Days after Davon Goodwin was shot in 2011, he gave Charleston detectives his alleged attacker’s name.
Goodwin, 19, had survived surgery. Family members thought he would recover.
Less than a week later, though, he died.
Authorities hoped to use his so-called "dying declaration" against the suspected shooter in a murder trial. But in a ruling that could sink the case altogether, an appeals court said Wednesday that prosecutors couldn't use the evidence because Goodwin likely thought he was going to survive when he identified Marvin Reginald Brown as the shooter.
Court rules on hearsay generally bar testimony about another person’s statements. An exception is often made if the account had come from a dying victim aware of his own grave state. But Goodwin’s condition when he talked with the police didn’t fit that bill, a three-judge panel at the S.C. Court of Appeals said.
The opinion could further stall Brown's case, which has lingered for six years as lawyers fight over the legal question. Brown, 33, a Potomac Street resident, is free on bail, records show. Ninth Circuit Public Defender Ashley Pennington, whose office represents Brown, declined to comment on the development.
Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said prosecutors were disappointed and would discuss with the Attorney General's Office whether to appeal the ruling to the S.C. Supreme Court.
"Without the suppressed evidence, we have no prosecutable case," she said. "We knew our initial appeal was an uphill battle but still believed it to be a worthy effort."
Goodwin was shot April 26, 2011, during a robbery on America Street, but he pulled through two operations and woke up the next day. He started breathing on his own.
His prognosis was “good,” and he was expected to eventually return to school or work, court documents stated. He would be able to drive.
Three days after the shooting, a detective from the Charleston Police Department reported showing him a six-person photographic lineup, and Goodwin pointed to Brown. Audio of part of the encounter was recorded.
But on May 4, Goodwin was found unresponsive in the hospital. A blood clot had formed in a lung, and he could not be revived.
Brown was soon arrested on murder and armed robbery charges.
Preparing for trial, Brown's public defenders asked a judge to exclude Goodwin’s identification as hearsay. The detective testified in an evidence-suppression hearing that he had encouraged Goodwin to name the shooter.
“He was the only guy that could … establish who the perpetrator of the crime was and bring him to justice,” the investigator said.
There were dueling accounts of Goodwin’s own outlook. To his grandfather, Goodwin said “he wasn’t going to make it," the relative testified. That helped the state's case. But his brother said Goodwin had assured him that “everything will be all right.”
Circuit Judge Stephanie McDonald decided in August 2014 to suppress Goodwin's account.
When they appealed that order, attorneys for the state argued that Goodwin didn’t have to say outright that he was dying for his statement to qualify as a dying declaration. Instead, facts and circumstances could show that. They also faulted McDonald's ruling for mentioning that Goodwin might have been seeking revenge against Brown.
After listening to oral arguments in April, the appeals judges agreed there was no evidence of a vindictive tilt to Goodwin’s account.
But that wasn’t enough to overturn McDonald's decision. Other evidence showed Goodwin didn’t believe he was near death when he named Brown as the shooter, the justices said. Goodwin had been removed from the intensive care unit and was ready for physical therapy, they noted.
“Goodwin did not identify the assailant spontaneously but in response to questioning,” the ruling stated. “Goodwin was reluctant to name the perpetrator, which suggests a fear of reprisal, something inconsistent with a belief of impending death.”