Robert Dale Conklin | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Robert Dale CONKLIN

Classification: Murderer

Characteristics: Dismemberment

Number of victims: 1

Date of murder: March 28,

1984

Date of arrest: April 8,

1984

Date of birth: February 16,

1961

Victim profile: George Grant Crooks, 28 (his gay lover)

Method of murder: Stabbing with

a screwdriver

Location: Fulton County, Georgia, USA

Status: Executed by lethal injection in Georgia on July 12,

2005

Summary:

On March 28, 1984 a maintenance man employed at Conklin’s apartment complex was collecting aluminum cans from the trash dumpster when he discovered dissected human body parts, knives, bloody bed clothes, screwdriver, rope, credit cards, a wallet and miscellaneous papers belonging to George Crooks, all encased in black plastic garbage bags.

The body parts were identified as those of attorney George Crooks, who was acquainted with Conklin and had begun a physical relationship with him.

When Conklin's apartment was searched, police found the bed clothing was missing and the mattress appeared to be blood-soaked. The jammed kitchen garbage disposal contained what appeared to be internal organs.

When questioned, Conklin stated that he and Crooks were wrestling on the bed when he grabbed a screwdriver and stuck him, then pushed the screwdriver into his ear and wriggled the weapon around.

Conklin admitted to dissecting the body and disposing of incriminating evidence in the dumpster. A book describing the dissection of a body was found on the bedroom floor.

At the time of the murder, Conklin was on parole for Armed Robbery and Burglary.

Citations:

Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532 (1985) (Direct Appeal).
Conklin v. Georgia, 474 U.S. 1038 (1985) (Cert. denied).
Conklin v. Head, 366 F.3d 1191 (11th Cir. 2004) (Habeas).

Final Meal:

Filet mignon wrapped with bacon; de-veined shrimp sautéed in garlic butter with lemon; baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives and real bacon bits; corn on the cob; asparagus with hollandaise sauce; French bread with butter; goat cheese; cantaloupe; apple pie; vanilla bean ice cream and iced tea.

Final Words:

Amen.

ClarkProsecutor.org

Georgia Department of Corrections

Robert Conklin

GDC ID: 0000418164
DOB: 02/16/1961
RACE: WHITE
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5' 07"
WEIGHT: 166
EYE COLOR: Brown
HAIR COLOR: Brown
COUNTY: Fulton County
Case #: 170001
Date Crime Committed: 03/28/84

For Immediate Release: Conklin Execution Media Advisory - Inmate requests last meal

Atlanta – Condemned murderer Robert Dale Conklin is scheduled for execution by lethal injection at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. Conklin was sentenced to death for the March 1984 murder of George Grant Crooks in Fulton County.

Media witnesses for the execution are Harry Weber, Associated Press; Carlos Campos, Atlanta Journal Constitution; Steve Pollak Futon County Daily Report; and James Powers from WCNN AM Radio in Atlanta.

Conklin has requested as his last meal filet mignon wrapped with bacon; de-veined shrimp sautéed in garlic butter with lemon; baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives and real bacon bits; corn on the cob; asparagus with hollandaise sauce; French bread with butter; goat cheese; cantaloupe; apple pie; vanilla bean ice cream and iced tea.

There have been 38 men executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973. If executed, Conklin will be the 16th inmate put to death by lethal injection. There are presently 110 men and one female on death row in Georgia.

The Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison is located 45 minutes south of Atlanta off Interstate 75. From Atlanta, take exit 201 (Ga. Hwy. 36), turn left over the bridge and go approximately ¼ mile. The entrance to the prison is on the left. Media covering the execution will be allowed into the prison’s media staging area beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

Georgia Attorney General

Attorney General Baker Announces Execution Date for Robert Dale Conklin

June 27, 2005

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker offers the following information in the case against Robert Dale Conklin, who is currently scheduled to be executed at 7:00 p.m. on July 12, 2005.

Scheduled Execution

On June 24, 2005, the Superior Court of Fulton County filed an order, setting the seven-day window in which the execution of Robert Dale Conklin may occur to begin at noon, July 12, 2005, and ending seven days later at noon on July 19, 2005. The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections has set the specific date and time for the execution as 7:00 p.m., July 12, 2005, pursuant to the discretion given the Commissioner under state law. Conklin has concluded his direct appeal and his state and federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Conklin’s Crimes

On March 26, 1984, attorney George Crooks left his office at approximately 3:00 p.m. because he was not feeling well. (T. 530; 542-543). After getting a prescription filled, Mr. Crooks was at home in Smyrna, Georgia during the early evening hours. (T. 531-532). Twenty-eight year old Mr. Crooks knew Conklin as they had met at an I-20 highway rest stop. (T. 530, 880-881, 908). The men had established a physical relationship over a period of time. (T. 610, 881-882, 908). Mr. Crooks went to Conklin’s Lake Forest Apartment in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday night, March 26, 1984. (T. 610, 880). Mr. Crooks took his codeine medication and both men smoked marijuana. (T. 610, 885). Mr. Crooks remained at Conklin’s apartment overnight. (T. 886).

George Crooks’ parents and co-workers were unable to contact him on Tuesday, March 27, 1984. (T. 532, 535, 543-544). Mr. Crooks’ father went to his son’s empty apartment and saw his son’s open briefcase lying beside the telephone answering machine. (T. 534). Mr. Crook’s automobile was not parked at his apartment and a missing person’s report was filed. (T. 533; 535).

A maintenance man employed at Conklin’s Lake Forest apartment complex was collecting aluminum cans from the trash dumpster on Wednesday, March 28, 1984, when he discovered dissected human body parts encased in black plastic garbage bags. (T. 549-550; 551-552). The authorities were notified. (T. 552). Fulton County Police Department investigators arrived at the apartment complex dumpster site shortly after 9:00 a.m. and removed the contents of the large metal trash container. (T. 534-535, 562, 568, 570).

Various body parts, knives, bloody bed clothes, screwdrivers, rope, credit cards, a wallet and miscellaneous papers belonging to George Crooks were recovered from the dumpster. (T. 555-557, 569-570, 581-582). The reverse side of the attorney’s business card contained Conklin’s name and telephone number. (T. 582). A total of ten plastic garbage bags were removed from the garbage dumpster, nine of which contained body parts. (T. 570, 579-580). Mr. Crooks’ father positively identified the body as that of his son, George Crooks. (T. 536-538).

The authorities learned that Conklin resided at the Copeland Road apartment complex in an apartment located approximately 260 feet from the dumpster site. (T. 582-583, 619-620). Conklin’s apartment was searched on April 7, 1984. (T. 557-559, 666). The bed clothing was missing from Conklin’s bed and the mattress appeared to be blood-soaked. (T. 585). The jammed kitchen garbage disposal contained what appeared to be internal organs. (T. 585, 683).

