Brumfield v. State
| Citation | 442 N.E.2d 973 |
| Decision Date | 07 December 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 282S52,282S52 |
| Parties | Charles BRUMFIELD, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
Frederick T. Work, Gary, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Amy Schaeffer Good, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Defendant-appellant, Charles Brumfield, was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter, Ind.Code Sec. 35-42-1-3 (Burns Repl.1979), at the conclusion of a jury trial in Lake Superior Court on August 24, 1978. Defendant Brumfield was sentenced to sixteen (16) years imprisonment. After a delay of some years, Defendant now appeals.
Defendant Brumfield raises four errors on appeal, concerning: 1) whether Defendant has been denied his constitutional right to a fair trial through the admission of a prejudicial exhibit and the use of evidentiary harpoons; 2) whether the relevance of State's Exhibit 5 was outweighed by its prejudicial, inflammatory, and cumulative effects; 3) whether there was sufficient evidence to convict Defendant of involuntary manslaughter; and, 4) whether the State commented improperly on imprisonment the defendant would receive if convicted.
On February 17, 1978, Defendant and the victim, John Hope, apparently disagreed about some liquor while inside a liquor store. Brumfield produced a gun and fired four bullets, killing Hope.
In this first issue the defendant points out as reversible error the admission of a photograph, improper re-direct examination of a State witness, and certain evidentiary harpoons. We find that the defendant has waived any alleged error. In Guardiola v. State, (1978) 268 Ind. 404, 405, 375 N.E.2d 1105, 1107, we said:
(emphasis in original).
Exhibit 5, a photograph, is raised in two different issues in the appellate briefs and we will decide that question in Issue II. The relevant portion of the motion to correct errors concerning the remaining alleged errors in this issue reads as follows:
The defendant failed to point to any specific instances that embraced paragraph 5 of his motion to correct errors. The trial court must be given the first opportunity to address these alleged errors. Defendant's lack of specificity has waived this issue on appeal.
Defendant argues that the relevance of State's Exhibit 5 is outweighed by its prejudicial, inflammatory and cumulative effect. Exhibit 5 shows the decedent's clothed legs sticking out from behind a sales counter in the liquor store. Defendant feels that other diagrams and charts showed the position of the victim on the floor and the introduction of exhibit 5 served only to confuse and unduly prejudice the jury against the defendant.
The admission of photographs is within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed unless the trial court abused its discretion. To be admitted, it must first be established that the photographs are a true and accurate representation of the things they are intended to portray. Bray v. State, (1982) Ind., 430 N.E.2d 1162, 1164; Chambers v. State, (1979) Ind., 392 N.E.2d 1156, 1160. The relevancy is determined by whether a witness would be allowed to describe verbally that which the photograph depicts. Bray, supra; Murphy v. State, (1977) 267 Ind. 184, 195, 369 N.E.2d 411, 416. We have also held that a photograph is admissible, despite its gruesome nature, if it accurately depicts a scene or object which a witness could describe. Bledsoe v. State, (1980) Ind., 410 N.E.2d 1310, 1313.
We find no error in the admission of the photograph. Exhibit 5 was in black and white, showing the position of the murder victim behind a counter. Only the legs of the victim are shown in the photograph. Some black spots around the victim's feet are probably blood but they do not appear to be gruesome. Officer Reed testified that the photograph was a true and accurate representation of the position of the victim when he arrived at the scene of the murder. We fail to see how this exhibit confused the jury or prejudiced the jury against the defendant nor do we feel that it is cumulative of other evidence. There is no error on this issue.
Defendant alleges that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to show his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The voluntary manslaughter statute, Ind.Code Sec. 35-42-1-3, reads as follows:
When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence this Court will not weigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses. Rather, we will consider only that evidence which is most favorable to the State, together with all logical and reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. The verdict will be upheld so long as there is sufficient evidence of probative value from which the jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Showecker v. State, (1982) Ind., 432 N.E.2d 1340, 1342; Willard v. State, (1980) Ind., 400 N.E.2d 151, 160.
The evidence most favorable to the State reveals that the defendant entered Ora's Liquor Store at approximately 3:15 p.m., on February 17, 1978. Various patrons of the store were present, including John Hope, the murder victim. Jerry Guider, the chief witness for the State, testified that the defendant and the victim shook hands and talked to one another but did not appear to be arguing. Guider also said that Hope asked for a "hit" of the defendant's whiskey but the defendant refused to give him any, which the defendant later corroborated on the witness stand. The two men parted but when the defendant walked past Hope, the defendant reached into the back of his pants, pulled out a pistol, and dropped it on the floor. The defendant then bent over, picked up the gun and fired four shots at Hope. Hope tried to raise the latch on the counter door as though he was trying to escape. Guider stated that he did not see any weapons on Hope at any time. Guider did not hear any argument or threats and did not see any fight prior to the firing of the...
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