found two non-statutory mitigating circumstances: that Campbell was "emotionally neglected and has chronic feelings of deprivation, inadequacy and anger," and that Campbell had "a history of substance abuse which began at a very early age as a consequence of a lack of supervision and a lack of family structure." All the jurors concluded, however, that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating ones, and were sufficiently substantial to call for the death penalty.

The trial court accepted the jury’s recommendation, and sentenced Campbell to death for first-degree murder. It also sentenced him to life imprisonment for each of the two counts of rape, thirty years for kidnapping, forty years for armed robbery, and ten years for the burning of personal property.

 
 


 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA

No. 299A93 - Rowan

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

v.

JAMES ADOLPH CAMPBELL

FILED: 28 JULY 1995

Appeal of right pursuant to N.C.G.S. [Section] 7A-27(a) from a judgment imposing a sentence of death entered by Greeson, J., at the 24 May 1993 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Rowan County, on a jury verdict finding defendant guilty of first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of first-degree rape on a female victim, burning of personal property, and first-degree kidnapping. Defendant's motion to bypass the Court of Appeals on the convictions other than first-degree murder was allowed 2 August 1994. Heard in the Supreme Court 16 March 1995.

WHICHARD, Justice.

Defendant was tried capitally for first-degree murder and found guilty on that and all other charges. After a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended that defendant be sentenced to death for the first-degree murder conviction. The trial court sentenced defendant to death for the first-degree murder conviction; to forty years' imprisonment for the armed robbery with a dangerous weapon conviction; to two terms of life imprisonment for the first-degree rape convictions; to ten years' imprisonment for the burning of personal property conviction; and to thirty years' imprisonment for the kidnapping conviction. All sentences were to run consecutively.

The State's guilt phase evidence tended to show the following:

Brandy McIntyre testified that she left her trailer on the morning of 8 September 1992 to run errands. Katherine Price, the victim, was there when she returned. Price and Brandy walked to a nearby convenience store to purchase food. As they walked, defendant approached them. He asked Brandy what time her husband returned home from work. Brandy told him her husband was at home. Price said nothing during the conversation. When Price and Brandy returned from the store, defendant was at Brandy's trailer talking to Brandy's husband, Thomas. Defendant spoke with Thomas about buying a shotgun for protection during a marijuana purchase. Thomas rolled a joint of marijuana, and the group smoked it. Defendant and Price were in the trailer at the same time for about fifteen minutes. Brandy did not see them talking.

Thomas McIntyre testified that he first met defendant at the trailer on 8 September 1992. He stated that defendant asked him if Price had a boyfriend, and Thomas told him she did. Thomas testified that he rolled a joint and that they all smoked it. He further stated that he never saw Price and defendant talking.

Timothy Corriher testified that on the morning of 10 September 1992, a neighbor stopped at his house to tell him a car had burned near his property. Corriher drove down Lipe Road and found the car. He alerted the police. A trained arson investigator with the Rowan County Sheriff's Department testified that he examined the car and concluded that an accelerant was involved. He also determined that a license plate taken from the car had been issued in Price's name.

Tom Baker testified that on 11 September 1992 he discovered the body of Katherine Price in a field in the Mill Bridge area of Rowan County. An agent processed the field for evidence. The body was found face down about twenty-five or thirty feet off the dirt road underneath some low-hanging limbs of a clump of trees. Two pieces of plaid material were found in the immediate vicinity of the body. One piece consisted of two pieces knotted together.

SBI Agent Jedd Taub, a forensic serologist, testified that he had performed luminol testing on the blood in the field. In his opinion, the arc of blood deposition on the tree branches, leaves, and ground was consistent with multiple stab wounds to the neck. The pattern he observed could have been caused by blood being thrown off a knife as it was pulled back or brought forward.

Dr. Thomas Clark, a forensic pathologist, testified that Price had a combination of fifteen stab wounds and seven incised wounds to her neck; each was one-half to one-and-a-half inches deep. In addition, she had two wounds to her face, her left and right carotid arteries were cut, and one arterial stab had penetrated to her spine and caused profuse bleeding. Dr. Clark further testified that Price died of the stab wounds to her neck. Price could have lived a few minutes after the stabbing. Blood found in her vagina matched defendant's and hers. Because Price's neck was badly decomposed, Dr. Clark could not opine whether Price had been strangled.

Jeffrey Beaver, defendant's brother-in-law, testified that in early September 1992, defendant called him and asked to borrow his gun. Later, defendant came to Beaver's trailer, and they talked. Defendant cried and stated that he was in serious trouble. He stated that he had killed an innocent person two days before and that he could either run, go back to prison, or kill himself. He further told Beaver that he had to get rid of his knife and tennis shoes. Beaver had seen defendant with a red-handled butterfly knife at some point in the past. Beaver heard later that a woman had been killed. He called the police and gave them defendant's name.

Tina Cline testified that she met defendant in May 1992 and began dating him. In August 1992 she became involved with someone else. On 6 September 1992 defendant learned that she was seeing another man, and he came to her house. Cline testified that defendant forced her into his car. He then forced her to drive to his camper and to a wooded area near the airport. Defendant then raped her. She did not report it to the police because she feared his reprisal if the charge was unsuccessful.

The next day defendant called her and told her he was going to commit suicide. He repeatedly asked if she was all right and said he knew he had hurt her. Cline told defendant that he needed help and that she was going to call the sheriff and have him committed.

The day defendant was arrested Cline received a call from the Sheriff's Department. An agent told her defendant was not going to confess to murder, kidnapping, and rape until she got there. Cline went to the Sheriff's Department. Defendant told her that he had killed an innocent girl and that it was Cline's fault because he would not have been looking for another woman if she had not left him.

On 16 September 1992 SBI Agent Bill Lane arrested defendant on the charge of murder. He advised defendant of his constitutional rights; defendant waived his right to counsel. Defendant told Lane that he would locate evidence for them and provide a complete statement but that he first needed to see Teresa Allman, a married woman with whom he was having a sexual relationship, and Tina Cline. He told Lane that Allman did not know about the murder. When Allman was brought to see him, he apologized to her for getting her involved.

Defendant told Agent Lane where several pieces of evidence were, including a red butterfly knife that, according to Dr. Clark's testimony, could have caused Price's wounds. He directed agents to a road near where Price's body was found and showed them where a shirt and belt were located.

After the evidence was gathered, defendant gave a lengthy, detailed confession to the murder. He indicated that he first saw Price the day before the murder when she was walking to the store. At the time he was looking for a gun because he wanted to kill his former girlfriend, Tina Cline. At 6:00 a.m. the day after he first saw Price, defendant walked to the store. A car went past him; Price was driving. She offered him a ride. As she drove, defendant placed a butterfly knife to her throat. He knew the knife bothered her a lot. He forced her to drive to Airport Road.

When they arrived, he removed the knife and put it away. She offered to smoke marijuana with him. He directed her down a dirt road on the pretext of visiting a friend. She proceeded, despite the desolate nature of the surroundings. He assured her nothing would happen to her. She stopped near a big tree. Defendant continued to assure her. He threw the wrenches and screwdriver from her car and put away the knife. He determined that he would have to kill her because "he couldn't leave the girl there and he couldn't take her with him."

They made small talk, and defendant asked her to have sex with him. Price agreed, but defendant also stated, "you can call it rape." Defendant then sat on the hood of the car and smoked his remaining cigarettes. He raped her again and strangled her until his thumbs were numb. Price was moaning. He tried to strangle her with a piece of flannel shirt, but it tore. She continued to moan. Then he took her outside and put her on the ground. She was moaning. He took his knife and stabbed her throat. He stated, "I sat and watched the blood come out of her throat and she was still moaning and groaning." He stabbed her many more times because he wanted her to die, which she did. He then attempted to dispose of the evidence.

Defendant drove to the bowling alley the next night to see Teresa Allman. He and Allman drove to the place where he had left Price's car. He got out of the car and set Price's car on fire with gasoline he and Allman had obtained.

Defendant also drew and signed a sketch of the murder scene.

Teresa Allman testified that she and defendant began an intimate relationship in July 1992. She further testified that she was with defendant when he burned Price's car. When she visited defendant after his arrest, he told her he had killed an innocent girl and he was sorry.

Three women testified about prior crimes defendant had committed. Jean Killian testified that she had been kidnapped by defendant. Robin Sauls, who dated defendant, testified that defendant had raped her. Ada Teal testified that defendant had jumped in her car one day and directed her to a trailer park. He then directed her to a field and asked her to exit the car while he was holding a knife. She refused. They then drove several places. Ultimately defendant drove her to a field and raped her. She reported it to police after defendant took her home. The day after defendant raped Teal, he called her and asked her to meet him. On advice from the police, she agreed to do so, but defendant was arrested in the interim.

Defendant presented the following evidence during the guilt phase:

Defendant testified that he had had consensual sex with Sauls. He also stated that, contrary to her testimony indicating that defendant had kidnapped her, Killian had agreed to give him a ride. He further testified that, contrary to Ada Teal's testimony, they had had consensual sex after she agreed to give him a ride.

Defendant testified that he and Allman had an intimate relationship. He indicated that on the Sunday before Price was killed, Allman returned from a trip out of town. They had planned to get together the next day and did so. They drove out to the Mill Bridge area in her car and went down the road that leads to the back of the fields. They had been there several times to have sex.

According to defendant, Price came to his camper shortly after 7:00 a.m. on 9 September 1992. They had met the day before at the McIntyres' trailer. Price told defendant she had a joint for him and asked if he would like to smoke it. They smoked and talked for about thirty minutes. Defendant asked Price if he could kiss her, and she nodded "yes." They then decided to spend the day together and drove out to the Mill Bridge area. Defendant testified that they had consensual sex there.

Defendant testified further that Teresa Allman drove up and got out of her car. She was angry and cursing. According to defendant, Allman stabbed Price and killed her.

During the sentencing phase, the State presented the following evidence:

Jennie Clayton testified that in June 1982, she was a secretary at Windsor Elementary School in Richland County, South Carolina. Defendant was in the school one day seeking directions. Clayton gave defendant directions, and while she was doing so, defendant placed a sharp object against her throat. He demanded the keys to her car. Clayton managed to get away. In November 1982 defendant was convicted of aggravated assault based on this attack.

Linda Shadel testified that defendant took her to a field, tied her to a tree, and left her. She managed to escape. Defendant was arrested the next day. Some time later he called Shadel and asked her about her dog. He told her that he knew she did not want to press charges and that her husband had forced her to do so. In November 1982 defendant was convicted of housebreaking and grand larceny in connection with his crimes against Shadel.

The State also introduced evidence of defendant's conviction in January 1980 for the assault on Jean Killian.

During the sentencing phase defendant presented evidence that he came from a broken home, that his mother drank excessively, and that he began smoking marijuana when he was twelve or thirteen. Defendant testified that he had had a violent childhood. Defendant's employer testified that defendant was an excellent worker.

Dr. Bob Rollins, a forensic psychiatrist, testified that defendant suffered from mental disorders and that he was under the influence of these disorders at the time of the crime. The disorders impaired his ability to understand and conform to appropriate standards of behavior. Dr. Rollins also testified that defendant's marijuana use on the day of the crime would have impaired his ability to conform to appropriate standards of behavior.

GUILT PHASE

In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court committed reversible error by appointing Dr. Bob Rollins, a forensic psychiatrist, to assist him at trial because Dr. Rollins also had conducted a pretrial evaluation of defendant and had determined that defendant was competent to proceed. Defendant argues that because Dr. Rollins' diagnosis was of little benefit to him, he was denied his right to expert assistance.

When defendant made his motion for expert assistance, the court asked defense counsel why Dr. Rollins could not act as his expert. Defense counsel responded that because Dr. Rollins had handled the competency determination, it might be difficult for him to proceed further. The State argued that the need for someone else had not been established and that though Dr. Rollins worked for a state facility, he was not necessarily a prosecution witness. The trial court agreed and stated that it knew of no reason why a state psychiatrist could not be a defense witness. The trial court refused to appoint a new psychiatrist for defendant.

Defense counsel sought Dr. Rollins' assistance. Dr. Rollins tried to talk with defendant, but defendant did not want to talk to him. Defendant then renewed his motion for expert assistance. The trial court stated that it could do nothing if defendant did not want to talk to Dr. Rollins. The court then stated that "there was no specific showing that a psychiatrist was needed to begin with for either the trial of the case or for any potential sentencing hearing." Defense counsel ultimately indicated to the court that defendant would cooperate with Dr. Rollins because the court refused to make another psychiatrist available to him.

Assuming arguendo that defendant made an adequate showing of a specific need for an expert, see State v. Johnson , 317 N.C. 193, 198-99, 344 S.E.2d 775, 778-79 (1986), our review of the record establishes that defendant received adequate assistance from Dr. Rollins in the presentation of mitigating evidence. At trial Dr. Rollins offered his opinions, which were based on four interviews with defendant, defendant's statement, investigative reports, reports of interviews with defendant's mother and sisters, and Dr. Rollins' interview with defendant's sister. Based on this information, Dr. Rollins testified that defendant had two types of mental disorders, one of personality and one of adjustment. He stated that defendant's ability to understand appropriate standards of behavior was affected by these disorders and was impaired further by his use of marijuana. He also indicated that defendant began using marijuana when he was eleven or twelve. He further testified that defendant's youth was characterized by poverty-related concerns for food, clothing, and shelter.