Conklin was arrested on April 8, 1984 and advised of the Miranda warnings. (T. 586, 653, 662-663). At the police department, after again being advised of his rights, Conklin signed the waiver of rights form, made and signed a statement. (T. 590, 609, 610-616). The Conklin claimed that he and George Crooks were wrestling and struggling on Conklin’s bed. (T. 610-611).

However, a co-worker of Conklin’ s testified that he did not exhibit body bruises during the early morning hours of March 28, 1984. (T. 632-634). Another co-worker also testified at trial that although Conklin appeared ill at ease on Tuesday evening, March 27, 1984, Conklin did not evidence scars or body bruises. (T. 787-788). Trial testimony also revealed that Mr. Crooks’ “coordination wasn’t what it should be.” (T. 886).

In Conklin’s statement, he acknowledged that he grabbed a screwdriver and stuck the victim. (T. 611). When Mr. Crooks rolled from the bed, Conklin pushed the screwdriver into the victim’s ear and wriggled the weapon around. (T. 611). Conklin attempted to dispose of the victim by cutting up the body. (T. 612-615, 915-916).

Conklin drove to Mr. Crooks’ apartment and removed potentially incriminatory material including an answering machine tape and cards. (T. 612, 911-912). Conklin purchased cleaning supplies, knives, gloves, garbage bags, garbage cans and a cart with Mr. Crooks’ money. (T. 612-614, 916, 938). Conklin placed the evidence in the trash dumpster and fled to Florida, subsequently returning to Atlanta, Georgia. (T. 615-616, 913).

Fulton County Associate Medical Examiner Saleh Zaki examined the body pieces of George Crooks. (T. 580-581, 748, 751-754). The victim’s body had ten knife stab wounds to the right upper side of the neck which were inflicted prior to the victim’s death. (T. 754-755, 759, 776). Dr. Zaki observed a downward narrow stab wound to the back of the left ear area that tore the ear canal and mastoid area, which wound also occurred before death and was associated with hemorrhaging. (T. 755-756). Bruising with swelling to the right ear auricle was consistent with blunt force trauma. (T. 756). A linear scratch to the right cheek area occurred prior to death. (T. 756).

Areas of bruising to the right, middle and left portions of the scalp and head that had been inflicted prior to death were consistent with blunt force trauma. (T. 757-759). Deep neck bruises were inflicted prior to death. (T. 758-759). The left collarbone area sustained two short stab wounds, one penetrating the left lung, while George Crooks was breathing. (T. 759, 776-777). This wound was consistent with a screwdriver being used as the weapon. (T. 776). The right shoulder area contained four stab wounds caused prior to death. (T. 760). Dr. Zaki also observed stab wounds to the left hand inflicted before death. (T. 762-763).

Dr. Zaki testified at trial that George Crooks died as a result of the stab wounds to the chest and neck with the contributing factor being blunt force trauma to the neck and head. (T. 763). Dr. Zaki further testified that stab wounds to the buttocks and right thigh had been inflicted after the death of the victim. (T. 762). Medical Examiner Zaki stated that bruising basically does not occur after death. (T. 759). The two weapons used to inflict these injuries were a screwdriver and a knife. (T. 780).

A sample of carpet fibers removed from Conklin’s apartment was compared to fibers recovered from the bed clothing which was introduced as evidence. (T. 679-681). A large number of fibers from the bed clothing were found to possess the same microscopic characteristics as the carpet fibers. (T. 682).

A comparison of known fingerprints of the victim to prints developed from a drinking glass recovered from Conklin’s bedroom showed that a latent print on the glass was made by the right middle finger of the victim. (T. 686, 688-689). A comparison of fingerprints from recovered incriminating evidence to known prints of Conklin showed that the evidence fingerprints belonged to Conklin. (T. 693-694).

The victim’s blood was found to be International Blood Group O. (T. 794-795). Blood samples taken from two knives, apartment carpet pieces, mattress stains, human tissue and bed clothes were the same blood type as that of the victim. (T. 796). Conklin testified at trial that he had informed Mr. Crooks that the men could not see each other any more and that the victim was upset. (T. 883-884).

According to Conklin, Mr. Crooks initially poked Conklin in the chest, became angry and hit Conklin. (T. 889). Conklin stated that the victim died as the men struggled on the bedroom floor, after the victim was stuck in the ear and hit on the head with the screwdriver by Conklin. (T. 893-894, 932). The large quantity of Mr. Crooks’ blood observed on the soaked mattress was not consistent with Conklin’s statement of having attacked the victim on the floor. Conklin admitted having used the screwdriver as a weapon. (T. 965).

Conklin admitted dragging the victim’s body into the bathroom tub and attempting to drain the blood from the body. (T. 896-898). Conklin further testified to cutting up Mr. Crooks’ body because it was “too late to do anything but go ahead and finish.” (T. 936). Conklin admitted that the idea for disposing of the victim’s body might have come from a book, Foxfire, that was discovered laying on Conklin’s bedroom floor. (T. 939-940).

The Trial (1984)

The Fulton County Grand Jury indicted Conklin on April 3, 1984. A jury found Conklin guilty of malice murder on June 15, 1984. The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned on June 16, 1984.

The Direct Appeal (1985-1986)

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Conklin’s conviction and sentence on June 27, 1985. Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532 (1985). In its decision, the Georgia Supreme Court held:

The evidence is amply sufficient to support the conviction for malice murder. Pollard v. State, 249 Ga. 21 (287 S.E.2d 189) (1982); Anderson v. State, 248 Ga. 682 (285 S.E.2d 533) (1982); Terry v. State, 243 Ga. 11 (252 S.E.2d 429) (1979); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560) (1979). It follows that the trial court did not err by refusing to direct a verdict of acquittal or to present the case to the jury only upon a manslaughter theory.

Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. at 564. Conklin’s motion for reconsideration was denied on July 23, 1985. Conklin filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on December 16, 1985. Conklin v. Georgia, 474 U.S. 1038 (1985). Conklin’s motion for rehearing was denied on February 24, 1986. Conklin v. Georgia, 475 U.S. 1040 (1986).

State Habeas Corpus Petition (1986-1994)

Conklin, represented by Mark E. Olive and Brian Mendelsohn, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia on April 7, 1986. Evidentiary hearings were held on May 24, 1989 and September 24, 1990. On October 1, 1992, the state habeas corpus court denied Conklin state habeas corpus relief. Conklin’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal filed in the Georgia Supreme Court was denied on or about October 6, 1993. Conklin then filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on May 16, 1994. Conklin v. Zant, 511 U.S. 1100 (1994).

