Brooks v. State

• Decision Date: 07 May 1982
• Docket Number: No. 478S78,478S78
• Citation: 434 N.E.2d 878
• Parties: Michael BROOKS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 878

434 N.E.2d 878

Michael BROOKS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.

No. 478S78.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

May 7, 1982.

David F. McNamar, Michael R. Franceschini, Steers, Sullivan, McNamar & Rogers, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Alembert W. Brayton, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

PIVARNIK, Justice.

Michael Brooks, defendant-appellant, was found guilty by a jury of Second-Degree Murder, Ind.Code § 35-1-54-1 (Burns 1975) (repealed by Acts 1976, P.L. 148, § 24) in Marion County Criminal Court on November 15, 1977. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than fifteen (15) nor more than twenty-five (25) years. Brooks appeals.

Three errors are asserted by defendant, concerning: 1) whether there was sufficient evidence upon which to base a murder conviction; 2) whether the trial court erred in making defendant sit through jury selection while wearing jail clothing; and 3) whether the trial court erred in giving the jury an instruction after it returned an improper verdict.

The evidence most favorable to the State reveals that on the evening of June 3, 1977, the decedent, Raymond Vaughn, and the defendant were drinking at the Shalimar Club, 22nd and Central, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Vaughn became abusive and argumentative to the employees of the club so defendant volunteered to take his friend outside. While outside, the two men began to fight in the rear parking lot. Brooks killed Vaughn by stabbing and cutting him a total of eighteen (18) times. Defendant fled to his apartment house but was apprehended later that day.

I.

The first issue for our consideration concerns the sufficiency of the evidence. Defendant argues that the State did not meet its burden to show that he did not act in self-defense. Under Ind.Code § 35-41-3-2 (Burns 1979):

"(A) person is justified in using deadly force only if he reasonably believes that that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to himself or a third person or the commission of a forcible felony."

On the other hand, Ind.Code § 35-1-54-1, the effective statute at that time, lists the necessary elements for a finding of second- -degree murder: "Whoever, purposely and maliciously, kills any human being, is guilty of murder in the second degree, ...."

In examining a claim of insufficient evidence, this Court will neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. To do so would usurp the jury's functions. We will determine only whether there is substantial evidence of probative value from which the jury could reasonably find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Sanders v. State, (1981) Ind., 428 N.E.2d 23, 25; Love v. State, (1979) Ind., 393 N.E.2d 178, 180; Pollard v. State, (1979) Ind., 388 N.E.2d 496, 501.

The requirements for self-defense are that the defendant acted without fault; that the defendant was in a place where he had a right to be; and that the defendant was in real danger of death or great bodily harm, or in such apparent danger as caused him in good faith to fear death or great bodily harm. Jackson v. State, (1978) 267 Ind. 501, 503, 371 N.E.2d 698, 699; Franklin v. State, (1977) 266 Ind. 540, 544, 364 N.E.2d 1019, 1021; King v. State, (1968) 249 Ind. 699, 705, 234 N.E.2d 465, 468.

In the case before us there were no eyewitnesses to the homicide but many people were present at the events leading up to the murder and defendant himself admits killing Vaughn. Defendant Brooks and Vaughn had been friends for several months and were characterized as "drinking buddies." On the afternoon and evening of June 3, 1977, they were together, drinking heavily. Charles Scott went to the Shalimar Club between 8 and 9 p. m., on June 3, with his friend, Claude Bolin. Scott saw defendant and Vaughn with a group of other people in the parking lot, and later saw the two men in the Club drinking and talking together. Both defendant and Vaughn had knives in their hands. Vaughn's knife was a four-to-six inch pocket knife and defendant's knife looked like a pen knife with a very small blade. Neither was attempting to stab the other, they were just "horsing around." Scott said this was not an unusual occurrence in the Shalimar Club parking lot. He said neither of them seemed to be angry but both were very drunk. When Scott saw them inside, he said they were so drunk that neither could walk. Scott and other witnesses testified that the decedent had a reputation for getting a little high and pulling out his knife; further, he did not have a reputation in the community as a peaceful person.

While Scott said both men were very drunk, there was also testimony that indicated the defendant was not as drunk as the decedent and appeared to be more self-composed than the decedent throughout the afternoon and evening. Defendant's wife, Rachel Brooks, testified that when she saw the two men earlier in the day, the deceased was drinking heavily but her husband was not drinking at that time, or at least did not look as if he had been. Vaughn was very drunk and unruly at the Club and the defendant was self-composed to the extent that he was enlisted and later volunteered to remove Vaughn from the premises. Throughout the evening Vaughn was bothering several people. He had a confrontation with Davis, a waiter, and at one time, Vaughn threatened to kill Davis. Davis and the owner of the Shalimar Club then asked a security guard, Julian Morton, to remove Vaughn. Morton escorted Vaughn outside on two different occasions but Vaughn returned each time. Defendant Brooks then stated that he would see that Vaughn left the Club and escorted him outside. Brooks returned to the bar sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 a. m., and bought a bottle of alcohol. He stated that he had taken care of his friend. Around 3:00 a. m., when Morton was closing the Club, one of the customers returned and showed Morton the body of Raymond Vaughn lying in the parking lot at the rear of the bar. There were eighteen stab wounds on Vaughn, five of which went through the left side of the chest into the lung. One of these went into the abdomen and into the liver. There were also stab wounds on the right side and there were three cuts on the body, one of which extended across the front of the neck and had the effect of cutting Vaughn's throat clear through from one end to the other. Dr. James Benz testified that this cut through the throat could have been done from the front or rear but it was characteristic of the assailant standing behind the victim and drawing the knife across his neck. Any one of several of the stabbing or cut wounds was fatal to the victim.

Defendant testified in his own behalf. He stated that Vaughn became angry in the parking lot because he wanted to return and get the security officer. Vaughn swung and hit defendant in the head. With a knife in his hand, Vaughn started coming at the defendant but defendant somehow managed to get the knife away from Vaughn. Defendant began hitting, with the knife in his hand, to protect himself. Defendant said he did not realize he was stabbing Vaughn until he saw blood and then he became afraid and left the scene. He tried to wipe the blood off himself and the knife with a towel; later, he threw the knife and towel into the trash can at the entrance of the building in which he lived.

From this evidence the jury could have found that after disarming Vaughn and then having possession of Vaughn's knife as well as his own knife, and further considering the drunken condition of Vaughn, defendant could have withdrawn without any harm to himself. He therefore could not have been in a position to feel that it was necessary for him to continue attacking Vaughn in order to defend himself. This is significant in view of the fact that eighteen blows were struck upon Vaughn's body, many of which would have been fatal alone. Several of the wounds penetrated the lungs and other organs and the one to the neck was characteristic of one dealt by standing behind the victim. Defendant Brooks...