Dr. Rollins' testimony was the sole supporting evidence for the lone statutory mitigating circumstance found by one or more jurors: that the capital felony was committed while defendant was under the influence of a mental or emotional disturbance. It also supported two nonstatutory mitigating circumstances that were found by one or more jurors: "[Defendant] was and is emotionally neglected and has chronic feelings of deprivation, inadequacy and anger, and he is uncomfortable and frightened by these feelings"; and "[Defendant] has a history of substance abuse which began at a very early age as a consequence of a lack of supervision and a lack of family structure." We thus can perceive no prejudice resulting from the appointment of Dr. Rollins to assist defendant in his trial. This assignment of error is overruled.

In his second assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court committed reversible error during jury selection by prohibiting defendant from asking questions of prospective jurors individually and by requiring questions to be posed to the entire group in the jury box. He notes that the trial court allowed individual questioning of prospective jurors only if a group question produced a response from some jurors.

The governing statute, N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1214(c), provides:

(c) The prosecutor and the defense counsel, or the defendant if not represented by counsel, may personally question prospective jurors individually concerning their fitness and competency to serve as jurors in the case to determine whether there is a basis for a challenge for cause or whether to exercise a peremptory challenge. The prosecution or defense is not foreclosed from asking a question merely because the court has previously asked the same or similar question.

N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1214(c) (1988).

It is within the trial court's discretion to regulate the manner and extent of inquiries on voir dire . State v. Young , 287 N.C. 377, 387, 214 S.E.2d 763, 771 (1975), death sentence vacated , 428 U.S. 903, 49 L. Ed. 2d 1208 (1976). This Court consistently has held that N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1214(c) does not preempt the exercise of the court's discretion during jury selection. State v. Allen , 322 N.C. 176, 189-90, 367 S.E.2d 626, 633 (1988); State v. Phillips , 300 N.C. 678, 682, 268 S.E.2d 452, 455 (1980). It remains the court's prerogative to expedite jury selection by requiring general questions to be posed to the whole panel.

A trial court's discretionary ruling may be reversed for an abuse of discretion only upon a showing that it was so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision. State v. Barts , 316 N.C. 666, 682, 343 S.E.2d 828, 839 (1986). Defendant does not argue that the court abused its discretion in conducting jury selection in this manner. Defendant did not object to the procedure, and nothing suggests that the court restricted defendant's ability to examine each prospective juror individually. Our review of the record reveals that defendant was allowed to question jurors individually at several points during jury selection even if the initial question to the group failed to produce a response. Further, the jurors responded individually to group questions if the questions required an individualized response based on their personal situations. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in controlling jury selection in this manner. See Allen, 322 N.C. at 190, 367 S.E.2d at 634. This assignment of error is overruled.

Defendant next assigns as error two comments by the court to the jury. He contends that through these comments, the trial court expressed its opinion about the case. The first comment occurred at the end of the second week of the presentation of evidence. Defendant had been on the stand for two and one-half days and had been the only witness to testify during that period. The court interrupted defense counsel's questioning of defendant as follows:

THE COURT: Excuse me, Mr. Davis. I think I've tested the jury's attention span for today.

DEFENSE COUNSEL: Yes, sir.

THE COURT: I'm going to call it off. You may step down, Mr. Campbell.

Defendant contends that the court's comment about testing the jury's attention span communicated to the jury that the court thought defendant's testimony, out of all the other evidence the jury had heard, was a test of the jury's and the court's attention spans and thus worthy of less attention than other testimony.

N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1222 provides that a court "may not express[,] during any stage of the trial, any opinion in the presence of the jury on any question of fact to be decided by the jury." N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1222 (1988). Defendant, however, must show that he was prejudiced by the court's remark in order to receive a new trial. State v. Howard , 320 N.C. 718, 723, 360 S.E.2d 790, 793 (1987). The comment by the court was not an expression of opinion. The court stated that it, not defendant, had tested the jury's attention span. The court was simply referring to its responsibility to manage the trial. We cannot conclude that this could properly be characterized as an expression of opinion.

Defendant also complains about the following comment by the court, which occurred after the State's final argument in the guilt phase:

All right. Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you've heard all the evidence. You have heard the arguments of counsel. Tomorrow at nine o'clock, or very shortly thereafter, I'll give you the law that pertains to this particular sad situation.

Defendant contends that this comment was inappropriate because it conveyed the court's evaluation of the case and placed pressure on the jury to render a verdict vindicating the "sad situation."

Again, we do not consider this an expression of opinion by the trial court. Defendant did not allege self-defense or justifiable homicide but claimed that someone else committed the murder. The court's characterization of the situation as "sad" would appear to be a universal sentiment regarding a murder. We conclude that both comments were innocuous and were not prohibited expressions of opinion by the trial court. N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-1222 therefore was not violated. This assignment of error is overruled.

In his next assignment of error, defendant argues that the prosecution's closing arguments during the guilt phase introduced irrelevant considerations into the fact-finding process; consequently, there is reason to fear that "substantial unreliability" and "bias in favor of death" resulted. Caldwell v. Mississippi , 472 U.S. 320, 330, 86 L. Ed. 2d 231, 240 (1985). Defendant did not object to any of the four arguments about which he now complains. Nonetheless, he contends that the trial court should have intervened ex mero motu .

First, defendant points to the prosecution's argument that defense counsel had "violated" State's witness Ada Teal during the cross-examination. Specifically, the prosecutor stated:

Ada Teal testified. You could see in every fiber of her being what she had been through. You could see it. She shook. She cried. At times her body was racked with sobs. She still feels the terror that she went through. James Campbell kidnapped her. He raped her. He terrorized her, and then in this courtroom one more time she was violated by Mr. Locklear, who said, "You invited him into your car. You consented. Your husband doesn't believe you." Oh, really? Why don't you bring him in here? Why don't you bring in Packard Teal if there's any basis to that? "You enjoyed it. You just said this because your husband was mad, and you're divorced now, aren't you?" It was outrageous, reprehensible. No wonder our women don't report rape. No wonder they say, "I can't go through with this. I can't do that." Did Ada Teal get justice in this courtroom? You folks will decide what she went through as you assess all the evidence in this case. But the purpose of her testimony and the purpose of Jean Killian's testimony was for you to decide what happened to Katherine Price. Did James Adolph Campbell do it, and did she consent?

Defendant contends the prosecutor was punishing him for having his counsel cross-examine a State's witness and that the prosecutor blamed defendant and his counsel for the reluctance of unknown rape victims to prosecute their attackers. Further, the jury was invited to convict defendant on the issue of whether Teal received justice during the trial. Defendant maintains that the argument was not supported by the evidence or the relevant law. We disagree.

Because defendant failed to object to this argument, he must show that it was so grossly improper that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to intervene ex mero motu . We have stated that "'the impropriety . . . must be gross indeed in order for this Court to hold that a trial judge abused his discretion in not recognizing and correcting ex mero motu an argument which defense counsel apparently did not believe was prejudicial when he heard it.'" State v. Price , 326 N.C. 56, 84, 388 S.E.2d 84, 100 (quoting State v. Artis, 325 N.C. 278, 323, 384 S.E.2d 470, 496 (1989), sentence vacated on other grounds , 494 U.S. 1023, 108 L. Ed. 2d 604 (1990), on remand , 329 N.C. 679, 406 S.E.2d 827 (1991)), sentence vacated on other grounds , 498 U.S. 802, 112 L. Ed. 2d 7 (1990), on remand , 331 N.C. 620, 418 S.E.2d 169 (1992), sentence vacated on other grounds , --- U.S. ---, 122 L. Ed. 2d 113, on remand , 334 N.C. 615, 433 S.E.2d 746 (1993), sentence vacated on other grounds , --- U.S. ---, 129 L. Ed. 2d 888, on remand , 337 N.C. 756, 448 S.E.2d 827 (1994), cert. denied , --- U.S. ---, 131 L. Ed. 2d 224, reh'g denied , --- U.S. ---, 131 L. Ed. 2d 879 (1995).

Defendant's prior crimes were introduced to show a pattern of behavior. The credibility of Teal therefore was important. Defendant claimed that he did not kidnap and rape Teal but that the encounter was consensual. It is not improper for the prosecutor to refer to the demeanor of a witness during the ordeal of testifying as evidence of her truthfulness. State v. Cummings, 323 N.C. 181, 192, 372 S.E.2d 541, 549 (1988) (prosecutor may argue to the jury about the demeanor of a witness, a matter which is before it), sentence vacated, 494 U.S. 1021, 108 L. Ed. 2d 602 (1990), on remand , 329 N.C. 249, 404 S.E.2d 849 (1991). Further, the prosecutor emphasized that the purpose of Teal's testimony was to aid the jury in determining what happened to Price, the victim here, not to bring justice to Teal. This argument thus did not require ex mero motu intervention.

In this same assignment of error, defendant argues that the second prosecutor conveyed his opinion to the jury that defendant's case warranted full prosecution. The prosecutor argued:

Briar [sic] Rabbit was going back to the briar patch, back to the place that he knew the probation violations, parole violations would get him. But you know what? No plea bargain. No deal, no prison time, the State is seeking a penalty of death. The plan went awry. . . . Prison doesn't scare him. He gives a statement because what is his experience with the court system? Plea bargain, charges -- charges dropped. And I might add that neither Ms. Symons or I were either one prosecuting in this county when those charges [against defendant] were dropped. . . . But that's not happening in this case.

We cannot say that the prosecutor's statement that he was not in charge of defendant's prior cases when the charges were dropped was so grossly improper as to require the court to intervene ex mero motu . Even assuming arguendo that the argument was improper, we conclude that it could not have been prejudicial given the evidence against defendant, including his own pretrial confession. It is unlikely that this one statement impacted the jury's verdict. Further, the overall thrust of this argument was to point out why defendant gave a confession that he later contradicted in his trial testimony. The prosecutor conveyed the idea that defendant was not accustomed to being tried capitally because of the system's reaction to his prior crimes; because he did not expect that course of action, he felt free to tell the truth in his pretrial statement.

Defendant also contends that the prosecutor improperly argued deterrence to the jury. Defendant failed to object to this argument. The prosecutor argued:

There's going to be time in the morning after [you are] instructed by the Court to do your duty. As I stated, it's been a long trial, and I'm sorry, frankly, that I have talked as long as I have. But it is important to the State of North Carolina, and it is important to the Kathy Prices of the future that you do your duty, and you find him guilty of everything he's charged with. Thank you.

We have held that specific deterrence arguments suggesting that the defendant should be convicted so that he cannot kill again are not improper. See State v. Abraham , 338 N.C. 315, 339, 451 S.E.2d 131, 143 (1994); State v. Zuniga , 320 N.C. 233, 268-69, 357 S.E.2d 898, 920-21, cert. denied , 484 U.S. 959, 98 L. Ed. 2d 384 (1987). Here, the prosecutor argued that the jury should convict defendant so he could not commit crimes in the future. There was nothing improper in this argument; thus, ex mero motu intervention was not required. This assignment of error is overruled.

SENTENCING PHASE

Defendant next assigns as error the court's response to the jury's written questions submitted during sentencing deliberations. The jury asked several questions, including, "Life sentence, what is minimum time? What is least time served? Could he be released early because of our over-crowded prisons? And what about good behavior?" In response to these questions, the court stated:

Now, . . . I'm just going to say this. This is just not of your concern. You're to take the instructions that I gave you in this case, and you're not to concern yourself with anything else. That's not -- that's just not for your concern. All right, take charge of the jury.

Defendant argues that the court should have included in the instruction the statement that "life means life."

Defendant concedes that he did not request the instruction but argues that its omission was plain error. We disagree. A defendant's eligibility for parole is not a proper matter for consideration by a jury. State v. Brown , 306 N.C. 151, 182, 293 S.E.2d 569, 589, cert. denied , 459 U.S. 1080, 74 L. Ed. 2d 642 (1982). As defendant suggests, we have approved the inclusion of the language "life means life" in response to such inquires; however, we have not required it. Compare State v. Lee , 335 N.C. 244, 266-67, 439 S.E.2d 547, 557-58, cert. denied , --- U.S. ---, 130 L. Ed. 2d 162, reh'g denied , --- U.S. ---, 130 L. Ed. 2d 532 (1994) with Brown , 306 N.C. at 181-82, 293 S.E.2d at 588-89. Here, the court told the jury what was required: that it was not to consider parole in its deliberations. The trial court does not have to instruct the jury in the precise words the defendant requests. Brown , 306 N.C. at 182, 293 S.E.2d at 589. We assume that the jury followed the court's instructions and did not consider the possibility of parole in its deliberations. Lee , 335 N.C. at 266-67, 439 S.E.2d at 558. The response did not constitute plain error. This assignment of error is overruled.

In another assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court mishandled the inquiries it made of the jury following a failed escape attempt by defendant out of the presence of the jury. Because of this alleged mishandling, defendant asserts that his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury was violated.