Federal Habeas Corpus Petition (1995-2001)

Conklin, represented by Mark E. Olive, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 22, 1995. An oral argument was held July 18, 1997. On October 14, 1999, the district court denied Conklin federal habeas corpus relief as to certain claims raised in his petition. An oral argument on the remaining issues was held on December 15, 1999. On August 28, 2001, the district court denied Appellant federal habeas corpus relief as to the remaining claims raised in his amended petition. The district court entered a final order denying and dismissing Appellant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus on August 30, 2001. The district court denied a motion to alter and amend judgment on September 16, 2002. The district court granted Conklin a certificate of appealability on January 3, 2003.

11th Circuit Court of Appeals (2003-2004)

On February 19, 2003, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted an expansion of the certificate of appealability. The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit on December 17, 2003. On April 21, 2004, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion which denied relief. Conklin v. Head, 366 F.3d 1191 (11th Cir. 2004). Specifically, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the following claims: insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict; ineffective assistance of counsel; trial court error in refusing to appoint defense pathologist; and cumulative error. Conklin filed a petition for panel rehearing on June 14, 2004, which was denied on August 26, 2004.

United States Supreme Court (2005)

Conklin filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on January 21, 2005, which was denied March 28, 2005. He then filed a petition for rehearing in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied June 6, 2005.

Georgia man executed for murder of gay lover

Reuters News

Jul 12, 2005

JACKSON, Ga. (Reuters) - A man who stabbed his gay lover to death with a screwdriver and dismembered the remains was executed on Tuesday in Georgia after courts rejected his last-minute appeals.

Robert Dale Conklin, 44, was put to death by lethal injection at a state prison in Jackson, 50 miles south of Atlanta. He died at 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT), Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Peggy Chapman said. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution.

Conklin declined to make a final statement before a sedative, lung-paralyzing drug and deadly potassium chloride were injected into his arms. His final meal consisted of filet mignon, shrimp, asparagus, ice cream, apple pie and iced tea.

The execution occurred just hours after the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Conklin's last-minute plea for clemency. The board did not give a reason for its decision.

Conklin was sentenced to die for killing George Crooks, a 28-year-old lawyer, during an altercation in Conklin's apartment in Sandy Springs, Georgia, on March 26, 1984. The two men were romantically involved.

In a hearing before the pardons board on Monday in Atlanta, defense lawyers argued that Conklin had acted in self-defense to prevent Crooks from raping him. "He is guilty of defending himself from rape and having the worst possible judgment after his attacker was dead," defense lawyer Don Samuel said in a clemency petition.

But prosecutors insisted Conklin, who was on parole for burglary and armed robbery at the time of the killing, intentionally killed Crooks and then tried to cover up the murder. According to a confession Conklin gave police after his arrest, he cut up Crooks' body in a bathroom, wrapped the remains in garbage bags and discarded them in a dumpster outside his apartment. A book on how to gut an animal was found in Conklin's bedroom by police, according to testimony at his 1984 trial.

Conklin was the third person put to death in Georgia this year and the 39th in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Georgia executes man who killed lawyer in 1984

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Associated Press - 07/12/05

JACKSON — A parolee who fatally stabbed a lawyer with whom he had a relationship and dismembered the victim's body after the murder was executed Tuesday. Robert Conklin, 44, was given a lethal injection at the state prison in Jackson for the March 26, 1984, murder of George Crooks, 28. Conklin was pronounced dead at 7:44 p.m.

Minutes earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected two petitions for a stay of execution. It was Georgia's third execution this year.

Conklin had no final statement but did ask for a final prayer, after which he said "Amen." Sherri Parker, a friend of his, sat in the second row of witnesses. When Conklin was strapped to the gurney and before the chemicals were administered, he said "hello" and smiled at her. She waved back.

As the chemicals were administered he looked at her and said "Goodbye." His chest heaved and his head tilted backward, and the woman started crying uncontrollably and left the chamber. The victim's brother, Jim, and sister-in-law represented the family as witnesses.

On the evening of the murder, Crooks went to Conklin's Atlanta apartment. Conklin says he invited Crooks over to tell him that he wanted to end their relationship. But, prosecutors say Conklin's intent was to kill Crooks. Conklin's bid for clemency was denied earlier Tuesday by the state parole board.

Also Tuesday, the state Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, denied Conklin's request for a stay of execution. Chief Justice Leah Sears said in a dissenting opinion that Conklin's trial was unfair and his conviction and sentence were "manifestly unjust."

Conklin says he was fending off an attempted rape at the time of the attack. Prosecutors say Conklin acted with malice and after stabbing Crooks with a screwdriver, he cut up the victim's body and disposed of the pieces in trash bags and a garbage disposal to avoid being caught. Last week, defense lawyers filed a motion challenging Conklin's incarceration.

The lawyers said Conklin deserved a new trial and they asked a judge to at least hold a hearing at which Conklin can offer proof for his self-defense claims. In the clemency petition, defense lawyers presented an affidavit from the former medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Crooks' body. The doctor, Saleh Zaki, wrote of Crooks' death that he does not "believe that this was necessarily an intentional murder case."

Defense lawyers also included in the petition documents that show Conklin led a productive life while in prison, attending church services and completing a bachelor of arts program offered by Western Illinois University. He even solicited pen pals on an Internet site sponsored by a group opposed to the death penalty. But Crooks' brother said before the execution Tuesday that Conklin was after money and that is why he committed the murder. Jim Crooks said Conklin should pay with his life. "It's been 21 years of appeals. Enough is enough," said Jim Crooks, 56.

A year before the killing, Conklin was released on parole from prison in Illinois following burglary, theft and robbery convictions in Princeton, Ill., Eureka, Ill., and Joliet, Ill., a Georgia parole board spokeswoman said. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said last week that he believed Conklin deserved to be executed.

Conklin requested as his last meal filet mignon wrapped with bacon, de-veined shrimp sauteed in garlic butter with lemon, a baked potato, corn on the cob, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, French bread, goat cheese, cantaloupe, apple pie, vanilla bean ice cream and iced tea. Prison officials said he ate the entire meal, cleaning two plates.

Condemned killer says he was defending self from being raped

AccessNorthGeorgia.com

The Associated Press

ATLANTA - A condemned killer who fatally stabbed his gay lover with a screwdriver and dismembered the body argued in court papers Wednesday that he should be granted a new trial because he was fending off an attempted rape.

