Germain v. State

769 A.2d 931 (2001)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D and Campbell shared cell 205 in D building, Bravo Wing of the Maryland House of Corrections Annex. D and two other individuals had just come off of temporary housing into the D Building. D was given a choice of three bed spaces in which to move. D requested that he not be moved into a cell with anyone who was a smoker. After initially refusing the placement in the cell with Campbell, D changed his mind and accepted housing in that cell. His decision to accept the housing was made, at least in part, on the assurances by Sergeant Gibson that they would move him out of the cell after a short period of time. Soon thereafter D made numerous requests to be moved from the cell he shared with Campbell because Campbell 'smoked all the time,' was HIV positive, and had sexually propositioned D. After being cell-mates for approximately two weeks, a fight broke out between the two inmates. D claimed he was acting in self-defense. D claimed he was acting in self-defense by warding off an unwanted, forced homosexual assault upon him by Campbell, who D believed to be a homosexual, a convicted sex offender, and an HIV-positive individual, while P contended that the assault was simply an unprovoked attack by D. The two inmates' versions of the assault are drastically different. At approximately 11:25 p.m., Campbell walked to the door of the cell to smoke a cigarette. Before Campbell could light the cigarette, D jumped out of bed and began hitting him in the back of the head. Campbell realized he was being stabbed and called out for a correctional officer. D 'continued stabbing [Campbell] in the neck, the shoulder, and down the right side of [Campbell's] back.' Campbell testified and the medical report confirmed that he had '104 stab wounds.' D claimed he was acting in self-defense. Campbell, 'tried to approach [him] sexually.' D explained that while he was laying on his bed and Campbell was standing in the cell, Campbell began touching him and fondling him in a sexual manner: He approached me, touching me. When I jumped down to try to get him to stop, he attacked me. And we fought. D then grabbed a knife, which he kept for protection, from its hiding place by the toilet and used it in his fight with Campbell. On cross-examination, Campbell denied being a homosexual and stated that if he made any sexual advances toward D while they were cell mates, that he did not remember making them. He further testified on cross-examination that, although he remembered pleading guilty to two second-degree sex offenses and he was serving a forty- year sentence, he did not recall the specifics of the charges. It was clear that whether Campbell was a person who made sexual attacks against members of the same sex was proffered as material to the credibility of both Campbell and D. D asked the court to show Campbell the presentence-investigation report (PSI) to try to refresh Campbell’s memory about the details. Because the PRI contained confidential information, the court refused. D was convicted and appealed.