During a recess defendant and his attorneys met in an unused jury room located next to the one in which defendant's jury met. According to voir dire testimony, defendant and one of his attorneys were alone in the unused room. Juror Mary Johnston and a bailiff were in the room next door. Defendant broke a window pane and went onto the ledge outside the room in an attempt to escape. The bailiff heard the noise, looked out the window, and saw the broken glass. The bailiff instructed Johnston to remain inside. He then went to the room next door. A sheriff's deputy retrieved defendant from outside the window, while another held his weapon on defendant.

The court conducted an inquiry of Johnston outside the presence of the jury as follows:

THE COURT: Ms. Johnston, it has become necessary to bring you in because during the recess, a matter has occurred. And unbeknownst to this Court, you were in the jury room. And I just happen to have to know at this time what if anything that you know to make sure that you can still be a fair and impartial juror.

JOHNSTON: I don't know anything except that I saw glass through a window. And nothing was said to me about anything except that I was not to leave the room.

THE COURT: All right. Do you know of anything at this time that you've seen or heard that would prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror during this sentencing hearing?

JOHNSTON: No.

The court then sent Johnston back to the jury room. After some discussion with defense counsel and the prosecutors, the court brought Johnston back in and instructed her not to discuss its inquiry or to consider it during deliberations. She stated that she would comply. Defendant did not ask that she be removed.

After a recess following the voir dire of Johnston, defense counsel informed the court that jurors Morgan and Lingle might have observed the attempted escape. The court asked defendant if he knew whether the two jurors had seen him. Defendant replied, "I seen them at the moment. I can't say they honestly seen me a good bit. But I don't really know." The court then brought in Morgan and Lingle individually and conducted a voir dire . Morgan indicated that he had observed broken glass and that it would not impact his deliberations. Lingle stated that he had seen a repairman working on the window. The court then reunited the jury and asked if it had made any observations that could prevent a decision based solely on the evidence. The jury indicated that it could go by the evidence; the presentation of evidence then proceeded.

Defendant complains because the court never determined what Johnston understood had happened in the room next door, where she knew defendant was when the glass broke. He contends that her responses to the court's inquiries regarding her ability to be fair were not illuminating because it was not clear what she thought had happened. Further, defendant argues the court should have instructed her to keep what she had seen to herself. Thus, according to defendant, she could have told the other jurors what she had seen and what she thought had happened without discussing the court's inquiry of her.

Defendant also contends the court failed to make a thorough inquiry of Morgan and Lingle. It did not ask them what they thought had happened, nor did it determine whether the two jurors had already discussed the matter with the other jurors.

We have stated that "[w]hen there is a substantial reason to fear that the jury has become aware of improper and prejudicial matters, the trial court must question the jury as to whether such exposure has occurred and, if so, whether the exposure was prejudicial." Barts , 316 N.C. at 683, 343 S.E.2d at 839. The trial court made a proper, individual inquiry of the three jurors. From their voir dires it is apparent that all three were aware only of a broken window, a circumstance which does not readily suggest that defendant attempted to escape. Johnston, Morgan, and Lingle each told the court nothing had occurred that would impair their ability to be fair and impartial jurors. Further, the entire jury indicated that it could be fair and impartial. We conclude that the trial court correctly determined that the three jurors' exposure to the sound and sight of a broken window was not prejudicial and that the entire jury could be fair and impartial. This assignment of error is overruled.

In his next assignment of error, defendant contends the trial court erred by failing to intervene ex mero motu on five occasions during the State's closing arguments. He argues that the comments were grossly improper and that the trial court abused its discretion by not taking corrective action even absent objections by defendant. We disagree.

Defendant first points to a statement that he interprets as suggesting to the jury that it was obligated to return a sentence of death because the community expected it. The prosecutor argued:

Now, for the crime that he committed against Katherine Price, a crime so horrendous, and for his prior crimes, so reprehensible, justice can be done with only one verdict, one punishment, death. This crime and this man call out for that. And our society and our community call out for that. It is the only appropriate punishment in this case. How will you come to decide what is the appropriate punishment? You will follow the law.

Defendant cites our decision in State v. Scott , 314 N.C. 309, 333 S.E.2d 296 (1985).

Defendant's reliance on Scott is misplaced. There, the prosecutor argued: "[T]here's a lot of public sentiment at this point against drinking and driving, causing accidents on the highway." Scott, 314 N.C. at 311, 333 S.E.2d at 297. We held this argument improper because it went outside the record and focused on public sentiment against drinking and driving and the accidents caused thereby, suggesting to the jury that it should convict the defendant based on other accidents caused by drunk drivers. Id. at 312, 333 S.E.2d at 298.

Here, in contrast, the prosecutor merely stated that the law is in accord with the community's view of the appropriate punishment and that the jury should follow the law in reaching its recommendation. We have held such arguments to be permissible. See State v. Soyars, 332 N.C. 47, 59-61, 418 S.E.2d 480, 487-88 (1992) ("You come here and represent the conscious [sic] of the community."); State v. Artis , 325 N.C. 278, 329-30, 384 S.E.2d 470, 499 ("When you hear of such acts . . . you think, `Well, somebody ought to do something about that.' . . . You are the somebody. . . . You speak for Robeson County . . . ."); State v. Huff , 325 N.C. 1, 71, 381 S.E.2d 635, 676 (1989) ("Today, you speak for the people of North Carolina. You are the moral conscience of our community."), sentence vacated, 497 U.S. 1021, 111 L. Ed. 2d 777 (1990), on remand , 328 N.C. 532, 402 S.E.2d 577 (1991). We conclude there was nothing improper in this argument.

Next, defendant argues that the prosecutor's argument that defendant had enjoyed the killing was not based on evidence and was extremely inflammatory. In discussing the aggravating circumstance that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, the prosecutor argued:

Imagine the fear, the emotions of Katherine Price when you're considering whether this was designed to reflect a high degree of pain, maybe even for the enjoyment of it. The enjoyment of it. The James Campbell [sic] loves to have women in his power and to toy with them. You know why? After he's done, he calls them back. He calls them back.

Defendant cites other examples where the prosecutor referred to defendant's enjoyment of the murder. He contends that because evidence of defendant's remorse was presented, this argument was improper as not based on the evidence. We disagree.

Counsel for both sides may argue to the jury the facts in evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. State v. Huffstetler , 312 N.C. 92, 112, 322 S.E.2d 110, 123 (1984), cert. denied , 471 U.S. 1009, 85 L. Ed. 2d 169 (1985). There was evidence to support the prosecutor's argument, such as the evidence of defendant's contact with two of his kidnapping victims, Ada Teal and Linda Shadel, after the crimes. Tina Cline testified that the day after defendant raped her, he called to apologize and to ask if she was all right. The prosecutor was drawing a reasonable inference from this evidence when he argued that defendant enjoyed the power over his victims that he derived from the commission of a crime against them.

Further, there was evidence that there was no animosity between defendant and Price prior to the attack, that defendant spontaneously and without reason decided to kill Price, that he brutally strangled her and then stabbed her multiple times, and that the injuries were much greater than necessary to incapacitate her. Defendant's pretrial statement indicated that Price moaned and was rendered helpless after he initially failed to kill her. See State v. Laws , 325 N.C. 81, 106, 381 S.E.2d 609, 624 (1989) (argument that the defendant loved killing was permissible inference based on evidence of brutality of murder, lack of provocation by victim, and lack of animosity between the defendant and the victim), sentence vacated , 494 U.S. 1022, 108 L. Ed. 2d 603 (1990), on remand , 328 N.C. 550, 402 S.E.2d 573, cert. denied , 502 U.S. 876, 116 L. Ed. 2d 174, reh'g denied , 502 U.S. 1001, 116 L. Ed. 2d 640 (1991); Zuniga , 320 N.C. at 256, 357 S.E.2d at 913 (prosecutor's argument that the defendant enjoyed murdering the victim held permissible based on evidence that the defendant stabbed the victim in the neck after raping her). The prosecutor's argument was therefore based on the evidence and was not improper.

Defendant also points to an argument that, according to defendant, emphasized the suffering of the victims of defendant's prior misconduct. The prosecutor argued:

This is deserving of a tremendous amount of weight, this kind of recidivist history again and again and again. And they're not just labels and convictions. They represent women who were victimized at the time and are still victimized today.

The aggravating circumstance of prior convictions for crimes involving the use or threat of violence against a person was submitted to the jury. The prosecutor may argue that defendant's criminal history deserves great weight in support of that circumstance. See State v. Green, 336 N.C. 142, 186-87, 443 S.E.2d 14, 40 (finding no impropriety in similar jury argument directed to weight to be given to "course of conduct" aggravating circumstance), cert. denied , --- U.S.---, 130 L. Ed. 2d 547 (1994). This argument was proper.

Defendant also complains because, he argues, the prosecutor stated that defendant was not a human being. The prosecutor argued:

Famous man once said, all that walks in the eyes of a man is not necessarily a human. That applies here. James Campbell is a man who has the reaper of death tattooed on his forearm, who has terrorized women in North and South Carolina, put in fear of their lives. And he killed Katherine Price.

Later, the second prosecutor argued:

Ladies and gentlemen, as I've watched old movies, and as I'm sure some of you have, I can remember where the cowboy movies, the bad guy always wore the black hat. I can remember in the old monster movies where the monster had fangs or he had pointy ears or he changed in some physical way when he went from being a normal person to being the werewolf or whatever -- whatever transformation occurred.

We all know because we're adults that there is no physical transformation that people go through. The way we identify a monster is to look at what did he do. What has he done before and what's his reaction to it? And that's what we've tried to present to you in this trial. What he did and what he stands before you convicted of is first-degree murder.

Defendant argues that these statements were grossly improper because this Court has disapproved arguments that likened defendants to animals. See State v. Hamlet , 312 N.C. 162, 173, 321 S.E.2d 837, 845 (1984); State v. Smith , 279 N.C. 163, 165-66, 181 S.E.2d 458, 459-60 (1971).

We perceive no impropriety in these arguments requiring ex mero motu intervention. The prosecutors did not directly call defendant an animal; rather, they characterized defendant's depravity as a void in his character. They pointed out to the jury that defendant's normal appearance did not necessarily indicate a man of compassion and morality. The character of a defendant is an appropriate consideration during sentencing. See State v. Oliver , 309 N.C. 326, 360, 307 S.E.2d 304, 326 (1983) (emphasis in sentencing is on the circumstances of the crime and the character of the criminal).

Defendant also argues that the following comments by the prosecutor were designed to denigrate the credibility of defendant's attorneys as well as defendant:

The rules say at this stage of the punishment phase, that the defendant gets the last argument and gets as many arguments and for whatever length that they choose to make them. I fully anticipate that just as Mr. Campbell has been elbowing his lawyers through this entire trial, that after each of them concludes their remarks, he will be elbowing them again, and they will be coming back, and they will be coming back, and they will be coming back.

He interprets this argument as simultaneously punishing him for having consulted with his counsel during the trial and punishing his counsel in advance for making arguments that would attempt to convince the jury that a life sentence was the appropriate punishment.

We do not view this argument as implicating defendant's right to counsel. Immediately prior to this statement by the prosecutor, defendant's attorney had addressed the jury very briefly. The prosecutor told the jury not to get excited about the brevity of defendant's argument. He then made the complained-of statement and immediately stated:

I don't know how long it will last. But I can tell you this, when I conclude what I'm saying to you right now, this is going to be the last words you're going to hear from the State of North Carolina in the case of the State of North Carolina versus James Adolph Campbell. We're not going to make any third argument or any fourth argument, this is it. I don't know how long they will go on. But I ask you to give us your attention for a little bit longer.

Rather than denigrating defendant and his counsel, the prosecutor was preparing the jurors for the anticipated lengthy closing arguments. He asked them for their attention and patience. We cannot say the prosecutor's comment was so grossly improper as to require ex mero motu intervention. This assignment of error is overruled.

In his next assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it could not consider the same evidence as supportive of more than one aggravating circumstance. Defendant failed to request an instruction but contends that the court committed plain error by not giving one ex mero motu . Defendant focuses on the prosecutor's closing arguments which pointed to defendant's kidnapping and raping of Price as supportive of both the aggravating circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission of a rape and/or kidnapping and the circumstance that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The prosecutor also argued evidence of prior convictions for violent felonies in support of the circumstances that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and that it was committed to avoid a lawful arrest. Defendant posits that the probable duplicative use of the evidence allowed the jurors to give more weight to the circumstances than they otherwise would have, thereby influencing their sentencing recommendation.

Defendant further argues that the court's instructions compounded the problem in that they allowed the jury to use the same evidence to support more than one circumstance. The court charged:

All evidence relevant to your recommendation has been presented. There is no requirement to resubmit during the sentencing proceeding any evidence which was submitted during the guilt phase of the case. All the evidence which you hear in both phases of the case is competent for your consideration in recommending punishment. It is now your duty to decide from all the evidence presented in both phases what the facts are.

(Emphasis added.)

The trial court submitted four aggravating circumstances, and the jury found all four. Defendant concedes that "the aggravating circumstances in this case all could have been properly considered under this Court's precedents without double-counting of evidence." We therefore need only to determine whether the trial court should have instructed the jury so as to prevent the possible duplicative use of the evidence.