The motion filed by a lawyer on behalf of Robert Dale Conklin, 44, came six days before Conklin's scheduled execution for the 1984 death of George Crooks, a lawyer with whom he had been having a romantic relationship. The motion in Butts County Superior Court, which has jurisdiction over the state prison in Jackson where Conklin is being held, asks a judge to at least hold a hearing at which Conklin can offer proof for his claims.

"Is Mr. Conklin guilty of malice murder? No," defense lawyer Mark Olive wrote in the motion. "He is guilty of defending himself from rape and having the worst possible judgment after his attacker was dead." Besides the Superior Court motion, a clemency hearing before the state parole board is set for Monday. The execution, which would be Georgia's third this year, is set for Tuesday.

Conklin has argued over the years that he was provided ineffective counsel at his trial and that the trial court erred by denying his request for money to hire a defense medical expert. Olive wrote in Wednesday's motion that a defense expert who was eventually hired in 1995 concluded that Conklin was defending himself at the time of the attack.

But prosecutors have argued that what happened after the killing left no doubt that it was intentional. An instruction manual was recovered from Conklin's apartment describing how to slaughter animals in the same manner that Conklin admitted having disposed of Crooks' body.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Tuesday that he believes Conklin deserves to be executed, and he said he will oppose clemency at Monday's hearing. Howard spokesman Erik Friedly said Wednesday's motion offered nothing that would change Howard's position.

Conklin told police that on the night of the murder, he told Crooks, 28, that he wanted to end their relationship. He said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Crooks was sitting on his stomach on a bed in Conklin's Atlanta apartment, and he tried to push Crooks off, but couldn't.

Conklin, who at the time was 5-7, 150 pounds, said he then picked up a screwdriver and repeatedly stabbed Crooks in the head. Prosecutors have suggested that Conklin also used a knife in the attack, but Wednesday's defense motion said an independent medical expert has found that the knife was used only after Crooks was dead.

Conklin drained blood from Crooks' body, cut it up and threw some parts in trash bags, stuffing the rest down a garbage disposal. The former McDonald's manager was arrested a few days later.

A year earlier, Conklin was released on parole from prison in Illinois following burglary, theft and armed robbery convictions.

Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

State Kills Robert Conklin

The state of Georgia executed Robert Conklin on Tuesday, July 12, 2005. The Parole Board denied clemency on July 12. Appeals before the Georgia Supreme Court, 11th Circuit federal appeals court and US Supreme Court were all denied on the 12th.

1. Model Letter
2. Background
3. Vigil Schedule
4. News Clips
5. GFADP Press Release (July 12 1pm)

1. Model Letter

Please sign and print your name to the letter and include your return address, particularly if you live in Georgia -- this carries a special weight. And please send appeals so that they arrive before July 11 (when the Board convenes the clemency hearing) - fax is a good method.

**Please sign and send this letter with a few clicks thru the following website:

**Please fax letters before Monday morning!**

1) MODEL LETTER
Please include your name and mailing address – especially if you live in Georgia (this will add weight to your letter).

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Floyd Veterans Memorial Building
Balcony Level, East Tower
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E.
Atlanta, GA 30334-4909
Via facsimile 404-651-5282

Dear Members of the Parole Board,
I am writing to you in regards to the upcoming execution of Robert Conklin. My sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of George Grant.

However, Conklin should not be executed because he did not receive effective assistance of counsel. His lawyer was not given enough time or resources to adequately prepare for trial. The 11th Circuit acknowledged that the trial court should have granted Conklin resources for expert testimony and a continuation in order to prepare for trial. Conklin's attorney had a mere 37 days to prepare for a highly complex case.

Conklin also suffers from mental illness and endured a violent childhood. The execution of a mentally ill person is a profound human rights violation made even more alarming when the defendant was not afforded appropriate representation at trial. Furthermore, there has been no hard evidence to repute Conklin's claims that he acted out of self defense.

Please do all that is with in your power to spare the life of Robert Conklin. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Execution set for parolee in 1984 slaying

By Carlos Campos - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

June 28, 2005

An Illinois parolee who dismembered his former lover in a Sandy Springs apartment and then tossed 10 plastic bags of his remains into a trash bin is scheduled for execution on July 12.

Robert Dale Conklin, 44, was given the death penalty for the 1984 mutilation murder of Smyrna attorney George Grant Crooks. Crooks, 28, was a University of Georgia Law School graduate working for Hyatt Legal Services in Marietta. Crooks also had been an aide at one time to former Atlanta-area Congressman Elliott Levitas.

Conklin, on parole after serving half of a six-year burglary and armed robbery sentence in Illinois, met Crooks and the two had a brief affair. Conklin stabbed Crooks in the ear with a screwdriver during an apparent argument on March 28. He admitted stabbing Crooks, but said it was self-defense to fend off a sexual assault. Conklin later disposed of the body in the garbage behind his Copeland Road apartment off of Roswell Road near I-285. A man rummaging for recyclable cans found the bags and police quickly tied Conklin to the murder.

Conklin, who worked briefly as a fast-food management trainee in Sandy Springs, evaded police for several days. He returned to the apartment after Crooks' murder, where he dined, rested and watched television. Police got a tip he had come back, but Conklin escaped through a hole he had cut under the stairs. He was arrested the next day by Fulton County police in a parking lot on Roswell Road.

At Conklin's trial, prosecutors told jurors they found a book describing how to gut an animal on Conklin's nightstand. Former Fulton County Medical Examiner Dr. Saleh Zaki said upon his retirement in 1997 that Crooks' murder was one of the most gruesome he had worked in his career as a pathologist.

The execution by lethal injection is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. It would be the second execution in Georgia this year.

Board denies clemency request for Conklin

July 12, 2005

Atlanta, GA.- Yesterday, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles met to hear a clemency request from attorneys representing condemned inmate Robert Dale Conklin, 44. After considering the request, the Board announced its decision today to deny clemency. Conklin murdered George Grant Crooks, 28, on March 26, 1984 in Fulton County. On the night of the murder, Mr. Crooks went to Conklin’s apartment at 201 Copeland Road, Atlanta, Georgia to visit. At some point during the visit, the two had a physical altercation. During the altercation, the victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and a screwdriver. Mr. Crooks died from stab wounds and blunt force trauma. Conklin dismembered Mr. Crook’s body after the murder. Conklin is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 at 7:00 p.m., at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Georgia - July 12, 2005 - 7:00 PM EST

The state of Georgia is scheduled to execute 44-year-old Robert Dale Conklin, a white man, July 12th for the March 28, 1984 stabbing death of 28-year-old George Grant Crooks in Fulton County. Conklin, who was 24 years old at the time of the crime, maintains that he stabbed Crooks, a white man with whom Conklin was in a relationship, as an act of self defense.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Conklin's claim that his attorney was unable to provide effective assistance of counsel due to the fact that he was given insufficient time and resources to prepare for trial.

