Jeffrey Varnado

Former Ebay Sellers vs. Ebay, Inc.
2017-12-04 02:15:47 (UTC)

App. Papers Hines

The state court also found that the last two factors further militated
against finding Hines mentally retarded. For the sixth factor—dealing with
whether Hines could hide facts or lie in his own interest—the state court found
that there was broad and consistent evidence that Hines lied frequently and well
when his self-interest demanded it. Id. at 48–49, ¶ 218–24. The state court
further observed that Hines had not confessed to the murder and had, in fact,
resisted custodial interrogation about it, in contrast to other mentally retarded
offenders who inadvertently admit their crimes. Id. at 49 ¶ 225. Indeed, in a
typewritten letter dated February 20, 2005, Hines joked about his mental
retardation defense, writing “WELL WAIT A DAMN MINUTE I’m a returd
remember, can’t blame me . . . . . (smile).” Id. at 49–50, ¶ 226 (errors in original).
These findings dovetail with those probative of the seventh factor—whether the
commission of the offense required forethought, planning, and complex
execution. The nighttime entry to catch his victim unaware and vulnerable, the
obtaining of a key in advance, the taking of a weapon, and the careful eluding
of the police in the wake of the murder all signaled to the state court that
“Hines[’s] conduct showed that he contemplated, designed and improvised the
attack on Ms. Haupt with a degree of skill absent in those of lesser intellect.” Id.
at 50–52, ¶ 233, 236




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