We stated in State v. Gay , 334 N.C. 467, 495, 434 S.E.2d 840, 856 (1993), that "the trial court should . . . instruct the jury in such a way as to ensure that jurors will not use the same evidence to find more than one aggravating circumstance." Defendant failed to request an instruction; therefore, our review is for plain error. Defendant must show that the error was so fundamental that it had a probable impact on the result reached by the jury. State v. Odom , 307 N.C. 655, 661, 300 S.E.2d 375, 378- 79 (1983).

We cannot say that this was plain error. This murder was particularly savage. Price was stabbed many times and, according to Dr. Clark, could have lived for a time after the wounds were inflicted. Further, there was separate evidence to support each aggravating circumstance. The court's instruction that defendant contends compounded the problem was likely interpreted by the jurors as permission to consider both guilt and sentencing phase evidence in their deliberations rather than as license to use the same evidence to support more than one circumstance. We think it unlikely that the trial court's failure to instruct ex mero motu on the duplicative use of evidence had a probable effect on the sentencing recommendation. This assignment of error is overruled.

In his next assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by failing to inform the jury that if defendant were sentenced to life and received consecutive life sentences, he would never be paroled given his reasonably expected life span. Defendant notes that the prosecutor argued to the jury about defendant's future dangerousness. He therefore contends that his case is like that of Simmons v. South Carolina , --- U.S. ---, 129 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1994). Defendant failed to request a parole instruction; however, he argues that the failure to so instruct was plain error. We disagree.

Unlike the defendant in Simmons , defendant here could not have been sentenced to life without parole. Under the statutes in effect when the murder was committed, had defendant received life he would have been eligible for parole after serving twenty years in prison. N.C.G.S. [Section][Section] 14-1.1(a)(1) (1993), 15A-1371(a1) (1988). An instruction that defendant would be ineligible for parole if he received life therefore would have been an incorrect statement of the applicable law. We have interpreted Simmons to apply only to cases wherein the alternative to a sentence of death is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. See, e.g., State v. Conaway , 339 N.C. 487, 520, 453 S.E.2d 824, 845, reconsideration denied, 339 N.C. 740, 457 S.E.2d 304 (1995). Further, we have held repeatedly that parole eligibility does not reveal anything about the defendant's character or record or any circumstance of the offense; therefore, it is irrelevant to the sentencing process. See, e.g., id. We adhere to our prior rulings on this issue. We conclude that the failure to instruct the jury on parole eligibility was not error, much less plain error. This assignment of error is overruled.

Defendant raises seven additional issues that he concedes this Court has decided against his position: (1) the trial court erred in denying defendant the right to examine each juror challenged by the State during death qualification prior to his or her excusal and by excusing jurors whom defendant was not permitted to question; (2) the trial court erred by denying defendant's motions to quash the murder and rape indictments; (3) the trial court erred by instructing the jury that all evidence in both phases of the trial was competent for the jurors' consideration; (4) the trial court erred by submitting to the jury the "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel" aggravating circumstance with instructions that failed adequately to limit the application of the circumstance; (5) the trial court erred in its instructions on the burden of proof applicable to mitigating circumstances through use of the terms "satisfaction" and "satisfy" as defining the burden of proof; (6) the trial court erred in its instructions on mitigating circumstances because it allowed the jury to reject a mitigating circumstance on the basis that it had no mitigating value; and (7) the trial court erred in its use of the term "may" in sentencing recommendation issues three and four because this gave the jury discretion in considering proven mitigating circumstances. We find no compelling reason to depart from our prior holdings on these issues. These assignments of error are overruled.

We note that defendant made 157 assignments of error and has brought forward thirty-three of these under seventeen "questions presented." We deem the remaining assignments abandoned. N.C. R. App. P. 28(a), (b)(5).

PROPORTIONALITY REVIEW

Having found no error in the guilt and sentencing phases, we must determine: (1) whether the record supports the jury's findings of the aggravating circumstances upon which the sentencing court based its sentence of death; (2) whether the jury imposed the sentence of death under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; and (3) whether the sentence of death is "excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant." N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A- 2000(d)(2) (Supp. 1994).

The jury found defendant guilty of first- degree murder under the felony murder rule and on the basis of malice, premeditation, and deliberation. The jury also convicted him of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of first-degree rape, burning of personal property, and first-degree kidnapping. At the sentencing proceeding, the trial court submitted the following aggravating circumstances: that defendant had been previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person, N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A- 2000(e)(3); that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, id. (e)(4); that the murder was committed while defendant was engaged in the commission of rape and/or kidnapping, id. (e)(5); and that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, id. (e)(9). The jury found all four aggravating circumstances and found that the felonies of which defendant previously had been convicted were assault with intent to kill, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, housebreaking, and grand larceny. We hold that the evidence fully supports the aggravating circumstances. Our review of the record reveals nothing suggesting that the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. We therefore begin our final statutory duty of proportionality review.

The trial court submitted two statutory mitigating circumstances: that the murder was committed while defendant was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance and that defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was impaired at the time of the offense. N.C.G.S. [Section] 15A-2000(f)(2), (6). One or more jurors found the former to exist, but none found the latter. The trial court also submitted eleven nonstatutory mitigating circumstances, of which one or more jurors found two to exist: that defendant was and is emotionally neglected and has chronic feelings of deprivation, inadequacy, and anger, and he is uncomfortable and frightened by these feelings; and that defendant has a history of substance abuse which began at a very early age as a consequence of a lack of supervision and a lack of family structure. After weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the jury recommended a sentence of death.

This crime is distinguished by the brutal attack on the victim, which consisted of attempted strangulation and multiple stab wounds to her face and neck; the rape of the victim, which occurred prior to her death; and the kidnapping of the victim. Defendant was found guilty of murder based on both the felony murder rule and on malice, premeditation, and deliberation. "The finding of premeditation and deliberation indicates a more cold- blooded and calculated crime." Artis , 325 N.C. at 341, 384 S.E.2d at 506. The jury found all submitted aggravating circumstances and found only three of thirteen mitigating circumstances submitted. It is also significant that the jury found that defendant is a recidivist whose prior convictions were for violent felonies.

We decline to engage in a detailed comparison of this case to the seven cases in which this Court has found the death penalty disproportionate. See State v. Benson , 323 N.C. 318, 372 S.E.2d 517 (1988); State v. Stokes , 319 N.C. 1, 352 S.E.2d 653 (1987); State v. Rogers , 316 N.C. 203, 341 S.E.2d 713 (1986), overruled on other grounds by State v. Vandiver , 321 N.C. 570, 364 S.E.2d 373 (1988); State v. Young , 312 N.C. 669, 325 S.E.2d 181 (1985); State v. Hill , 311 N.C. 465, 319 S.E.2d 163 (1984); State v. Bondurant , 309 N.C. 674, 309 S.E.2d 170 (1983); State v. Jackson , 309 N.C. 26, 305 S.E.2d 703 (1983). This case is sufficiently distinguishable from those cases based on the jury's finding here of four aggravating circumstances, including that of the murder being committed during the commission of a rape and kidnapping. We have never found a death sentence disproportionate where the victim was sexually assaulted. Lee , 335 N.C. at 294, 439 S.E.2d at 574.

Our review of the pool reveals no case in which the jury found the four aggravating circumstances found here. However, there are fourteen capitally tried cases wherein the jury found three of these: that the defendant had a prior conviction of a violent felony; that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in a homicide, rape, robbery, or kidnapping; and that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Of those fourteen cases, five defendants are to receive either a new trial or a new sentencing proceeding, which eliminates those cases from the pool. See State v. Bacon , 337 N.C. 66, 106-07, 446 S.E.2d 542, 563-64 (1994), cert. denied , --- U.S. ---, 130 L. Ed. 2d 1083 (1995). Of the remaining nine, five defendants received life sentences; the other four received death sentences. Based on these statistics, we cannot say that juries consistently have returned life sentences in cases similar to defendant's. Further, in four of those cases wherein the defendant received a life sentence, the defendant had not raped the victim, unlike here. As we have noted, juries tend to return death sentences in murder cases involving a sexual assault on the victim. Lee , 335 N.C. at 294, 439 S.E.2d at 574. In the fifth, State v. Powell , 299 N.C. 95, 261 S.E.2d 114 (1980), the defendant was not convicted of first-degree kidnapping, unlike here.

We are not limited to matching the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of this case with cases in the pool. We instead must examine "the individual defendant and the nature of the crime or crimes which he has committed," State v. Pinch , 306 N.C. 1, 36, 292 S.E.2d 203, 229, cert. denied , 459 U.S. 1056, 74 L. Ed. 2d 622 (1982), reh'g denied , 459 U.S. 1189, 74 L. Ed. 2d 1031 (1983), overruled in part on other grounds by State v. Benson , 323 N.C. 318, 372 S.E.2d 517 (1988) and by State v. Robinson , 336 N.C. 78, 443 S.E.2d 306 (1994), in conjunction with comparable cases. Several such comparable cases exist in which the death sentence was affirmed. Among them are: State v. Moseley, 338 N.C. 1, 449 S.E.2d 412 (1994), cert. denied , --- U.S. ---, 131 L. Ed. 2d 738 (1995); State v. Sexton , 336 N.C. 321, 444 S.E.2d 879, cert. denied , --- U.S. ---, 130 L. Ed. 2d 429 (1994); and State v. Rose , 335 N.C. 301, 439 S.E.2d 518, cert. denied , - - - U.S. - - - , 129 L. Ed. 2d 883 (1994).

In Moseley the defendant savagely beat the victim with a blunt-force object, cut her with a sharp object, sexually assaulted her with a blunt instrument, raped her, and manually and ligaturally strangled her. Moseley , 338 N.C. at 15, 449 S.E.2d at 421. The jury found defendant guilty of first- degree murder based on premeditation and deliberation, first- degree sexual assault, and first- degree rape. It found the following six aggravating circumstances: that the defendant had been previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person; that the defendant had been previously convicted of the felony of attempted second-degree sexual offense; that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a first-degree sexual offense; that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a first-degree rape; that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and that the murder was part of a course of conduct in which the defendant engaged in the commission of other crimes of violence against another person or persons. Id . at 58-59, 449 S.E.2d at 446-47. The jury found two of the eight submitted nonstatutory mitigating circumstances: that the defendant was considerate and loving to his mother, father, and sister; and that the defendant was cooperative with law enforcement officers in not resisting arrest and in voluntarily assisting in the search of his bedroom at his parents' house. Id. at 62, 449 S.E.2d at 447-49.

In Sexton the defendant was convicted of first-degree murder based on both the felony murder rule and premeditation and deliberation. The defendant raped the victim and then strangled her. The victim may not have died immediately. Her body was badly bruised. Sexton, 336 N.C. at 337-38, 444 S.E.2d at 888. The jury found three aggravating circumstances, all of which also were found in this case: that the murder was committed while defendant was engaged in the commission of a first- degree rape, first- degree sexual offense, first- degree kidnapping, and common- law robbery; that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest. The jury found eighteen of the twenty- seven nonstatutory mitigating circumstances submitted. Id. at 377-78, 444 S.E.2d at 911.

In Rose the victim died from both sharp and blunt-force trauma to the head and from manual strangulation. The defendant inflicted several incised wounds on the victim's body prior to her death. The defendant burned the body after death. Rose , 335 N.C. at 315-16, 439 S.E.2d at 525. The jury found two aggravating circumstances: that the defendant had been previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person and that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The jury found the nine nonstatutory mitigating circumstances but none of the statutory mitigating circumstances that were submitted. Id. at 349, 439 S.E.2d at 544.

As in Moseley , Sexton , and Rose , there was evidence here that Price could have lived for a period of time after the initial attack by defendant. Price, like the victims in those cases, was raped. Unlike the victims in Moseley and Rose , Price also was kidnapped by defendant. The jury here found the aggravating circumstances found in those cases, including that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and that defendant had prior convictions of violent felonies. We note that the aggravating circumstances that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and that the defendant had previously been convicted of a felony involving the use of violence are present in many death-affirmed cases. Moseley , 338 N.C. at 64, 449 S.E.2d at 449. Finally, defendant's jury found fewer mitigating circumstances than did those in Sexton and Rose.

Based on these cases, as well as our review of the pool, we conclude as a matter of law that the death sentence in this case was not excessive or disproportionate, considering both the crime and the defendant. We hold that defendant received a fair trial and sentencing proceeding, free of prejudicial error.

NO ERROR.

 
 

447 F.3d 270

James Adolph Campbell, Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
Marvin Polk, Warden, Central Prison, Raleigh, North Carolina,
Respondent-Appellee.

Docket number: 04-2

Federal Circuits, 4th Cir.

May 10, 2006

Before WILKINSON and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge WILKINSON wrote the opinion, in which Senior Judge HAMILTON joined. Judge MICHAEL wrote a separate opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.

OPINION

WILKINSON, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner James Campbell was convicted by a North Carolina jury of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, and the burning of personal property. He was sentenced to death for the murder conviction. The state courts rejected both his arguments on direct appeal and his subsequent request for collateral relief. Campbell now brings a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. 2254 (2000), challenging his convictions and sentence. We have reviewed his claims with care and find them to be without merit. We therefore affirm the district court's dismissal of his petition.