Conklin's attorney, Thomas Chason was given a mere 37 days to prepare for a trial which involved highly technical medical evidence, troubled mental history, and unusual legal issues. Chason requested a short continuance to allow for more preparation but was denied. The state relied heavily on expert medical witnesses in order to establish the aggravating evidence required by the state of Georgia to sentence Conklin to death. Chason was able to find a medical expert who would unequivocally counter the state's crucial forensic evidence.

However, Conklin, who is indigent, was denied even the most scarce of resources to hire this expert witnesses.The Eleventh Circuit acknowledged that the resources granted to Conklin were likely insufficient. "We are unable to understand why a trial judge would refuse to grant a short continuance and afford a first-degree murder defendant $2,500 of available state funds to hire an expert crucial to his defense."

However, the court went on to say they could not maintain that the "trial, as a whole, was fundamentally unfair and outside of the bounds of the Constitution." Circuit Judge Rosemary Barkett dissented from this decision. She concluded, "In light of the complexity of this case, the severe limitations on time and resources imposed by the trial court made it impossible for Conklin to receive adequate assistance."

Barkett maintained that in this situation, 37 days of preparation time "hardly satisfies minimum constitutional standards." She went on to express her concern that Conklin's attorney did not present any mitigating evidence at the sentencing phase of the trial. Additionally, Judge Barkett stated that there was also no direct evidence to counter Conklin's claim that he acted in self defense.

Conklin was also unable to have appropriate psychological experts testify that he suffered from a history of mental illness. Again, he was not granted the resources in which to offer this testimony to the court.

In addition to suffering from mental health issues, Conklin also endured a horrific childhood. Please take a moment to write the state of Georgia requesting that Conklin be granted clemency.

Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532 (1985) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the Fulton Superior Court, John S. Langford, J., of murder and sentenced to death, and he appealed. The Supreme Court, Clarke, J., held that: (1) evidence was sufficient to support conviction; (2) evidence was sufficient to support finding of the aggravating factor that murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman; (3) death certificate was admissible; (4) defendant was not entitled to introduce testimony concerning alleged acts of violence and displays of temper by victim; (5) inadvertent display of inadmissible photograph of body did not require mistrial; (6) statements by prosecutor in reading of the law did not require mistrial; (7) reading of the law is no longer permissible in criminal cases; and (8) statements by prosecutor in closing arguments in guilt-innocence phase and penalty phases of trial did not require mistrial. Affirmed.

CLARKE, Justice.

This is a death penalty case. Appellant, Robert Dale Conklin, was convicted in Fulton County for the murder of George Crooks. The case is here for consideration of Conklin's direct appeal, for review of the case under the Unified Appeal Procedure (252 Ga. A-13 et seq.), and for the sentence review required by OCGA § 17-10-35. We affirm. The jury returned its sentencing verdict June 16, 1984. Conklin filed a motion for new trial on July 2, 1984, which was amended August 29, 1984, heard on August 30, 1984, and denied the same day. The case was docketed in this court on October 29, 1984, and orally argued January 14, 1985.

THE EVIDENCE

Several of Conklin's enumerations of error question the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the conviction for malice murder and the death sentence imposed for that offense. These enumerations do not seriously question the sufficiency of the evidence to show that Conklin "caused the death of" George Crooks (OCGA § 16-5-1(a)) and we need not dwell at length on this aspect of the state's proof except to note that papers and other tangible items found near the body, evidence found in Conklin's apartment, and his own statements and testimony overwhelmingly establish that he killed George Crooks. The contested issues here include provocation, justification and the jury's finding that the murder "was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhumane, and that [it] involved depravity of mind by the perpetrator." See OCGA § 17-10-30(b)(7).

Therefore, we set forth below those portions of the evidence which bear on these issues. We begin with Conklin's own statement, given after his arrest to law enforcement officers: "I first met George Crooks at a rest stop off of I-20 by Douglasville. Over a period of time we established a relationship. We would see each other every couple or three weeks. I moved out to my apartment on Copeland Road. Every now and then he would come over and spend the night or I would go over there and spend the night. We would usually get high, have sex and go to sleep. On Monday night, he came over, we got stoned. He didn't drink but I did. He was in Alcoholics Anonymous and would not drink, but he did get high that night. We got high by smoking pot. Later on that evening we went on and went to bed and I wanted to go to sleep and he wanted to play. He kept messing with me and it turned into a wrestling match. I got tired of it, told him to quit and he wouldn't. This went on for quite a while, an hour to an hour and a half, I guess. At this point I was getting pretty mad because he wouldn't leave me alone, so eventually he had me pinned on the bed sitting on my stomach. I was wrestling trying to get free. I was mad but he thought it was all a big joke. Eventually I got an arm free and I did hit him and he hit me back. He was still sitting on me.

We were there struggling and I reached over and grabbed a screwdriver. I swung the screwdriver and it stuck into him. He rolled off the bed and I followed him screwdriver in hand. I held him down and I stuck the screwdriver in his ear, I wiggled it around and I realized what I had done and got scared. I went ahead and got a blanket and I tried to stop him from bleeding but I think he was already dead. So I wrapped him up in the blanket and I drug him into the bathroom. Since he was bleeding, I tried to put him in the bath tub and I couldn't. He was too heavy and the shower curtain was in the way. So I went ahead and got a screwdriver downstairs, took the shower curtain down. I was able to go ahead and get his body into the bath tub.

He was still bleeding and everything. At this point I panicked. There was blood all over the place, I think it was on the sheets, I'm pretty sure on the blanket, walls and all over the bathroom. At this point, I stopped and tried to think about what to do. I came to the conclusion that since I was on parole, it wouldn't be in my best interest to get caught and have it discovered that I had killed this person. So I decided I had to get rid of the body some way. I couldn't move him, he was too big, too heavy, so I thought if I let the blood drain out he would be lighter, so I went ahead and got a steak knife from downstairs and tried to cut his throat and bleed him into the bathtub. That did not work too good. So I went ahead and tried to tie his feet up several ways so his feet was up and his head was down. Tried to use a neck tie but it broke. Eventually I just propped his feet up and left him like that with the water running. I went ahead and cleaned myself up and got the blood off of me. I tried to figure out what to do. I was scared and since I was on parole I didn't want to go to the police.

