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State v. Bondurant3/20/1998
OPINION FILED:
AFFIRMED
In this capital case, the defendant, Pat Bondurant, was convicted by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder and arson. At a separate sentencing hearing, the jury found the following aggravating factors: (1) the defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies involving the use or threat of violence, and (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or depravity of mind. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-2-203(i)(2) and (5) (1982). The jury found that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to outweigh the aggravating circumstances and sentenced the defendant to death by electrocution.
After the defendant filed a motion for new trial, counsel was allowed to withdraw and new counsel was substituted so that the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel could be raised. After a full hearing, the trial court entered an order denying the defendant's motion for new trial, and a notice of appeal was filed.
In this appeal, the defendant raises numerous issues that challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, the effectiveness of counsel, and that allege errors occurring during the guilt phase and during the sentencing phase of the trial. Having carefully considered the defendant's contentions as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to errors occurring during both the guilt and the sentencing phases, and having decided that none affirmatively appear to have affected the verdict, we affirm the defendant's convictions.
BACKGROUND
At the guilt phase, the state presented the testimony of the defendant's wife, Denise Bondurant. Denise married the defendant in 1983, but they separated in August 1986 after a fight, during which the defendant had Denise, who was pregnant, on the floor, choking and hitting her, and holding a gun to her head. Denise's older sister broke up the fight, and Denise went to live with her in Athens, Alabama, for two months.
At the time, Denise had one child, Matthew, who was three years old and had cerebral palsy. In 1986, the defendant received Matthew's disability check from Social Security at a farmhouse in Elkton, Tennessee, where he and Denise had previously lived together. Denise and the defendant maintained some contact after the separation, and the defendant would give Denise the cash from Matthew's check each month. Because Denise did not work, she would call the defendant whenever she needed money.
In September 1986, Denise asked the defendant for money to help her move to Pulaski, and he told her that his wallet had been stolen the night before while he and the victim had been out drinking. The defendant assumed the victim had taken the wallet, which contained that month's disability money for Matthew.
In October 1986, Denise returned to Pulaski after Matthew's monthly check arrived, and she rented an apartment. On the day Denise picked up the money from the defendant, he made further remarks about the wallet being taken. The defendant indicated how embarrassed he was and how no one steals anything or takes anything from him or "little Matthew."
On Saturday, October 18, 1986, Denise needed more money from the defendant. She looked for the defendant at the victim's house, but no one was home. She then went to the Pulaski Rubber Company, where the defendant worked, because he was to be there by 11 a.m. to work overtime. After learning the defendant was not coming to work until 3 p.m., she returned to the Pulaski Rubber Company around 2:30 p.m. and waited for the defendant to arrive. The defendant arrived around 2:45 p.m., driving his old white Plymouth or Dodge. The
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