I.

On September 11, 1992, the body of Katherine Price was found in a field in Rowan County, North Carolina. Price had sustained twenty-two knife wounds to her neck. Five days later, North Carolina police officers arrested James Campbell for the murder. He confessed, and directed the police to various pieces of physical evidence, including the knife used to kill Price.

Campbell's confession to police was both extensive and specific. He admitted to the following: Campbell initially met Price on September 8, 1992. On this day, he was searching for a weapon to kill himself and his ex-girlfriend, Tina Cline, whom he had raped two days earlier. The next morning, Price saw Campbell walking on the street, and she offered him a ride. He accepted her invitation. While she was driving, he placed a knife to her throat and forced her to a secluded area. Campbell concluded that he would kill Price because he "couldn't leave the girl there and [he] couldn't take her with [him]." He asked her to have sex with him, and although she allegedly agreed, he explained that under the circumstances "you could call it rape."

After raping her twice, Campbell began choking Price in her car with such strength that one of his thumbs went numb. He then switched to strangling Price with a piece of her shirt. This, however, proved inadequate to kill Price, as her shirt ripped and she was still breathing. Campbell thus removed Price from the vehicle, placed her where her body was later discovered, and "took [his] knife and stabbed her in the side of her throat. [He] sat and watched the blood come out of her throat and she was still moaning and groaning. [He] stabbed her many more times because [he] wanted her to die." Price finally succumbed. Campbell then took Price's car and continued his search for a gun. In the evening, he visited Teresa Allman, a woman with whom he had carried on a relationship since July. They drove to where Campbell had left Price's car, and he set it ablaze. Later, in the presence of police, Campbell confessed that he killed Price because he had been unable to kill Cline.

On October 26, 1992, Campbell was indicted on several counts stemming from Price's murder. He was charged with first-degree murder, see N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-17 (1986 & Supp.1991), two counts of first-degree rape, see id. § 14-27.2(a)(2), first-degree kidnapping, see id. § 14-39, the burning of personal property, see id. § 14-66, and armed robbery, see id. § 14-87. A jury trial was held beginning in May 1993.

At trial, the state introduced substantial evidence of Campbell's guilt, in addition to his confession to police. A doctor testified that stab wounds to Price's neck caused her death, and that blood found on Price matched Campbell's blood and her own. Campbell's brother-in-law testified that Campbell told him both that he killed an innocent person, and that he needed to dispose of his knife and tennis shoes. Teresa Allman averred that she was with Campbell when he burned a car, and that, after he was arrested, he admitted to her that he had killed a girl. Campbell's former girlfriend, Tina Cline, asserted that three days before Campbell killed Price, he had forced Cline to drive to a wooded area and had raped her there. Cline further testified that she had not gone to the police out of fear of Campbell. Finally, three other women testified about prior crimes that Campbell had committed against them. He had kidnapped one of them, and raped the other two.

Campbell testified at trial that he did not murder Price. He claimed that he had previously confessed to killing her to protect Allman, who actually committed the murder. According to Campbell, on the day of the murder he drove with Price to an area where he often took Allman, and the two had consensual sex. Allman subsequently arrived on the scene, saw the two of them together, and killed Price in a jealous rage. Campbell further declared that he had neither raped nor kidnapped the three women who testified for the prosecution about Campbell's prior crimes.

On June 29, 1993, the jury convicted Campbell on all counts. A sentencing hearing was held from June 29 to July 8. At the hearing, six witnesses testified for Campbell. Campbell and his two sisters testified, inter alia, about his abusive childhood. A former employer discussed Campbell's good work habits, and Allman described his capacity to love. Finally, Dr. Robert Rollins opined extensively on Campbell's mental state. The prosecution, in addition to the evidence presented at the guilt phase, introduced the testimony of two more women who had been accosted by Campbell. Campbell had put scissors to the throat of one, and had taken the other to a field, tied her to a tree, and abandoned her.

The jury recommended that Campbell be sentenced to death. It found four aggravating circumstances: that Campbell was previously convicted of four felonies involving the use or threat of violence, see N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-2000(e)(3) (1988), that he murdered Price to avoid arrest, see id. § 15A-2000(e)(4), that the murder was committed while Campbell was engaged in rape and kidnapping, see id. § 15A-2000(e)(5), and that the murder "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel," id. § 15A-2000(e)(9).

At least one juror determined that a statutory mitigating circumstance was present, namely, that the murder was committed while Campbell "was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance." Id. § 15A-2000(f)(2). Also, at least one juror found two non-statutory mitigating circumstances: that Campbell was "emotionally neglected and ha[d] chronic feelings of deprivation, inadequacy and anger," and that Campbell had "a history of substance abuse which began at a very early age as a consequence of a lack of supervision and a lack of family structure." All the jurors concluded, however, that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating ones, and were sufficiently substantial to call for the death penalty.

The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation, and sentenced Campbell to death for first-degree murder. It also sentenced him to life imprisonment for each of the two counts of rape, thirty years for kidnapping, forty years for armed robbery, and ten years for the burning of personal property. The Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed Campbell's convictions and sentences on direct appeal. See State v. Campbell, 340 N.C. 612, 460 S.E.2d 144, 163 (1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1128 , 116 S.Ct. 946, 133 L.Ed.2d 871 (1996).

On December 18, 1996, Campbell filed a motion for appropriate relief in North Carolina Superior Court (the MAR court). An evidentiary hearing was held over six days in August 1997. On March 22, 1999, the MAR court issued a written order rejecting Campbell's motion, and the Supreme Court of North Carolina denied certiorari. See State v. Campbell, 351 N.C. 362, 543 S.E.2d 137 (2000).

On July 19, 2000, Campbell filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 (2000). A magistrate judge recommended that the district court reject all of Campbell's claims. The district court accepted this recommendation, and dismissed Campbell's petition. Campbell appealed, and we granted a certificate of appealability. See id. § 2253(c). He now makes six arguments, challenging aspects of both the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial. We will examine each of his claims in turn, but first set forth the appropriate standard of review.

II.

Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), we review state court decisions under "a highly deferential standard." Bell v. Cone, 543 U.S. 447 , 455, 125 S.Ct. 847, 160 L.Ed.2d 881 (2005) (per curiam). If a state court has adjudicated a petitioner's claim on the merits, we can only grant habeas relief in two circumstances.

First, we can grant the writ if the state adjudication "resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States." 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1). Clearly established federal law consists of the Supreme Court's holdings, not its dicta, at the time of the relevant state decision. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). A state decision is "contrary to" clearly established Supreme Court precedent if it "applies a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth" by the Supreme Court or if it "confronts a set of facts that are materially indistinguishable from a decision of [the Supreme] Court and nevertheless arrives at a result different from [its] precedent." Id. at 405-06, 120 S.Ct. 1495. Alternatively, a state court's adjudication involves an "unreasonable application" of federal law if it "identifies the correct governing legal principle from [the Supreme] Court's decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the [particular] case." Id. at 413, 120 S.Ct. 1495. That the state decision was incorrect or erroneous is insufficient to warrant relief; it must be objectively unreasonable. See Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 520-21, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003). "In assessing the reasonableness of the state court's application of federal law, the federal courts are to review the result that the state court reached, not whether its decision was well reasoned." Wilson v. Ozmint, 352 F.3d 847, 855 (4th Cir.2003) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted).

Second, we can authorize relief if the state adjudication "resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(2). "Thus we presume the [state] court's factual findings to be sound unless [petitioner] rebuts the `presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.'" Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231 , ___, 125 S.Ct. 2317, 2325, 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005) (quoting 28 U.S.C. 2254(e)(1)). Keeping in mind these deferential standards, we turn to Campbell's substantive claims.

III.

Campbell first argues that the state failed to provide him with evidence favorable to him, in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963).

A.

Campbell contends that the state did not furnish him with witness statements that would have supported his theory that Teresa Allman committed Price's murder. First, a police report shows that Allman gave inconsistent statements to law enforcement ? she did not initially tell them about her involvement in burning Price's car. It is Campbell's position that this report would have helped impeach Allman's testimony. Second, Price's grandmother indicated that Price might have wanted to leave her boyfriend, and her boyfriend gave a prior statement that was not identical to his trial testimony. Campbell believes that this evidence bolsters his theory that his sexual intercourse with Price was consensual. Third, two individuals told police that they sometimes noticed vehicles driving near the location of Price's murder, which, Campbell claims, shows that the area was well-traveled and that Allman may have gone there in search of him. Fourth, Campbell alleges the state did not submit to the defense a statement by Ada Teal, one of the women who testified that Campbell had previously raped her. Campbell has not pointed us to a copy of Teal's prior statement in the record. The MAR court rejected Campbell's Brady claim on the merits.

B.

"[T]he suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution." Brady, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. Both impeachment evidence and exculpatory evidence "fall[] within the Brady rule." United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 676, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). Evidence is material "if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different." Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 433-34, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). When reviewing for materiality, courts examine the cumulative impact of all the undisclosed evidence, and do not consider evidence item by item. Id. at 436, 115 S.Ct. 1555.

Even if we assume the evidence Campbell has now presented was actually suppressed by the state, it is not an unreasonable application of Brady to conclude that Campbell has failed to prove materiality. Considering the collective impact of the evidence, it could not "reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict." Kyles, 514 U.S. at 435, 115 S.Ct. 1555. To begin with, there is extensive evidence of Campbell's guilt. He gave a lengthy and highly detailed confession to the police prior to changing his story and implicating Allman. He also confessed to several other people, including his brother-in-law, his ex-girlfriend, and Allman. And he guided the police to physical evidence of the crime, including the knife used to kill Price. See Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 148-49.

In addition, the allegedly undisclosed evidence would have provided little, if any, independent support to Campbell's defense. The police report showing that Allman gave inconsistent statements had little impeachment value, because Allman admitted on the stand that she did not initially tell police the whole truth. Furthermore, the statements indicating Price might have wanted to break things off with her boyfriend or that cars sometimes traveled near the murder scene were at most tangentially relevant. The jury would have had to pile inference upon inference for this evidence to make Campbell's theory of the case ? that Allman committed the murder ? more credible. Finally, Campbell has not described the content of Teal's prior statement, so we can only speculate whether it had any impeachment value. Even if it did, three other women also described how Campbell had previously assaulted them.1

In sum, the evidence of Campbell's guilt was strong, and the evidence allegedly withheld would have aided the defense only minimally, if at all. It is, to say the least, not unreasonable to conclude that the allegedly undisclosed evidence falls short of raising a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different. See Kyles, 514 U.S. at 433-34, 115 S.Ct. 1555.

IV.

Campbell next contends that his convictions should be overturned because Richard Locklear, one of his trial lawyers, had a conflict of interest that violated his Sixth Amendment rights.

A.

Campbell's conflict claim concerns Locklear's relationship with James Dooley, his law partner at the time of Campbell's trial. At trial, Ada Teal testified that Campbell kidnapped and raped her in June 1982. Teal reported the incident to the police, and Campbell was criminally charged. Dooley was an assistant district attorney in 1982, and he signed the document dismissing the charges against Campbell. Campbell now believes that Locklear should have called Dooley as a witness at his trial. According to Campbell, Dooley would have testified that Teal was reluctant to move forward with the case, which could have bolstered the defense's theory that Teal had consensual sex with Campbell. Campbell alleges that Locklear refused to call Dooley because of their relationship as law partners.

This potential conflict was addressed at Campbell's trial. Locklear discussed the matter with Campbell, and they concluded that any conflict would not adversely affect Locklear's performance. As a cautionary matter, however, Locklear filed a motion to withdraw with the trial court, and a hearing was held. At the hearing, the state informed the court that it did not plan to call Dooley as a witness. Campbell then explained that he knew of the potential conflict, and had no problem keeping Locklear as his counsel. The court thus allowed Locklear to remain Campbell's attorney. Locklear later testified before the MAR court that he thought that the only party that would have been adversely affected by his relationship with Dooley was the state, because it might have been reluctant to call Dooley knowing he was Locklear's law partner.

The MAR court found that Campbell's conflict claim was procedurally defaulted. The court also concluded that it failed on the merits, because, inter alia, Campbell did not demonstrate that the alleged conflict "adversely affected the adequacy of his representation."

B.