I decided I had to get rid of the body some way, so I sat down and planned what to do. I couldn't pick him up and carry him, he was too big, and I didn't want to involve anyone else. So I decided I had to get rid of the body somehow and to get rid of his car and his possessions and everything else. By now it was Tuesday morning. I don't know what time. So I went ahead and took his keys and his wallet, honest face card, and I got into his car. I then went ahead and went to his apartment so I could get anything there that would connect me with him. I took a card with my name and number on it and the tape out of his answering machine then put another fresh tape in. Since I had his Honest-Face card and his checkbook, I drove around to several grocery stores and started to get cleaning supplies.

The idea was to get cleaning supplies and the stuff to finish cleaning up the place at the apartment. While doing this I realized there was no way I could get rid of the body because I couldn't pick him up, so I thought if I were to cut him in half I could put him in a couple of garbage bags that I could remove him from the apartment. I also bought some other things, food, knives and other things, and I wrote some checks. After I did this, I brought all the stuff back to the apartment.

He still hadn't lightened any from the bleeding all that much, so I used one of the knives to go ahead and cut his throat some more. It was a lot sharper than the steak knives. I realized I had to get rid of his car some how, so I drove it downtown. On the way downtown it ran out of gas so I pushed it into a parking lot. I think it was Sears in Buckhead. I wiped it down and took everything out of it and tried to catch a bus back to where I live; caught the wrong bus on the wrong road. I was on Paces Ferry Road. So I rode that bus to Paces Ferry Crossing and I caught a cab back to my apartment. When I got there I went ahead and went to work to cut him in half so I could get him out of there. After I had done that, he was still too big to move, too heavy, so I decided I had to cut him in smaller pieces. All of this I did in the bathtub. For most of the day I went ahead and worked on him. It was a big mess, I'm telling you.

I decided there would be less of him to move if I could put some of him down the garbage disposal. Fortunately [sic], he would not fit, so I cut him up in even smaller pieces. These I was able to stuff into the garbage disposal, but it turned out that the garbage disposal would not accept him. So I pulled all that out, took it back upstairs to the bathroom and cleaned up the kitchen and everything the best I could. I then went ahead and cut the rest of him up in small enough pieces to put in the bags.

Before I could get all of this done I got a call from a friend of mine who was in the neighborhood and he said he was going to stop over. Since normally I tell him to come over, I told him to come on over. It was D-- M-- and his wife. I cleaned up everything downstairs before he got there the best I could. Between 3:00 o'clock and 5:00 that evening, I had gone to a meeting for work. I was gone for a couple of hours. And D-- came over about 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock. Shortly after he was there, another friend showed up, S-- L--. And D-- and his wife left and S-- and I sat around and drank beers. After a while S-- left and I went back upstairs, finished putting him in the bags. I found that I couldn't even carry all the bags, so I went to K-Mart and bought a garbage can. I think it was also at Handy City I bought a push cart to put the can on so I could move the can. I went ahead and filled up the garbage can with these bags and they would not all fit, so I left some of the bags with George in them outside.

Later on that night it started to rain, so I went ahead and took the trash can with the cart, took it to the dumpster, unloaded all the bags. Before I did this I cleaned up the bathroom. I also took the sheets, blankets and other stuff and put that in the trash can with him. I don't remember if it took two or three trips. I know it took at least two trips to get all that out there.

I then went back and cleaned the apartment some more trying to get the blood and everything else up. Eventually I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up the next day. I had to be at work so I went ahead and took a shower, got ready for work and I was running late so I didn't finish cleaning up everything. I went out to my car, got into my car and drove around the building the way I usually go. But when I turned the corner, I noticed there was a tape across the road and people were digging stuff out of the dumpster. I didn't know if they would connect me with it or not but I decided it would be to my best interest not be around. So instead of going to work, I went ahead and drove around to try to figure things out awhile. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go back to the apartment unless I knew for sure that I wasn't a suspect. Then I decided that it would be best that I left altogether and assume that I was a suspect until I found out otherwise.

I went ahead and got all my money from my bank account using my bank card. I then went downtown, parked my car at the Holiday Inn and wandered around town. I checked the bus station and eventually decided to buy a ticket for Miami. After I had been in Miami a couple, or was it two days, I decided it was not where I wanted to be so I hitchhiked back to Atlanta where I found out I was being sought. I had no place to go and I was broke and hungry. I went back to my apartment where I found the police had already been. I stayed there anyways because I didn't think anyone would be by until that Monday. It was last night, Saturday night, I was discovered and chased. I didn't get to take anything that I had planned on taking when I left, I just left as quickly as possible. So after hiding all night I went back to the apartment to get the stuff that I had left. It wasn't there so I went ahead and got what I could and decided to catch a bus downtown again. On the way to the bus stop I was caught and here I am."

Although his statement mentioned only two wounds having been inflicted prior to death, Conklin admitted in his trial testimony that after Crooks had been stabbed once and rolled off the bed, and after Conklin, sitting on top of Crooks, had "stuck [the screwdriver] in his ear," he had stabbed Crooks a number of additional times while Crooks continued to struggle, saying "give me the screwdriver."

Crooks' body was found in parts in 9 garbage bags as follows: a. Head with most of the neck, and both hands b. Right upper torso, shoulder, and arm c. Lower legs with feet attached d. Buttocks and pelvic bones e. Thigh muscle and skin f. left upper torso, shoulder and arm g. Rib cage (with internal organs removed) and spine h. Two thigh bones (from which the musculature had been removed and put in bag e, above) and the genitalia i. Lungs, heart, and portions of the liver, kidney, spleen and intestines.

Blood-soaked bed-clothes were also found in the dumpster. The bed in Conklin's apartment had no bed-clothes on it and the mattress was blood-soaked. (The blood on the mattress and the bed-clothes was identified as the victim's.) Inside the garbage disposal were additional internal organ fragments.

Dr. Saleh Zaki conducted the autopsy. He testified that eight stab wounds on the right side of the victim's neck were in his opinion ante-mortem (inflicted prior to death). There was another stab wound in the left ear area which penetrated the upper part of the ear, cut through the ear canal, and extended into the left mastoid area. This wound also was ante-mortem.

In addition, there were several areas of bruising about the head and neck that were consistent with blunt-force trauma, i.e., the head hit a blunt object or vice versa. In the lower right side of the neck were two additional ante-mortem stab wounds, one of which penetrated the left lung. In Dr. Zaki's opinion, death was caused by stab wounds to the chest and neck, with a contributing factor being blunt-force trauma to the head and neck.

