Antonio Deandre Hawkins v. State of Alabama

── Antonio Deandre Hawkins v. State of Alabama ── Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama Date: May 01, 2026 Category: General Rel: May 1, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published in Southern Reporter. Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ CR-2025-0003 _________________________ Antonio Deandre Hawkins v. State of Alabama Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court (CC-06-1430.62) PER CURIAM. Antonio Deandre Hawkins appeals the Jefferson Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his third Rule 32, Ala. R. Crim. P., petition for postconviction relief. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions. CR-2025-0003 Facts and Procedural History Hawkins was indicted on two counts of capital murder for the slaying of a single victim, Rochine Thomas.1 The first count was for shooting Thomas while Thomas was in a vehicle, a violation of § 13A-5- 40(a)(17), Ala. Code 1975. The second count was for shooting Thomas while Hawkins was in a vehicle, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(18). The jury, however, found Hawkins guilty of the lesser-included offense of felony murder on both counts. The trial court sentenced Hawkins to a single term of life imprisonment. Hawkins appealed, and this Court affirmed Hawkins's convictions and sentence by an unpublished memorandum. See Hawkins v. State (No. CR-06-0548, Sept. 19, 2008), 27 So. 3d 624 (Ala. Crim. App. 2008) (table). A certificate of judgment was issued on September 19, 2008. Sometime later, Hawkins filed his first Rule 32 petition, which did not result in relief. Hawkins did not appeal the adverse ruling on his first petition. On August 5, 2010, Hawkins filed his second Rule 32 1"[T]his Court may take judicial notice of its own records." Nettles v. State, 731 So. 2d 626, 629 (Ala. Crim. App. 1998) (citing Hull v. State, 607 So. 2d 369, 371 n.1 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992)). 2 CR-2025-0003 petition. After holding an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied Hawkins's petition on November 9, 2010. On October 21, 2011, this Court affirmed by an unpublished memorandum the circuit court's denial of Hawkins's second Rule 32 petition. See Hawkins v. State (No. CR-10- 0582, October 21, 2011), 120 So. 3d 1241 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011) (table). Hawkins filed the current Rule 32 petition, his third, on August 28, 2024, and paid the filing fee. Along with his petition, Hawkins submitted a recently prepared mitigation report that he claimed constituted newly discovered evidence under Rule 32.1(e), Ala. R. Crim. P. The mitigation report was based upon an interview with an expert about events that had occurred during Hawkins's childhood that, he claimed, "would have been highly relevant in determining [his] sentence." (Supp. R. 10-15.) Hawkins also claimed that he was entitled to a new sentence under Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), and that his two convictions for the murder of Thomas violated the principles of double jeopardy. The State responded, alleging that the claims raised in Hawkins's petition were meritless and precluded under Rules 32.2(a)(2)-(5), 32.2(b), and 32.2(c), Ala. R. Crim. P. On December 11, 2024, the circuit court summarily dismissed Hawkins's petition. This appeal follows. 3 CR-202