Assuming Campbell did not procedurally default this claim, the MAR court's adjudication on the merits was not an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent. "[I]t is clearly established that the [Sixth Amendment] right to effective assistance includes the right to representation free from conflicts of interest." Rubin v. Gee, 292 F.3d 396, 401 (4th Cir.2002) (citing Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 348-50, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 64 L.Ed.2d 333 (1980)). To establish a violation of this right, "a defendant who raised no objection at trial must demonstrate that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer's performance." Sullivan, 446 U.S. at 348, 100 S.Ct. 1708. Unlike those ineffective assistance claims governed by Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), prejudice is presumed if a defendant meets the Sullivan test, id. at 692, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

Even if it is clearly established that Sullivan applies to the conflict presented here, see Mickens v. Taylor, 535 U.S. 162, 174-75, 122 S.Ct. 1237, 152 L.Ed.2d 291 (2002), Campbell has not shown that the conflict "adversely affected [Locklear's] performance." Sullivan, 446 U.S. at 348, 100 S.Ct. 1708. It is entirely reasonable to conclude that Locklear declined to call Dooley to testify because he felt that it was in Campbell's best interest to keep Dooley off the stand not because Dooley was his law partner. To be sure, Dooley had suggested that it was his recollection ? looking back over ten years ? that Teal was reluctant to move forward with the case against Campbell. But the document Dooley signed actually dismissing the charges indicates that they were dismissed because Campbell was serving a thirty-year sentence in South Carolina. It made no mention of Teal's alleged hesitancy to prosecute. Dooley further testified before the MAR court that he believed the case was dismissed mainly because of Campbell's lengthy prison time. He also asserted that he did not remember ever talking with Teal, that he may have only learned about the facts of her case from police officers, and that he had no written records documenting her reluctance. Calling Dooley to testify would thus inevitably have highlighted Campbell's extended term of incarceration, and drawn even more attention to damaging conduct for which Campbell was not being tried. Locklear could conclude that these negative factors far outweighed whatever aid Dooley's equivocal testimony might have offered.

We also note that Locklear proceeded with care in dealing with this potential conflict. He first discussed it with Campbell, and went so far as to bring it to the trial judge's attention so that a hearing could be held on the matter. Campbell was repeatedly warned of the potential conflict, and he expressly agreed to retain Locklear. Under these circumstances, it is hardly unreasonable to conclude that Locklear's relationship with Dooley did not adversely affect his performance. See Mickens, 535 U.S. at 168, 122 S.Ct. 1237; Sullivan, 446 U.S. at 348, 100 S.Ct. 1708.

V.

Campbell next asserts that his trial counsel, Locklear and Robert Davis, provided ineffective assistance at the guilt phase of his trial.

A.

At trial, Campbell's defense was that Teresa Allman murdered Price. Campbell now contends that his trial counsel failed to properly investigate and instruct him on the possibility of a "diminished capacity defense" ? one in which a defendant claims he does not have "the specific intent to kill required for a first-degree murder conviction on the basis of premeditation and deliberation." State v. Poindexter, 359 N.C. 287, 608 S.E.2d 761, 764 (2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). Campbell posits that this would have been a superior trial strategy.

To support this claim, Campbell had Dr. John Warren, a licensed psychologist, testify before the MAR court. Dr. Warren indicated that Campbell may not have had the specific intent necessary to commit first-degree murder. In addition, Robert Pelley, a family counselor, asserted that Campbell had an "impaired ability to understand social norms and the laws" when he murdered Price. Two defense lawyers also testified that a diminished capacity defense fit the facts of Campbell's case. However, Dr. Robert Rollins, Campbell's court-appointed psychiatrist who testified at sentencing, opined before the MAR court that Campbell did not have a diminished capacity at the time of the murder.

The MAR court rejected Campbell's claim. It found that Campbell directed his lawyers to pursue the theory that Allman murdered Price, and that they acted reasonably in following his instructions. It also determined that Davis and Locklear "conducted a reasonable investigation prior to trial and discussed their trial strategy with defendant." It thus held that they did not act deficiently in failing to advise Campbell about the possibility of a diminished capacity defense. Finally, the MAR court concluded that the lawyers' performance, even if deficient, did not establish prejudice.

B.

To prove ineffective assistance of counsel, a petitioner must satisfy the familiar requirements of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). The petitioner must initially prove that his counsel's performance was objectively unreasonable. Id. at 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In undertaking this inquiry, "[j]udicial scrutiny of counsel's performance must be highly deferential." Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

Because it may be tempting to find an unsuccessful trial strategy to be unreasonable, "a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action might be considered sound trial strategy."

Carter v. Lee, 283 F.3d 240, 249 (4th Cir. 2002) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052). The petitioner must also demonstrate that prejudice resulted from counsel's errors. To establish prejudice, he "must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. We do not believe that the MAR court unreasonably applied Strickland here.

1.

With regard to Strickland's first prong, the MAR court could reasonably conclude that trial counsel's strategic decision to argue that Campbell did not commit the murder ? instead of pursuing a diminished capacity defense ? was objectively reasonable. This is so, both because counsel rationally pursued a trial strategy that was the best option in their professional judgment, and because Campbell strongly asserted that he wanted to employ this strategy.

As the MAR court found, Davis began initial inquiries into mental health issues soon after taking Campbell's case. He conducted legal research on a diminished capacity defense, and investigated the possibility of retaining a psychologist. Davis continued researching mental health issues after meeting with Campbell a second time, and specifically considered the possibility of advanced neurological testing. Two months later, however, Campbell emphatically retracted his prior confessions, indicating that he had made them in order to protect Allman, the real murderer. At this point, his counsel understandably switched gears, and did not broach the possibility of a diminished capacity defense with Campbell. Counsel believed that Campbell's explanation for confessing was plausible, because Campbell enjoyed a close relationship with Allman. They also felt that the defense offered a reasonable chance of success.2

This new strategy further eliminated potential problems with a defense premised on Campbell's mental incapacity. Davis testified before the MAR court that he had previously considered using diminished capacity defenses in Rowan County, but that local juries had "not been quick to recognize" such a defense. Similarly, Locklear testified that raising a diminished capacity defense in front of Rowan County jurors "would be tantamount to sticking the needle in [Campbell's] arm," and that these jurors probably would find no "better reason to put him to death."

These concerns with a diminished capacity defense did not reflect the hesitancies of untested counsel, as Davis and Locklear were both experienced North Carolina lawyers. Davis had practiced law since 1950. He had been a prosecutor and a judge, and had substantial trial experience defending all types of felonies, including murder. Locklear had practiced since 1984, and had appreciable experience in criminal matters. We are loathe to second-guess the state courts and seasoned counsel on the strategies most likely to succeed in front of local juries. On such a matter, their expertise exceeds our own.

We further cannot fault counsel for heeding petitioner's protestations of his own innocence. To have pursued a different tack in the face of those assertions would have presented problems of its own. "The reasonableness of counsel's actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant's own statements or actions." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. The trial strategy selected by Davis and Locklear was, significantly, enthusiastically endorsed by Campbell himself. Campbell strongly asserted that he did not commit Price's murder, and indicated to his lawyers that he wanted to pursue this line of defense and testify at trial accordingly.3 At the beginning of the trial, he signed a stipulation that expressly authorized his attorneys to pursue this strategy. And during the trial, when his lawyers suggested that the jury be given the option of finding him guilty of a lesser included offense such as manslaughter, he adamantly rejected the idea and proffered a handwritten statement directing them to have him tried only on first-degree murder.

Attorneys must not be lightly judged deficient when they follow their client's clear instructions. Doing so would place defense counsel in a Catch-22 should the defendant be convicted. See Lovitt v. True, 403 F.3d 171, 181 (4th Cir.2005); Frye v. Lee, 235 F.3d 897, 906-07 (4th Cir.2000). In this case, for example, if trial counsel had refused to follow Campbell's instructions, employed a diminished capacity defense, and kept him off the stand, Campbell could argue they were ineffective for not heeding his directions and for pursuing a doomed course. But because counsel instead presented the desired defense and had him testify, they now must face the claim that this too was unreasonable. "We refuse to place defense lawyers in this position," Lovitt, 403 F.3d at 181, and thus "[t]he best course for a federal habeas court is to credit plausible strategic judgments in the trial of a state case," Bunch v. Thompson, 949 F.2d 1354, 1364 (4th Cir.1991).

2.

It was similarly not unreasonable for the MAR court to conclude that Campbell was in no way prejudiced by the failure of his attorneys to put on a diminished capacity defense. By utilizing a diminished capacity defense under North Carolina law, a defendant calls into question his "ability to form the specific intent to kill required for a first-degree murder conviction on the basis of premeditation and deliberation." Poindexter, 608 S.E.2d at 764.

The evidence of Campbell's premeditation and deliberation was strong. His own previous confessions ? which would have lain virtually uncontradicted before the jury if he utilized a diminished capacity defense ? plainly illustrate this fact. Moreover, Campbell's actions before the murder would have undercut any diminished capacity defense. Campbell explained that he first met Price while he was looking for a gun to kill Cline, his ex-girlfriend, and that he murdered Price because he could not kill Cline. After he kidnapped Price and forced her to the crime scene, Campbell "determined that he would have to kill her because `he couldn't leave the girl there and he couldn't take her with him.'" Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 149. And after he raped her the first time, Campbell "considered tying her up and leaving her, but [he] knew she would call the police." Thus, well before he killed Price, Campbell was both planning the murder of another individual and mulling over in his mind what to do with Price.

Campbell's conduct during and after the commission of the murder would have further demonstrated to the jury that he had the requisite intent. He confessed that he initially attempted to strangle Price in her car, but this proved ineffective. He thus carried her out of the car and laid her on the ground. He then cut her throat with his knife. But this too did not kill her, so he "stabbed her many more times because [he] wanted her to die." The callous and incremental way that Campbell carried out the murder demonstrated that it did not happen in a matter of seconds, but took some time to complete, affording him opportunities to continually reconsider his course of action. After the murder, he attempted to dispose of various pieces of physical evidence, divulging to his brother-in-law that he needed to discard his knife and tennis shoes. He also torched Price's car because he knew he "had to get rid of [it]." A diminished capacity defense would thus hardly have saved Campbell from his calculated decision-making.

Additionally, the evidence that Campbell presented to the MAR court of his diminished capacity was far from unequivocal. Although Dr. Warren opined Campbell did have a diminished capacity, Dr. Rollins, Campbell's court-appointed expert, expressly disagreed with that assessment. Since Campbell has "no constitutional right to insist on the appointment of any particular expert," Walton v. Angelone, 321 F.3d 442, 464 (4th Cir.2003), he could not have replaced Dr. Rollins at trial simply because he disagreed with his opinion. Indeed, Campbell's counsel had previously attempted to substitute Dr. Rollins with another expert, but the trial court refused to grant the request. In all events, ample evidence demonstrated Campbell's intent, and the MAR court reasonably held that the questionable trial strategy of a diminished capacity defense would not have led to a different outcome in his case.

VI.

Campbell next claims that his lawyers were ineffective at sentencing because they failed to adequately present mitigating evidence concerning his life history and mental health.

A.

Six witnesses testified for Campbell at his sentencing. Campbell's sister and half-sister, Sherry Harrison and Dawn Beaver, discussed Campbell's life history. They explained, inter alia, that their mother drank alcohol excessively, that their mother often fought with their various stepfathers, that Campbell began using drugs at an early age, and that he loved and cared for his sisters. Campbell also testified about his abusive and violence-plagued background. One of Campbell's former employers asserted that Campbell was a good employee, and Allman testified about Campbell's love for her. Finally, Dr. Rollins opined that Campbell suffered from two mental disorders ? adjustment disorder and mixed personality disorder ? which, along with extensive marijuana use, impaired his ability to adjust to appropriate standards of behavior.

At the evidentiary hearing before the MAR court, Campbell proffered additional mitigation evidence that he alleges should have been presented to the sentencing jury. His two sisters testified about his childhood in greater detail, and this time his mother testified as well. Dr. Warren observed that Campbell had four mental disorders ? the two that Dr. Rollins had indicated at sentencing plus attention deficit disorder and cannabis dependence ? that impaired his ability to form specific intent. Robert Pelley, a family counselor, likewise opined that Campbell might have been impaired at the time of the crime.

The MAR court concluded that defense counsel were not ineffective at sentencing. It found that counsel discussed with Campbell the importance of presenting to the jury his dysfunctional childhood, and endeavored to call as many family members as possible. It also determined that while it was unclear how much time his lawyers talked with Dr. Rollins, they were not deficient in preparing him to testify, as he clearly explained his opinions. Finally, it held that Campbell could not prove prejudice.

B.

Trial counsel have a duty to reasonably investigate and present mitigation evidence at sentencing. See Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 521, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 395-96, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000); Byram v. Ozmint, 339 F.3d 203, 209 (4th Cir.2003). At the same time, however, "Strickland does not require counsel to investigate every conceivable line of mitigating evidence no matter how unlikely the effort would be to assist the defendant." Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 533, 123 S.Ct. 2527. In determining prejudice from a failure to present mitigation evidence, "we reweigh the evidence in aggravation against the totality of available mitigating evidence." Id. at 534, 123 S.Ct. 2527; see also Lovitt, 403 F.3d at 181 (same). We will address each prong of Strickland in turn.

1.

The MAR court could reasonably conclude that Davis and Locklear adequately investigated and set forth evidence of Campbell's background and mental health. First, trial counsel did not act deficiently in presenting Campbell's life history. As the MAR court found, they discussed with Campbell the importance of presenting evidence of his problematic childhood. Accordingly, both of his sisters described his abusive upbringing to the jury, and Campbell also testified in detail about his past. Campbell criticizes his counsel for not sufficiently preparing witnesses to testify and for failing to elicit greater details, but the evidence he presented to the MAR court was largely redundant. And although Campbell's mother did not testify at sentencing, her testimony before the MAR court added only minimally to what had previously been aired by Campbell and his sisters. Trial counsel might also have reasonably refrained from calling Campbell's mother out of concern with her credibility once Campbell and his sisters had discussed their dysfunctional childhood.