Conklin admitted at trial that, at least initially, he did not think Crooks was trying to hurt him and that "if he would have hit me as hard as he could [when they were in bed and Crooks was on top], then he would have certainly knocked me out if not done more damage than that." Several witnesses testified that the day following Crooks' death, Conklin was not visibly bruised or otherwise injured, except for a cut on one of his fingers. Conklin testified that he cut his finger in the kitchen while trying to dispose of the various body parts.

* * *

In his 20th enumeration, Conklin urges to set aside his death sentence on the ground that it is disproportionate to penalties imposed in other cases tried in Fulton County.

The state responds that it would strain reason to find that "a homosexual relationship leading to a brutal beating, followed by cutting the throat of the living victim and hanging the body upside down while the blood was drained into the bathtub, followed by a complete dismemberment of the body and disposal in a dumpster, is just a 'plain vanilla' killing in Fulton County."

We agree, and find that Conklin's death sentence is neither excessive nor disproportionate to penalties imposed in similar cases in Fulton County or in this state generally, considering both the crime and defendant. OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(3). The similar cases listed in the Appendix support the imposition of the death sentence in this case. The death penalty was not here imposed under the impermissible influence of passion, prejudice, or other arbitrary factor.

Conklin v. Schofield, 366 F.3d 1191 (11th Cir. 2004) (Habeas).

Background: Following affirmance of prisoner's state court conviction for capital murder and his death sentence, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532, prisoner filed for federal writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, No. 95-00914-CV-A-JEC, Julie E. Carnes, J., denied petition. Prisoner appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Wilson, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) evidence was sufficient to support conviction;
(2) defense counsel was not rendered per se ineffective by trial court's decisions;
(3) prisoner was not deprived of effective assistance of counsel;
(4) motion for funds for expert assistance was timely made;
(5) trial court acted unreasonably in denying motion for funds for expert assistance; and
(6) unreasonable denial of motion for funds for expert assistance did not violate due process. Affirmed.

WILSON, Circuit Judge:

Robert Dale Conklin, an indigent defendant, appeals the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus in his capital case. After review of the record and oral argument, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Conklin, a twenty-three year old McDonalds manager, first met George Crooks, a twenty-eight year old lawyer, at an interstate rest stop. Over a period of time, the two established an intimate sexual relationship. On the night of Monday, March 26, 1984, Crooks went to Conklin's apartment. According to Conklin, he told Crooks that evening that he wished to end their relationship, at which point Crooks became "moody" and "upset." Later in the evening, the two men smoked marijuana, and Crooks, who had recently had his wisdom teeth removed, also took several codeine pills.

Conklin claims that when he attempted to go to bed that evening, Crooks would not allow him to sleep. In Conklin's statement given to law enforcement officers after his arrest ("post-arrest statement"), [FN1] Conklin explains, "[Crooks] kept messing with me and it turned into a wrestling match. I got tired of it, told him to quit and he wouldn't. This went on for quite a while, an hour to an hour and a half. [E]ventually he had me pinned on the bed sitting on my stomach. I was wrestling trying to get free. I was mad but he thought it was all a big joke."

FN1. For a complete recitation of Conklin's post-arrest statement, see Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532, 535-37 (1985).

Although not mentioned in his post-arrest statement, Conklin testified at trial that the events escalated when Crooks told Conklin that he wanted to have anal intercourse with him against Conklin's wishes. At this point, Conklin allegedly attempted to force Crooks to leave. His post-arrest statement continues, "[e]ventually I ... hit him and he hit me back. He was still sitting on me. We were there struggling and I reached over and grabbed a screwdriver. I swung the screwdriver and it stuck into him. He rolled off the bed and I followed him screwdriver in hand."

At trial, Conklin altered this previous statement, testifying, "[Crooks] rolled off the bed and I followed him and stopped at the edge of the bed and I had the screwdriver in my hand." He then testified, "he saw that I had the screwdriver, he told me to give it to him. He ... got hold of me around the waist, or legs. He pulled me off the bed and we started to struggle for the screwdriver ... and he was going to take it away from me." Conklin testified that he became afraid for his own life at this point. He admitted at trial, however, that he initially did not think Crooks was trying to hurt him.

Conklin's post-arrest statement continues, "I held him down and I stuck the screwdriver in his ear, I wiggled it around.... I tried to stop him from bleeding but I think he was already dead." At trial, Conklin added testimony of a greater struggle occurring immediately after this second stabbing. He testified, "[Crooks] squirmed away. He got away, and he grabbed me, he was saying 'give me the screwdriver.' We were struggling and I stabbed him other times during the struggle. I don't know how many times or where.... I was just fighting the best I could." On cross-examination, Conklin stated that he may have stabbed Crooks up to seventeen times with the screwdriver, and that some of these stabbings may have been inflicted in the neck and shoulder area.

Conklin, who had been released on parole after serving a period of incarceration in Illinois, decided not to call the police. According to Conklin, rather than calling the police, he "panicked" and decided to dispose of the body. Because the body was too heavy for Conklin to transport by himself, Conklin dragged Crooks's body to the bathtub and attempted to lighten it by draining it of blood.

Leaving Crooks's body in the bathtub, Conklin went to Crooks's apartment to destroy any evidence connecting the two men. He replaced the cassette tape in Crooks's answering machine, and took a card containing Conklin's name and telephone number. Conklin then took Crooks's checkbook and drove Crooks's car to a grocery store, where he purchased cleaning supplies and knives. Conklin abandoned Crooks's car in a parking lot and returned to his apartment.

Conklin's post-arrest statement describes his attempt to dispose of Crooks's body, stating, "[w]hen I got [to the apartment] I went ahead and went to work to cut him in half so I could get him out of there.... I decided there would be less of him to move if I could put some of him down the garbage disposal.... I then cut the rest of him up in small enough pieces to put in the bags."

During the next twenty-four hours, Conklin tried to maintain normalcy. Conklin went to a meeting at work from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and had friends over that evening while Crooks's body was still in his bathroom. That night, Conklin placed Crooks's body in several trash bags and disposed of them in the dumpster outside of his apartment. He got up for work the next day, but took a bus to Florida when he discovered that the police had found Crooks's body. Conklin returned to Georgia a few days later and was caught by the police.

The police recovered a great deal of evidence from the trash dumpster where Crooks's body was found, including several knives, five screwdrivers, a length of rope, bloody bed clothes, and credit cards belonging to Crooks. Crooks's body itself was dispersed in nine separate garbage bags.

In addition to the items found in the dumpster, the police recovered substantial evidence linking Conklin to the murder. Upon searching Conklin's apartment, the police recovered carpet fibers that matched fibers from bed clothing that had been found in the dumpster. The police also found blood spots on Conklin's bed, observed blood on the carpet beside the bed, recovered body parts from the garbage disposal, and found a forged birth certificate in the name of "Robert Allan King." Conklin later admitted that, before he was caught by the police, he planned to obtain a social security card and a driver's license in that name.

