Ake v. Oklahoma

470 U.S. 68 (1985)

Facts

D and his codefendant Hatch quit their jobs on an oil field rig in October 1979, borrowed a car, and went looking for a location to burglarize. They drove to the rural home of Reverend and Mrs. Richard Douglass and gained entrance to the home by a ruse. Holding Reverend and Mrs. Douglass and their children, Brooks and Leslie, at gunpoint, they ransacked the home; they then bound and gagged the mother, father, and son, and forced them to lie on the living room floor. D and Hatch then took turns attempting to rape 12-year-old Leslie Douglass in a nearby bedroom. Having failed in these efforts, they forced her to lie on the living room floor with the other members of her family. D then shot Reverend Douglass and Leslie each twice, and Mrs. Douglass and Brooks once, with a .357 magnum pistol, and fled. Mrs. Douglass died almost immediately as a result of the gunshot wound; Reverend Douglass' death was caused by a combination of the gunshots he received and strangulation from the manner in which he was bound. Leslie and Brooks managed to untie themselves and drive to the home of a nearby doctor. D and his accomplice were apprehended in Colorado following a month-long crime spree that took them through Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and other States in the western half of the United States. D was arrested and charged with murdering a couple and wounding their two children. His behavior at arraignment, and in other pre-arraignment incidents at the jail, was so bizarre that the trial judge, sua sponte, ordered him to be examined by a psychiatrist 'for the purpose of advising with the Court as to his impressions of whether the Defendant may need an extended period of mental observation.' D claimed to be the sword of vengeance of the Lord and that he will sit at the left hand of God in heaven. D was committed to a state hospital to be examined with respect to his competency to stand trial. On April 10, less than six months after the incidents for which D was indicted, the chief forensic psychiatrist at the state hospital informed the court that Ake was not competent to stand trial. After a hearing, the court found D to be a 'mentally ill person in need of care and treatment' and incompetent to stand trial, and ordered him committed to the state mental hospital. Six weeks later, the chief forensic psychiatrist informed the court that Ake had become competent to stand trial. D was receiving 200 milligrams of Thorazine, an antipsychotic drug, three times daily, and the psychiatrist indicated that, if D continued to receive that dosage, his condition would remain stable. P resumed proceedings against D. D's attorney informed the court that his client would raise an insanity defense. Counsel asked the court either to arrange to have a psychiatrist perform the examination or to provide funds to allow the defense to arrange one. The court refused. D was tried for two counts of murder in the first degree, a crime punishable by death in Oklahoma, and for two counts of shooting with intent to kill. At the guilt phase of the trial, his sole defense was insanity. D called to the stand and questioned each of the psychiatrists who had examined D at the state hospital, but none testified about his mental state at the time of the offense because none had examined him on that point. P asked each of these psychiatrists whether he had performed or seen the results of any examination diagnosing D's mental state at the time of the offense, and each doctor replied that he had not. No expert testimony for either side on D's sanity at the time of the offense was presented at trial. The jurors were on insanity. The jury rejected D's insanity defense and returned a verdict of guilty on all counts. At the sentencing proceeding, D had no expert witness to rebut P's testimony that D was a danger to society. The jury sentenced D to death. The appeals court affirmed. D appealed.