Davis and Locklear, furthermore, could not provide the jury with additional evidence of Campbell's background in large part due to Campbell's own strong insistence that they not do so. Campbell was, for example, adamant that counsel not call his mother, even after they advised him of the need to have family members testify. And when Davis questioned one of his sisters at sentencing about an incident in which Campbell's step-father violently assaulted his mother, Campbell screamed at his sister to get off the stand. Campbell's lawyers were thus understandably hesitant to present more details of his childhood, and risk further outbursts. They acted reasonably when they followed their client's firm instructions in the trying situation in which they found themselves. See Frye, 235 F.3d at 905; see also Bunch, 949 F.2d at 1363 ("It is becoming all too commonplace to charge even diligent counsel in the midst of difficult circumstances with the adverse outcome in a capital case.").

Second, trial counsel did not act deficiently in presenting evidence on Campbell's mental health. They were able to obtain the services of Dr. Rollins, who testified about Campbell's mental disorders. Campbell criticizes his lawyers for not providing Dr. Rollins with enough information, and argues that with such additional information Dr. Rollins might have persuaded the jury that Campbell was impaired at the time of the crime. See N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-2000(f)(6) (mitigating circumstance that defendant's ability to appreciate criminality of his conduct was impaired). But Rollins did specifically assert at sentencing that Campbell suffered from mental disorders that impaired his ability to control his behavior. And although Dr. Rollins had a limited window to examine Campbell before he testified, he acknowledged at the hearing before the MAR court that he had sufficient contact with Campbell to give a reasoned professional judgment on Campbell's mental health. Dr. Rollins also indicated both at sentencing and at the evidentiary hearing that his opinion was based in part on information Campbell's attorneys provided him. There is thus insufficient evidence in the record for us to conclude that counsel improperly prepared or examined Dr. Rollins.

Campbell contends his counsel's performance is similar to the conduct of counsel in Wiggins and Williams. But the facts of those cases are far afield from what occurred here. In Williams, for example, counsel "failed to conduct an investigation that would have uncovered extensive records graphically describing [the petitioner's] nightmarish childhood, not because of any strategic calculation but because they incorrectly thought that state law barred access to such records." 529 U.S. at 395, 120 S.Ct. 1495. And in Wiggins, "counsel introduced no evidence of [the petitioner's] life history." 539 U.S. at 515, 123 S.Ct. 2527. In this case, Davis and Locklear knew of the importance of mitigating evidence and presented a significant amount of it, notwithstanding Campbell's reluctance to do so. Indeed, counsel's diligent efforts successfully persuaded members of the jury that three mitigating circumstances were present. The MAR court reasonably found the performance of Campbell's attorneys to pass muster under Strickland, especially considering the difficult circumstances in which counsel operated.

2.

Even if counsel's performance was objectively unreasonable, Campbell has failed to establish prejudice, because it is not reasonably probable that "the totality of available mitigating evidence" would have led the jury to spare Campbell's life. Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 534, 123 S.Ct. 2527. Most importantly, the jury found that grave aggravating circumstances attended Price's murder. Campbell had been convicted of four prior felonies involving the threat or use of violence. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-2000(e)(3). In fact, the jury heard testimony from six different women who described how Campbell had either raped or assaulted them in the years prior to his rape and murder of Price. Campbell also killed Price after he had both kidnapped her at knife point and raped her two times, see id. § 15A-2000(e)(5), and did so for the purpose of preventing his arrest, see id. § 15A-2000(e)(4). The jury had a sound basis to conclude that Campbell's crime "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel," id. § 15A-2000(e)(9).

In addition, the evidence Campbell argues should have been presented at sentencing was largely cumulative. See Moody v. Polk, 408 F.3d 141, 154 (4th Cir.2005) (petitioner failed to establish prejudice where, inter alia, mitigation evidence presented at state evidentiary hearing was mostly cumulative with that submitted at trial); McHone v. Polk, 392 F.3d 691, 709-10 (4th Cir.2004) (same); Byram, 339 F.3d at 211 (same). At the MAR proceeding, Campbell's sisters and mother testified about, inter alia, his violent childhood, their mother's drinking problems, and his marijuana abuse. Although they described some specific instances not detailed at sentencing ? for example, that Campbell's mother once threatened to cut his tongue out with a knife or that when they were young Campbell pulled his sister out of a lake ? these episodes would have added only marginally to the sympathetic portrait his counsel were attempting to portray.

Similarly, neither Dr. Warren's opinion nor Robert Pelley's assessment would have added much to what Dr. Rollins expressed at sentencing. Dr. Warren and Dr. Rollins did not differ to a significant extent on their diagnoses of Campbell's mental disorders. The main distinction was Dr. Warren's opinion that Campbell had attention deficit disorder, but this would not have added in any meaningful way to Campbell's mitigation evidence. And although Dr. Warren and Pelley indicated that Campbell was impaired at the time of the crime, Dr. Rollins did opine at sentencing that Campbell's mental disorders impaired his ability to adjust his behavior to appropriate standards. In conclusion, taking into account both the severe aggravating circumstances in this case and the limited additional evidence presented to the MAR court, we cannot conclude that the MAR court unreasonably applied Strickland in holding that Campbell did not establish prejudice.

VII.

Campbell next argues that the trial court failed to provide him with adequate psychiatric assistance, in violation of Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985).

A.

In February 2003, Campbell filed a motion requesting that the trial court appoint him a psychiatric expert. The court did not believe Campbell had made the requisite showing to have a psychiatrist appointed under Ake, but nonetheless had Dr. Rollins evaluate Campbell to determine his competency to stand trial. Dr. Rollins conducted a neutral evaluation, in which anything Campbell disclosed was not confidential, and found Campbell competent. In April, Campbell renewed his motion for an expert, and the trial court appointed Dr. Rollins to assist Campbell in any relevant matters pertaining to the guilt or penalty stages of the trial. Campbell was, however, reluctant to work with Dr. Rollins because of Dr. Rollins's prior service as a neutral examiner. Dr. Rollins suggested that a different expert be appointed, and Campbell filed another motion for expert assistance in May. The court denied the motion. It explained that Campbell never actually established that he needed an expert, and that Campbell did not have the right to the expert of his choice, see, e.g., Walton, 321 F.3d at 464. Campbell cooperated once he realized that Dr. Rollins was the only expert appointed to assist his defense.

Since Campbell's defense at trial was based on his theory that Allman committed the murder, Dr. Rollins only testified at sentencing. As discussed above, he gave an opinion on Campbell's mental state. On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of North Carolina held that Dr. Rollins adequately assisted Campbell, because his testimony was based on sufficient information and provided significant support for the three mitigating circumstances found by at least one member of the jury. See Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 150-51.

B.

"[W]hen a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the defendant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense." Ake, 470 U.S. at 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087. Campbell contends that the state court unreasonably applied Ake both because Dr. Rollins did not provide adequate expert assistance and because he was a "neutral" expert who assisted both parties. We disagree.

As an initial matter, it is far from clear that Campbell even made the showing required for the appointment of a psychiatric expert. See Page v. Lee, 337 F.3d 411, 415-16 (4th Cir.2003) (defendant must illustrate: "(1) he will be deprived of a fair trial without the expert assistance, or (2) there is a reasonable likelihood that it will materially assist him in the preparation of his case") (internal quotation marks omitted). At the initial hearing, Campbell appeared to offer "little more than undeveloped assertions that the requested assistance would be beneficial." Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 323-24 n. 1, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985); see also Ake, 470 U.S. at 82-83, 105 S.Ct. 1087 (defendant must make "threshold showing" for psychiatric expert). Indeed, the trial court expressly indicated throughout that Campbell never demonstrated a need for an expert, and only appointed Dr. Rollins out of an abundance of caution.

Even assuming Campbell made the necessary showing, his claim is still without merit. He first alleges that Dr. Rollins did not provide adequate assistance. But we have repeatedly held that a defendant has no right to the effective assistance of expert witnesses. See Fisher v. Angelone, 163 F.3d 835, 853 (4th Cir. 1998); Wilson v. Greene, 155 F.3d 396, 401 (4th Cir.1998); Pruett v. Thompson, 996 F.2d 1560, 1573 n. 12 (4th Cir.1993). And we have refused to read into Ake "`a malpractice standard for a court-appointed psychiatrist's performance.'" Joseph v. Angelone, 184 F.3d 320, 327 (4th Cir.1999) (quoting Wilson, 155 F.3d at 401). Such an extension "would immerse federal judges in an endless battle of the experts to determine whether a particular psychiatric examination was appropriate." Wilson, 155 F.3d at 401. Ake's primary concern is thus only with ensuring that a defendant has access to a psychiatric expert. See Joseph, 184 F.3d at 327. Since Dr. Rollins was a qualified expert to whom Campbell had ready access, it was reasonable to conclude that the dictates of Ake were met.

We also note that Dr. Rollins did in fact provide Campbell with competent assistance. Dr. Rollins had been board-certified in psychiatry since 1963. In forming his opinion on Campbell's mental health, he interviewed Campbell on four separate occasions, obtained information from Campbell's attorneys, reviewed a psychological evaluation of Campbell from 1989, interviewed Campbell's sister, examined reports of interviews with his mother and sisters, and read other investigative materials. With all this information, he unequivocally acknowledged that he was able "to form a reasoned professional judgment and opinion concerning [Campbell's] mental state." While Campbell criticizes Dr. Rollins for not conducting various psychological tests, Dr. Rollins explained that he did not think such testing was necessary, and that he could have arranged to have Campbell tested if he thought otherwise. Finally, though Ake is not concerned with "guaranteeing a particular substantive result," Wilson, 155 F.3d at 401, Dr. Rollins's opinion clearly bolstered Campbell's case. His testimony provided "the sole supporting evidence" for the statutory mitigating circumstance found by the jury, and supported the two non-statutory mitigating circumstances as well. Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 151.

Campbell finally contends that the trial court violated Ake because Dr. Rollins was a neutral expert whose reports were available to both parties.4 We cannot agree. Even if Ake somehow required the court to appoint a non-neutral expert, Dr. Rollins satisfied this requirement.5 The trial court appointed him "to assist the defendant in the evaluation, preparation and presentation of the defense in this case." That Dr. Rollins originally provided the court with a neutral opinion that Campbell was competent to stand trial did not disqualify him from later serving as the defense's expert. Compare Wilson, 155 F.3d at 400 (noting that defendant's court-appointed expert had reported that defendant was competent to stand trial). Campbell's Ake claim thus fails.

VIII.

Campbell lastly contends that his capital sentence should be overturned because the trial court did not instruct the jury, pursuant to Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994), that Campbell was ineligible for parole.

A.

During sentencing deliberations, the jury asked the court the following: "Life sentence, what is minimum time? What is least time served? Could [Campbell] be released early because of our over-crowded prisons? And what about good behavior?" The trial court responded without objection from Campbell: "This is just not of your concern. You're to take the instructions that I gave you in this case, and you're not to concern yourself with anything else. That's not ? that's just not for your concern." Campbell did not request an instruction that he was ineligible for parole, but believes the trial court should have given one in response to the jury's question.

On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of North Carolina rejected Campbell's contention that it was error under Simmons not to provide a parole ineligibility instruction. It held that such an instruction was not required, because Campbell would have been legally eligible for parole after twenty years on his first-degree murder conviction. See Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 159-60.

B.

Simmons held that "[w]here the State puts the defendant's future dangerousness in issue, and the only available alternative sentence to death is life imprisonment without possibility of parole, due process entitles the defendant to inform the capital sentencing jury ? by either argument or instruction ? that he is parole ineligible." 512 U.S. at 178, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (O'Connor, J., concurring) (emphasis added); see also Wilson, 155 F.3d at 408 (noting that Justice O'Connor's concurring opinion expressed the "essential holding" of Simmons). The state court's decision here was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Simmons. We have repeatedly declined to extend Simmons to cases where the defendant would be parole eligible if sentenced to life. See, e.g., McWee v. Weldon, 283 F.3d 179, 184 (4th Cir.2002); Bacon v. Lee, 225 F.3d 470, 486 (4th Cir.2000); Wilson, 155 F.3d at 408. On each of Campbell's life sentences, whether for murder or for rape, he would have been eligible for parole after twenty years. See also Campbell, 460 S.E.2d at 159 (explaining that "[u]nder the statutes in effect when the murder was committed," Campbell "could not have been sentenced to life without parole"). If, for example, the jury had recommended Campbell for life imprisonment for murder, he would have been eligible for parole on that conviction under North Carolina law. See N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-1371(a1) (1988 & Supp.1991). As such, he was not entitled to a Simmons instruction.

Campbell nonetheless contends that even if he was not parole ineligible as a matter of law, he was parole ineligible as a functional matter. Specifically, Campbell argues that had he received a life sentence for murder, he would not have been parole eligible for eighty years, taking into account the substantial consecutive sentences he would have likely received for his five other convictions. This would have been well past Campbell's reasonable life expectancy, because he was thirty-two years old at the time of trial. Campbell thus suggests that Simmons requires courts to engage in a practical, not a legal, approach for determining a defendant's parole ineligibility. Under such a practical approach, Campbell argues there is simply no way that he would even be alive at the time he became eligible for parole.

