Opinion
I.D. 9707012190.
July 22, 2004.
Christina M. Showalter, Esquire, and Mark W. Bunitsky, Esquire, Deputy Attorneys General, Wilmington, Delaware, for the State.
Brian J. Bartley, Esquire, and Nicole M. Walker, Esquire, Wilmington, Delaware, for the Defendant.
Opinion as to Sentence
The defendant in this case was found guilty of two counts of Murder in the First Degree, Attempted Murder First Degree, three counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and Conspiracy First Degree at a jury trial which concluded on February 3, 2004. A penalty phase of the trial was held and concluded on February 19, 2004 with a verdict. The facts giving rise to this verdict are basically as follows.
On July 13, 1997, the defendant, and co-defendant Corey Twyman did intentionally cause the death of Angela Farmer and Danya "Duke" Adams by shooting them. This incident was the culmination of an escalating pattern of violence that began around Christmas time 1996 at a juvenile detention facility with a throwing of orange juice.
I. Statutory Aggravators
A penalty hearing was held in this case and the jury found unanimously that the State had proven the presence of one statutory aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt: The defendant's course of conduct caused the death of two persons whose death was a probable consequence of this conduct.
After deliberations, the jury also decided that the aggravating factor proven by the State outweighed the mitigating factors proven by the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. On this issue, the jury voted 7-5.
The Court must independently consider the evidence, and it must base its decision upon its findings as to these same issues. In doing so, it must give great weight to the jury's findings as being the voice or conscience of the community.
As to the finding of the statutory aggravator, conduct causing the death of two persons, the Court finds that the evidence clearly proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's course of conduct resulted in the deaths of Angela Farmer and Danya "Duke" Adams, whose deaths were a probable consequence of his actions.
II. Non-statutory Factors
The State has proven a number of non-statutory aggravating factors in addition to the one statutory aggravator found by the Court. In particular, in the opinion of the Court, the State has proven:
1) The defendant's lengthy juvenile record demonstrates a pattern of unlawful and at times violent conduct.
2) The deaths of Angela Farmer and Danya "Duke" Adams were devastating to their families and their communities and were in no way justified.
3) The defendant had established a history of bad conduct in custodial settings culminating in an assault in a detention facility occurring on or about September 22, 2000.
4) The defendant has propensities for violent conduct.
In the opinion of the Court, the Court finds that the State has failed to establish the following aggravating factors:
1) That the circumstances surrounding the murders were the result of premeditation and planning.
2) That the defendant had a lack of meaningful rehabilitation efforts.
In the Opinion of the Court, the defense proved at the penalty hearing the following mitigators:
1) The co-defendant Corey Twyman was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in these murders. Twyman was a juvenile at the time of the shootings. Flonnory was an adult by approximately three months.
2) There was some involvement of Danya "Duke" Adams in the escalating series of confrontations leading up to these shootings.
3) Freddy Flonnory grew up in a home where violence and abuse was common place.
4) Freddy Flonnory received juvenile correctional services from the age of twelve forward, yet it did not appear from the evidence that his treatment plan was implemented consistently.
5) Freddy Flonnory was only eighteen years of age at the time of the shootings.
6) Freddy Flonnory has been incarcerated for approximately six and one half years since the shootings and at least during the last three years has matured to some degree.
7) Freddy Flonnory has maintained a positive relationship with his son, Daiquan.
8) Freddy Flonnory lacked appropriate role models during his childhood.
In particular, Danya "Duke" Adams was involved in the earlier shooting incident on July 1, 1997.
In particular, he has been less resistant to custody, has participated in an institutional job, "Tier Man", and has shown signs of remorse and responsibility.
The Court finds that the defense has failed to establish the following alleged mitigating factors:
1) That defendant suffered from chronic severe depression that contributed to these murders.
2) That defendant shortly after the shootings accepted responsibility and displayed remorse.
3) That Freddy Flonnory was neglected and abused during his periods of custody as a juvenile.
4) That consumption of alcohol and/or marijuana contributed to the cause of these murders.
5) That lead poisoning as a child caused Freddy Flonnory cognitive deficits that contributed to these murders.
The Court notes that in custody, Mr. Flonnory suffers from some symptoms of depression.
The Court notes that Mr. Flonnory's juvenile justice placements were clearly less than optimal and did not likely contribute to any positive changes in his personality.
