Doctor: Holsey not mentally retarded

By Payton Towns III - The Union-Recorder

JACKSON - Almost five months after attorneys said a man convicted of killing a Baldwin County sheriff’s deputy was mentally retarded, a psychiatrist for the respondent testified he wasn’t.

The state habeas hearing for Robert Wayne Holsey, found guilty of killing Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputy William E. Robinson IV, continued Monday in Butts County Superior Court.

The hearing is a continuance from June when Neal Dickett, a Superior Court judge from the Augusta Judicial Circuit, heard from Holsey’s witnesses but did not hear from the respondent. The hearing includes testimony from the petitioner (Holsey) and the respondent (the state).

Holsey sat at the petitioner’s table in a white state prisoner uniform, while his sister watched the proceedings. Robinson’s father, friends and several Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies also attended the hearing.

Michael Watkins, assistant Attorney General from the State Attorneys General Office,presented testimony disclaiming that Holsey was retarded and that his original trial lawyer, Andy Price, wasn’t drunk during the original trial.

Dr. Thomas Sachy said he was asked to evaluate Holsey.

“I did not see signs of mental retardation,” he said. “… I did many tests … and I do not believe he meets criteria for mental retardation.”

Sachy looked at the testimony of Holsey’s girlfriend, who testified that Holsey called her on the night of the murder and told her to come get him but not to drive a red car because that was the color of the car that law enforcement was looking for. He also tried to get her to take him to a house where there was a police scanner.

“There were some patterns of forethought that is beyond the range of someone with mild retardation,” Sachy said.

The doctor also studied transcripts from phone conversations Holsey had with his girlfriend, saying the words he used were not words that would come from a person with mental retardation.

When asked about witnesses and friends claiming Holsey was mentally retarded, Sachy said, “Holsey has a lot of support and friends who would say anything to help him.”

Evelyn Luton, assistant District Attorney of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit since 2001, testified about the time she represented Holsey for a probation revocation and aggravated assault case in 1992.

“I don’t recall having any problems,” she said. “… There was no doubt in my mind that he understood what was going on during his hearing.”

DA investigator Mark Robinson testified about Holsey’s trial lawyer Andy Prince, saying he saw Prince many times throughout the trial. Holsey’s lawyers - Thomas Dunn from the Georgia Resource Center in Atlanta and volunteer lawyer James Harrington from New York - have said Prince was not ready for the trial. In the last hearing in June, Prince testified that he was drunk during the trial.

“He seemed prepared,” Robinson said.

The investigator also said that of the many cases he’s helped the DA’s office with for the last 14 years, this case had more defense witnesses.

The day ended with Bill Massee, Baldwin County sheriff, taking the stand to testify about the case and Prince. Massee began by talking about how he was told about the shooting.

“(The scene) wasn’t really chaotic,” the sheriff said. “… I knew when one of the EMTs looked at me and shook his head that Robinson wasn’t going to make it. … The whole thing was surreal.”

After notifying Robinson’s family, the sheriff said he went to the BCSO where it wasn’t long before Holsey was brought in. Massee said he, along with Howard Sills, Putnam County sheriff, then deputy chief, talked with Holsey.

When asked about Prince, Massee said he talked with the lawyer during the trial.

“We weren’t close friends,” the sheriff said.

Watkins then asked Massee a series of questions about Prince and the case: “Was this the most important case you ever worked on?”

“Yes,” Massee said.

“Would you let a drunk attorney work on it?” Watkins said.

“No,” said Massee. “Because of Will Robinson, this investigation was important.”

Holsey, 38, was convicted of malice and felony murder in the Dec. 17, 1995, death of Robinson and the armed robbery of a convenience store that same day. Dunn and Harrington are seeking his release from death row.

Fred Bright, district attorney of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, and Sills, are scheduled to testify when the hearing resumes at 9 a.m. today.

Payton Towns III covers law enforcement, the court system and Baldwin County education for The Union-Recorder. He can be reached at (478) 453-1456 or by e-mail.

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