The problem for Campbell is that "Simmons has been narrowly construed, both by the Supreme Court and this Court." United States v. Stitt, 250 F.3d 878, 889 (4th Cir.2001). Indeed, the Supreme Court has already rejected the invitation to employ a "functional approach" for determining parole ineligibility. Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 169, 120 S.Ct. 2113, 147 L.Ed.2d 125 (2000) (plurality opinion). In Ramdass, a plurality of the Court explained that "Simmons applies only to instances where, as a legal matter, there is no possibility of parole if the jury decides the appropriate sentence is life in prison." Id. (emphasis added). Justice O'Connor's separate concurrence likewise denied the petitioner's claim by concluding that he was "eligible for parole under state law at the time of his sentencing."6 Id. at 181, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (emphasis added). We too have "decline[d] to adopt a `functional approach'" for assessing parole ineligibility. Stitt, 250 F.3d at 892. And we have expressly followed the language in the Ramdass plurality opinion that a Simmons instruction is only required when the defendant would not be eligible for parole as a matter of law. See Bacon, 225 F.3d at 486.7

This is for good reason. Campbell's proposed extension of Simmons ? requiring courts to determine whether a defendant would be effectively ineligible for parole ? is "neither `necessary [n]or workable.'" Stitt, 250 F.3d at 892 n. 14 (quoting Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 169, 120 S.Ct. 2113). Campbell's approach has no logical endpoint, and would eviscerate Simmons's clear rule. It would cast trial courts into a sea of uncertainty as to whether a Simmons instruction is required in a particular case. And it would force courts to ponder countless considerations ? whether, for example, the defendant's other convictions would likely result in parole at the earliest moment of eligibility, whether the defendant regularly smoked cigarettes, or whether his family had a history of heart disease. See Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 169, 120 S.Ct. 2113 ("If the inquiry is to include whether a defendant will, at some point, be released from prison, even the age or health of a prisoner facing a long period of incarceration would seem relevant. The possibilities are many, the certainties few."). And extending Simmons to situations where a defendant is not parole ineligible as a matter of law holds forth only the prospect of additional uncertainty and complexity in capital sentencing proceedings. Delving into parole possibilities and reasonable life expectancies should remain the province of parole boards and actuaries, not judges.

Finally, even if we agreed with Campbell's functional approach to calculating parole ineligibility, his claim would still run aground. For one, this approach is surely not clearly established by Simmons, see 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1); see also Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 169, 120 S.Ct. 2113, and would be a new rule inapplicable on collateral review, see Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 310, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989). For another, relief is foreclosed by Campbell's failure to request a parole ineligibility instruction at trial, because Simmons is not contravened when "the fact that a jury was not informed of the defendant's parole ineligibility ... was due to the defendant's own inaction." Townes v. Murray, 68 F.3d 840, 850 (4th Cir.1995). This is the case even "when the jury requests such information" from the trial court, as occurred here. Id. Campbell makes much of the fact that the prosecution argued about his future dangerousness. But this alone does not require a court to give a Simmons instruction, as these types of arguments are often the premise on which a capital sentence is sought. See, e.g., Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 161, 120 S.Ct. 2113. The state court thus did not unreasonably apply Simmons in refusing to require trial courts to give a parole ineligibility instruction when a defendant would be eligible for parole as a matter of law. To breach this line would run afoul of Supreme Court and circuit precedent, and would violate the constraints that Congress in AEDPA placed upon federal habeas review.

IX.

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court dismissing Campbell's federal habeas petition is

AFFIRMED.

*****

MICHAEL, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment:

I concur in the judgment. I also concur in the majority's analysis of James Campbell's claims, with the exception of part VII, which concerns the applicability of Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), and part VIII, which concerns the applicability of Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994). I write separately because I respectfully disagree with the majority on two matters that do not bear on the judgment. First, Ake is not satisfied by the appointment of a neutral psychiatrist. Second, a Simmons instruction could be required in the instance when a capital defendant is technically eligible for parole but state law mandates his imprisonment beyond the time he could possibly be alive.

I.

Campbell argues that the state court unreasonably applied Ake, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53, because Dr. Bob Rollins, the psychiatrist, (1) did not provide adequate expert assistance and (2) was a neutral expert who assisted both parties. I agree with the majority's conclusion on the first point: Campbell cannot show that Dr. Rollins provided inadequate assistance. I disagree with the majority's analysis on the second point to the extent that it suggests Ake might not require a court to appoint a non-neutral expert. See ante at 286 ("Even if Ake somehow required the court to appoint a non-neutral expert. . . .").

When a defendant demonstrates that his sanity is likely to be a significant factor at trial, the state must ensure the defendant access to a "competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense." Ake, 470 U.S. at 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087. Like appointed counsel, an expert appointed under Ake is to aid the defendant and function as a "basic tool[ ]" in his defense. Id. at 77, 105 S.Ct. 1087. It is thus anticipated that an Ake expert will help the defense determine whether insanity is a viable defense and prepare the cross-examination of the state's psychiatric witnesses. Id. at 82, 105 S.Ct. 1087. This assistance is required because it is "fundamentally unfair" for a state to proceed against an indigent defendant without ensuring access to "the raw materials integral to the building of an effective defense." Id. at 77, 105 S.Ct. 1087. As numerous other courts have determined, access to these "raw materials" requires more than permission to subpoena a neutral expert and question him on the stand. See Powell v. Collins, 332 F.3d 376, 391 (6th Cir.2003) (listing cases). The court-appointed psychiatrist must work on behalf of the defense.

Even though I believe that Ake requires more than the appointment of a neutral expert, I agree that Ake was satisfied in Campbell's case. The trial court appointed Dr. Rollins "to assist the defendant in the evaluation, preparation and presentation of the defense in this case." J.A. 54. As noted by the district court, "[o]nce [Dr. Rollins] was appointed by the court to act as the defense['s psychiatric] expert, Rollins clearly understood his duty to examine Campbell on behalf of the defense and no other party." J.A. 4810 (emphasis added). Campbell's Ake claim therefore fails.

II.

As our court has previously confirmed, the parameters of Simmons, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133, are governed by Justice O'Connor's "decisive" concurring opinion in Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 120 S.Ct. 2113, 147 L.Ed.2d 125 (2000). See United States v. Stitt, 250 F.3d 878, 890 n. 11 (4th Cir.2001) (quoting Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 193, 97 S.Ct. 990, 51 L.Ed.2d 260 (1977) ("When a fragmented Court decides a case and no single rationale explaining the result enjoys the assent of five Justices, the holding of the Court may be viewed as that position taken by those Members who concurred in the judgments on the narrowest grounds . . . .") (internal quotation marks omitted)). In Ramdass Justice O'Connor held that the petitioner was not entitled to a Simmons instruction because he was not "[in]eligible for parole under state law at the time of his sentencing." Id. at 181, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Recognizing that it can be difficult to determine what constitutes parole ineligibility, Justice O'Connor articulated a practical standard:

Where all that stands between a defendant and parole ineligibility under state law is a purely ministerial act [specifically, an act that is inevitable and foreordained under state law], Simmons entitles the defendant to inform the jury of that ineligibility ... even if he is not technically "parole ineligible" at the moment of sentencing.

Id. at 180, 114 S.Ct. 2187. Justice O'Connor went on to explain that Simmons "does not require courts to estimate the likelihood of future contingencies concerning the defendant's parole ineligibility." Id. at 181, 114 S.Ct. 2187.

At first glance the Ramdass plurality's holding looks similar to Justice O'Connor's: it held that Simmons "applies only to instances where, as a legal matter, there is no possibility of parole if the jury decides the appropriate sentence is life in prison." Id. at 169, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (plurality opinion). The remainder of the plurality's analysis, however, calls for a narrower application of Simmons than does the rule and analysis set forth in Justice O'Connor's concurrence. For instance, as the majority notes, the Ramdass plurality rejected the suggestion that a "functional approach" to Simmons was appropriate. Id. Likewise, the Ramdass plurality suggested that Simmons cannot apply in a case where the court must inquire "whether a defendant will, at some point, be released from prison." Id. Justice O'Connor's concurrence, however, does not go as far. Unlike the plurality opinion, it specifically leaves open the possibility that a defendant could be entitled to a Simmons instruction even if he is "not technically `parole ineligible' at the moment of sentencing." Id. at 180, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (O'Connor, J., concurring).

Although Justice O'Connor's concurrence is controlling, the majority rests its analysis largely on the holding and reasoning of the Ramdass plurality. See ante at 287-288. Because Justice O'Connor's position represents the holding in Ramdass, see Marks, 430 U.S. at 193, 97 S.Ct. 990, her concurring opinion points us to the relevant question in this case: whether Campbell was ineligible for parole under state law at the time of his sentencing. See id. at 181, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (O'Connor, J., concurring).

Campbell argues that he was entitled to a Simmons instruction because, for all practical purposes, the only alternative to a death sentence was life without parole. According to Campbell,

If [he] had received a life sentence for the murder along with the two mandatory life sentences for the rapes, he would not have become eligible for parole until after he served an absolute minimum of sixty years [twenty years for each crime.] At that point, he would have been ninety-two years old. Only then could he begin serving the eighty years for the robbery, kidnapping, and burning offenses.

Appellant's Br. at 18. The problem with Campbell's argument is that he has not cited any provision in North Carolina law that conclusively establishes his parole ineligibility. For instance, although we are told that North Carolina judges follow the practice of ordering consecutive sentences in cases like Campbell's, id. at 19, concurrent sentences were apparently authorized under state law at the time of Campbell's sentencing. Therefore, it was not foreordained or inevitable (incapable of being prevented) that Campbell would die before becoming eligible for parole, if he was not sentenced to death. For this reason, I agree that he was not entitled to a Simmons instruction.

This is not to say, however, that a Simmons instruction is required only in instances where the only available alternative sentence to death is a formal sentence of life imprisonment that carries no possibility of parole as a matter of law. In other words, there might be instances when a defendant's age and length of sentence will determine that he is entitled to a Simmons instruction. As I have said previously, Simmons might compel a sentencing court to allow a capital defendant to inform the jury of the true effect of an alternate life sentence. See Wilson v. Greene, 155 F.3d 396, 417 (4th Cir.1998) (Michael, J., concurring). Suppose that Campbell had been convicted of murder and four (instead of two) other crimes carrying mandatory life sentences. If consecutive sentences for the five crimes were mandatory, Campbell (who was thirty-two at sentencing) could not have been paroled until he reached 132 years of age. Under these circumstances, it would be fair to conclude that he is "[in]eligible for parole under state law at the time of his sentencing." Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 181, 120 S.Ct. 2113 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Such a conclusion requires no estimation of "the likelihood of future contingencies" because humans simply do not live that long. As Justice O'Connor said in Ramdass, "Where all that stands between a defendant and parole ineligibility under state law is a purely ministerial act [that is, one that is inevitable and foreordained under state law]," he is entitled to a Simmons instruction, "even if he is not technically `parole ineligible' at the moment of sentencing." 530 U.S. at 180, 120 S.Ct. 2113. That a defendant will die before he reaches 132 years of age is, by today's standards, "inevitable and foreordained."

Justice O'Connor's use of the term "ministerial act" in her Ramdass concurrence is broad enough to cover my hypothetical. Her use of the words "inevitable" and "foreordained" to clarify the meaning of "purely ministerial act" shows that her rule contemplates a range of inevitable occurrences, beyond those commonly thought of as ministerial. Justice O'Connor apparently used the word "ministerial" because it was used by the petitioner to characterize the specific contingency at issue in Ramdass, the entry of a judgment against him as a result of a jury verdict finding him guilty of a crime. Id. at 174, 120 S.Ct. 2113 (plurality opinion) (citing petitioner's brief). "Ministerial" is defined broadly as "[o]f or relating to an act that involves obedience to instructions or laws instead of discretion, judgment, or skill." Black's Law Dictionary 1017 (8th ed.2004). Under this definition a judge's imposition of mandatory consecutive sentences and a custodian's automatic, seriatim execution of those sentences are ministerial acts, especially insofar as they involve no exercise of discretion and are foreordained under state law.

I agree that determining whether a defendant would be effectively parole ineligible could sometimes require extra effort. The majority's contention that this prospect would "cast trial courts into a sea of uncertainty," ante at 288-289, exaggerates the problem, however. A case such as the hypothetical I describe above casts no court or party into a sea of uncertainty because there is no genuine question whether a defendant could live to 132. Furthermore, it is critical to keep in mind that the Supreme Court articulated the Simmons rule not because it is a rule that is easily administered, but because due process requires it. See Simmons, 512 U.S. at 175, 114 S.Ct. 2187 (O'Connor, J., concurring) (explaining that due process requires that a defendant not be sentenced to death based on information that he had no opportunity to explain or deny). It is not unreasonable to expect a court to confront and resolve a difficult factual issue when doing so is necessary to protect a constitutional right. Furthermore, Justice O'Connor has given courts a workable standard to apply in determining when a defendant is parole ineligible under state law: when all that stands between a defendant and parole ineligibility is a ministerial act that is inevitable and foreordained under state law, the defendant is entitled to a Simmons instruction even if he is not technically parole ineligible at the moment of sentencing. This is the standard that controls today.

 

 

 
 
 
 
home last updates contact