Discussion
The Court must independently weigh and balance the aggravating and mitigating factors it has found to exist, weigh also the vote of the jury as to this balancing of factors and then determine the appropriate sentence to impose. In this case, the balancing is extremely difficult, as evidenced by the differing decisions of the jury members. In particular, the cruel unwarranted death of a completely innocent bystander, Angela Farmer weighs heavily for a sentence of death. On the other hand, the fact that an equally guilty co-defendant by operation of law, was spared the death penalty weighs against death for this defendant.The Court in determining this sentencing was faced with a far different case than the one presented at the previous trial. In particular, the Court in 1999 was presented by the same Freddy Flonnory who had engaged in the murders, i.e., a youth angry at the world, acting out consistently, with no remorse or indiction of socialization.
This was a retrial after remand from the Delaware Supreme Court. The jury in the previous trial found aggravating factors outweighed mitigating factors by a vote of 9-3.
In this trial, the Court was presented with an adult defendant who had spent almost his entire adult life in custody, indeed more than one-quarter of his entire life had been spent in adult prison. The defendant presented at this trial was a man who had sufficiently impressed correctional officers to the point where they testified on his behalf and in that testimony indicated a level of confidence in him as not being a threat to safety in the prison. This Freddy Flonnory did express remorse and accepted responsibility for the deaths of Angela Farmer and Danya "Duke" Adams.
Since the incident in 2000, Mr. Flonnory's institutional record does not display the violence of his youth. His position as "Tier Man" in the prison evidences a level of responsibility lacking in previous years.
This position is earned by inmates. It is easily lost if there are any indications of improper conduct.
At the time of these murders, Mr. Flonnory was an extremely immature youth with a record of criminal and violent behavior. His numerous contacts with the juvenile justice system did little to correct his conduct. He had no positive pressures at home or in the community. This does not excuse his conduct but it does make it easier to understand
The incident itself was a horrible example of a pattern of increasing violence initiated by a sign of disrespect in a juvenile justice facility. That "disrespect" was later revisited on the streets with several incidents leading up to the July 1st shooting which personalized the grievance for Mr. Flonnory who had not been a part to the original incident. His family was in the line of fire. It was shortly thereafter that Flonnory and Twyman retaliated for this shooting on July 13, 1997. That shooting left two dead and at least one wounded. The Court does not believe, given the positive changes in Mr. Flonnory over the past three plus years that closing this circle of violence with another death serves any un-useful purpose. Mr. Flonnory, as Mr. Twyman, will spend the rest of his life in custody.
At this incident, Flonnory was not a shooter.
Based upon the mitigating factors proved: That the equally guilty Twyman has received a life sentence for these murders, that Mr. Flonnory has demonstrated sincere remorse, that Mr. Flonnory has matured and in some ways has changed while in adult custody, that Mr. Flonnory does not pose a threat of violence while incarcerated, that at the time of this incident Mr. Flonnory was an angry immature youth; and that in some ways, Danya "Duke" Adams' involvement in the July 1st incident contributed to Flonnory's motive for participating in these murders, the Court finds the mitigating factors establish that a life sentence is more appropriate than a death sentence.
The Court has carefully considered the aggravating factors established by the State. If the Court were presented with same Freddy Flonnory who had appeared to be sentenced in 1999, it is extremely likely that the sentence would have been death. But, the Court notes that the propensities for violence, the status of rehabilitative efforts and even the sincerity of remorse are much different today. The Court is faced with sentencing a man aware of his deeds and remorseful for them, a man who has carved out a life with some responsibilities in prison, a man with a relationship with his son.
The Court has also weighed the 7-5 vote by the jury. It is significant that five jurors found that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors. The Court in this case agrees with that substantial minority.
Finally, the Court considers the statutory aggravator, the death of two victims. Nothing the Court can do at sentencing can alleviate the loss and pain to the families and the communities of these victims. The additional death of Freddy Flonnory would close the circle of violence in this case but it would do nothing to stop the violence on our streets. Mr. Flonnory and Mr. Twyman will not ever be a part of that violence in the future. Perhaps, in some way they can contribute to breaking this cycle by explaining the consequences of their actions to younger inmates.
There is some indication that Mr. Flonnory has to an extent counseled newer inmates in a positive fashion according to testimony of correctional officers.
The Court, therefore, finds that the mitigating factors established outweigh the aggravating factors established and the sentence as to Murder First Degree in each count shall be Life Imprisonment.