State v. Bondurant3/20/1998
le but not presented." Goad, 938 S.W.2d at 371. As noted above, the asserted mitigating factor in Goad was a recognized mental illness, see American Psychiatric Ass'n, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders § 309.81 (4th ed. 1994), whereas in the present case, an addiction specialist testified only generally that, in combination with the defendant's physiological problems, the use of stimulants would have made the defendant paranoid and suspicious. See State v. Alvin Robinson,Jr., No. 02C01-9608-CR-00280, slip op. at 9 (Tenn. Crim. App., Jackson, Dec. 3, 1997) (For purposes of defeating premeditation and reducing first-degree murder to a lesser grade, "estimony that a defendant suffers from a personality disorder, rather than a mental disease or defect, fails to establish diminished capacity."); see also Strickland, 466 U.S. at 700, 104 S.Ct. at 2071 ("considerable emotional stress that did not rise to the level of extreme disturbance" not sufficient in the face of strong aggravating factors to demonstrate a probability that the use of the evidence would have changed the outcome). Presented in this light, the witness merely described symptoms of the chemical abuse practiced by this particular individual.
Furthermore, our review of the "quality of the proposed testimony," see Henley, --- S.W.2d at ---, slip op. at 22, reveals significant differences in the evidence proposed in Goad and in the present case. While serving in the military in Vietnam, Goad endured several fire fights and, more particularly, experienced the death of three persons close to him. While climbing an electric pole in Goad's stead, one friend was shot, causing him to grab a high voltage wire which propelled him from the pole with his fingers left burned to the wire. In a second incident, Goad and a friend were pinned down by enemy fire. Goad was splattered with what he thought was mud during the fire fight, but he later discovered the substance to be his friend's brains after the friend had been shot through the head. In a third incident, Goad hid in a cellar of his Vietnamese girlfriend's house while the Viet Cong killed her by eviscerating her on the kitchen table above his hiding place. These were the events, coupled with Goad's change in personality and behavior after returning from southeast Asia, that formed the basis for the post-traumatic stress diagnosis. Clearly, this factual background is palpably worthier of mitigation than are the claims of the defendant in the present case that he is disadvantaged by his own self-indulgent lifestyle.
Indeed, upon review of the quality of the proposed evidence in the present case, see Henley, --- S.W.2d ---, slip op. at 22, we cannot escape the Conclusion that such evidence does not reveal a "disadvantaged background," nor does it suggest "emotional and mental problems [that make the defendant] less culpable than defendants who have no such excuse." See Brown, 479 U.S. at 544, 107 S. Ct. at 841. There was no showing that positive or redeeming evidence was available, other than the evidence presented through the testimony of the defendant's mother. Cf. Groseclose v. Bell, 130 F.3d 1161, 1170-71 (6th Cir. 1997) (At capital sentencing hearing, counsel failed to use proof that Groseclose had no criminal record, was active in church, and had a positive record of military service.). The proposed evidence, in addition to effectively belying the defendant's claim of innocence, amplifies the defendant's repugnant personal habits. This court has previously recognized that such proof has doubtful effect in "lessening [a defendant's] culpability in the eyes of the jury." Ronald Richard Harries v. State, No. 03C01-9607-CR-00276, slip op. at 16 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, July 30,
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