In Conklin's post-arrest statement, he states that only two screwdriver wounds were inflicted prior to death. This statement was contradicted at trial by several pieces of evidence. For instance, Conklin altered his own post-arrest statement by testifying at trial that he stabbed Crooks several additional times with the screwdriver while they struggled for its possession. In response, the state presented evidence that these additional wounds were inflicted before death by a knife rather than a screwdriver, thereby further undermining Conklin's story.

In addition, several witnesses testified that Conklin was not visibly bruised or injured on the day following Crooks's death, tending to undermine Conklin's self-defense claims. [FN2] Moreover, the police recovered a book, Foxfire, from Conklin's bedroom which sets forth procedures for slaughtering animals and specifically describes how to drain animals of blood. At trial, Conklin admitted to having read this book and treating Crooks's body in a similar manner.

FN2. A McDonalds co-worker, who stopped by Conklin's apartment on the night after the murder, testified that he saw no bruises on Conklin's face, head, or chest, and that Conklin was his "normal self" that evening.

Finally, the autopsy report prepared by the state's medical examiner, Dr. Saleh Zaki, and his subsequent trial testimony supported the prosecution's version of events. On direct examination, Dr. Zaki testified that eight stab wounds on the right side of the victim's neck were "antemortem," meaning that, in his opinion, these wounds were inflicted prior to death. [FN3]

Dr. Zaki also found two additional antemortem stab wounds in the lower right side of the neck, as well as evidence that Crooks's head was hit by a blunt *1198 object prior to death. The death certificate prepared by Dr. Zaki, which was admitted into evidence, concluded that the "immediate cause" of death was "stab wounds to neck and chest" with "other significant conditions" being "head and neck trauma."

FN3. In the state's direct examination of Dr. Zaki, the state asked, "were you able to determine whether those [eight] stab wounds [to the neck] were made before or after death?" Dr. Zaki responded, "[t]hese are antemortem stab wounds." The state then sought further clarification, asking, "[i]n your opinion, were those marks or those stab wounds made before death or after death?" Dr. Zaki responded, "Before death, antemortem."

Notably, however, in voir dire of Dr. Zaki outside the presence of the jury but within the presence of the trial judge, Dr. Zaki admitted that, while it was his opinion that the eight knife wounds to the neck were inflicted prior to death (which conflicted with Conklin's defense and testimony), it was also possible that these wounds were inflicted shortly after death (which did not conflict with Conklin's defense and testimony). Conklin's attorney, Tommy Chason, subsequently obtained Dr. Zaki's admission on cross-examination that antemortem wounds could occur "a very short period of time after death," thereby undermining Dr. Zaki's statement on direct examination that the eight knife wounds to the neck occurred before death.

In an effort to further rebut the testimony of Dr. Zaki and to prove that he did not intentionally kill George Crooks, Conklin filed two pre-trial motions requesting funds to hire an independent medical expert. Conklin's counsel explained to the court that he needed a medical examiner not only to assist in presenting Conklin's defense but also to facilitate his cross-examination of Dr. Zaki.

At this time, the court was aware that Conklin's sole defense of disproving intent depended on his ability to pinpoint the exact cause of death. The more specific of Conklin's two pre-trial motions requested funds not to exceed $2,500, and sought "expert assistance of psychiatric, medical and other forensic aids...."

In addition to these two motions, Conklin made several oral requests for funds to hire independent medical experts. However, the court denied each of Conklin's requests. Prior to sentencing, Conklin renewed his motion seeking expert assistance, but the court again denied this request.

Conklin was convicted for the murder [FN4] of George Crooks in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia on June 16, 1984. At the sentencing phase, the jury found as a statutory aggravating circumstance that the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhumane and that it involved depravity of mind. Having satisfied the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 17-10- 30(b)(7) [FN5] the jury recommended that Conklin be sentenced to death. The trial judge agreed.

FN4. Under Georgia law, "[a] person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being." O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a) (1981). In order to satisfy the intent element of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a), malice need only exist for a very short period of time prior to a killing. See Brown v. State, 190 Ga. 169, 8 S.E.2d 652, 654 (1940).

FN5. In Georgia, the death penalty can be imposed only if the jury finds the existence of at least one of ten statutorily enumerated aggravating circumstances. See O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30(b)(1-10) . The section 17-10-30(b)(7) circumstance found here "consists of two major components, the second of which has three sub-parts, as follows: (I) The offense of murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman (II) in that it involved (A) aggravated battery to the victim, (B) torture to the victim, or (C) depravity of mind of the defendant.... [T]he evidence must be sufficient to satisfy the first major component of the statutory aggravating circumstance and at least one sub-part of the second component." See Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532, 539 (1989) .

Conklin appealed his conviction and death sentence to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which upheld the sentence. See Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532 (1985). The United States Supreme Court denied Conklin's petition for writ of certiorari on December 16, 1985. On February 24, 1986, the Court denied Conklin's request for rehearing. See Conklin v. Georgia, 474 U.S. 1038, 106 S.Ct. 606, 88 L.Ed.2d 584 (1985), reh'g denied, 475 U.S. 1040, 106 S.Ct. 1252, 89 L.Ed.2d 359 (1986).

Conklin then filed a state habeas corpus petition on April 7, 1986. Evidentiary hearings were conducted in the state court on May 24, 1989, and September 24, 1990. The state court denied habeas relief on October 1, 1992. The United States Supreme Court denied Conklin's petition for writ of certiorari on May 16, 1994. Conklin v. Zant, 511 U.S. 1100, 114 S.Ct. 1871, 128 L.Ed.2d 492 (1994), reh'g denied, 512 U.S. 1248, 114 S.Ct. 2775, 129 L.Ed.2d 887 (1994).

Conklin sought federal habeas corpus relief on June 22, 1995. On October 14, 1999, the district court denied federal habeas relief on most of Conklin's claims. On August 28, 2001, the district court denied relief on his remaining claims. After denying Conklin's motion for a new trial, the district court granted a certificate of appealability ("COA") as to "all issues" in its second order denying habeas relief. We granted an expansion of the COA on February 19, 2003.

* * *

We are unable to understand why a trial judge would refuse to grant a short continuance and afford a first-degree murder defendant $2,500 of available state funds to hire an expert crucial to his defense. Yet, we cannot say that Conklin's trial, as a whole, was fundamentally unfair and outside of the bounds of the Constitution. We affirm the district court's denial of Conklin's federal habeas corpus petition. AFFIRMED.