Bruner v. State
| Decision Date | 21 February 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 12–124.,CR 12–124. |
| Citation | 2013 Ark. 68,426 S.W.3d 386 |
| Parties | Rickey BRUNER, Sr., and Melissa Workman, Appellants v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Joseph C. Self, Fort Smith, for appellant.
Dustin McDaniel, Att'y Gen., by: Valerie Glover Fortner, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.
A jury in the Sebastian County Circuit Court found appellants Rickey Bruner, Sr., and Melissa Workman guilty of committing first-degree battery against their son, R.B., a violation of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–13–201(a)(9) (Supp.2011), and a class Y felony. Ark.Code Ann. § 5–13–201(c)(2). As a consequence, the jury fixed Bruner's sentence at a term of forty years in prison, and Workman received a sentence of life imprisonment. In this joint appeal, appellants are represented by different counsel who have filed separate briefs on their behalf. However, they urge the same three points for reversal: (1) the circuit court erred by excluding evidence of their mental condition, (2) the circuit court erred by failing to give an instruction on the lesser-included offense of third-degree battery, and (3) the circuit court erred in refusing to give a proffered jury instruction defining the phrase “manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Because Workman was sentenced to life in prison, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 1–2(a)(2). We affirm appellants' convictions and sentences.
Although the sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged on appeal, a recitation of the facts is necessary to place the issues under review in context. To that end, the record reflects that on March 16, 2011, officers of the Fort Smith Police Department conducted a welfare check of R.B. at appellants' home. R.B. was born on January 12, 2011, and was two months old at that time. The officers found him sitting in a car seat wrapped in a blanket in front of a space heater, although it was warm outside. Upon inspection, the officers saw that the child was severely emaciated. His eyes, cheeks, and fontanel were sunken in, and his skin hung loosely from his body. Officer Alan O'Mara testified that it “was probably the worst child or anything like that that I have ever seen,” and he described his reaction to the sight of the child as “traumatizing.” Bruner told O'Mara that R.B. had been to the doctor the previous week and that the doctor had told them that R.B. was small, but healthy. The officers immediately summoned an ambulance that transported R.B. to Sparks Regional Medical Center. Soon thereafter, the infant was airlifted to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
Detective James Melson testified that Bruner argued with him about calling an ambulance because Bruner disagreed that the child needed medical attention. Melson took a photograph of R.B., identified as State's Exhibit 4. He stated that he took this photograph because it showed the child crying, but he said that R.B. was so weak that no noise had come from his mouth. Melson also interviewed Bruner at the police station later that day. In their conversation, Bruner stated that Workman fed R.B. between two and three ounces of formula, four or five times a day, but that he was not always present at the feedings. He advised that Workman was primarily responsible for feeding the child, bathing him, and changing his diapers. Bruner said that he did not do those things because he was afraid that he would hurt the baby. Bruner related that he had noticed the condition of R.B.'s fontanel a couple of days earlier and that he had consulted his neighbors about it. He acknowledged that his son did not look like other children he had seen, and when asked why he did not call a doctor, Bruner replied that he did not want to get into an argument with Workman.
Detective Patricia Sullivan also spoke with Bruner that afternoon. She stated that Bruner told her that his son was fine, only a little dehydrated. Bruner said that R.B. had been eating every three or four hours and that he had noticed nothing unusual about the child; that he kept most of his food down; and that he would throw up every once in a while.
Detective Melson executed a search warrant for appellants' home the next day. He found two makeshift dog pens in the home containing well-fed, healthy puppies, an older dog, and dog food. Melson said that plenty of adult food was in the house and that the refrigerator was well stocked. He located two cans of infant formula and two partial cases of infant formula, one of which was littered with rodent droppings. Melson found a child's bottle in the bedroom, and the latex nipple appeared to have been gnawed on by mice.
John Taylor, the clinic coordinator for the Sebastian County Health Department, testified that appellants were accepted into the WIC program and approved to receive vouchers for infant formula for three months. Records showed that Workman received a voucher for formula on January 26, 2011, that she used on January 28, 2011. A second voucher was picked up on February 26, 2011, and cashed in four days later. Taylor testified that parents are educated about the nutritional needs of their child and that the health department offers guidance to parents if their child does not tolerate formula. He said there was no record of Workman contacting the office with questions about using a different kind of formula.
Glenda Simpson, an investigator with the Division of Child and Family Services, saw R.B. at the emergency room. She said that his fontanel was so large that she “could put her entire hand in his head.” Simpson testified that R.B. did not respond to voice or touch and that the child had no idea how to suck the nipple of a bottle. She stated that he “looked alien due to the amount of skin that was hanging off of his body and bones protruding everywhere.”
Detective Tammy Dernier also observed R.B. at the emergency room. She testified that one could see every rib and every bone in R.B.'s skull; that his skull was sunken; and that he acted as though he did not know what to do with a bottle. Dernier conducted an interview of Workman that afternoon. Workman told Dernier that R.B. had last seen the doctor the previous Monday and that she had called the doctor's office every day about his not keeping food down but that she had not received a return call. Workman stated that there was nothing wrong with her child and that she would not lie about feeding him. She said to Dernier that sometimes she would feed R.B. three ounces of formula every two to three hours but that she usually fed him every five to six hours after he woke up. Dernier testified that Workman did not ask how R.B. was doing and that she became emotional only at the prospect of going to jail.
Detective Michael McCoy also interviewed Workman on March 16, 2011. She told McCoy, When asked how often she fed R.B., Workman responded,
Once a day. And I'm not lying about that part. Usually every day when I have the formula. Here lately, I've been only feeding him once a week because I haven't had the formula. We tried getting on food stamps, and I'm still waiting for the checks from WIC. I've only been feeding him once a week since the beginning of this month. Before that, I had WIC and I fed him twice a week. For the whole month. January, I fed him twice.
Anita DeSchryber, a registered nurse who works at the office of R.B.'s pediatrician, Dr. James Cheshier, testified that R.B. weighed seven pounds, seven ounces at birth. Dr. Cheshier examined R.B. on January 26 and February 24, 2011. On January 26, he weighed six pounds, twelve ounces, and DeSchryber testified that it was not unusual for a child to lose weight after birth. On February 24, R.B. weighed seven pounds, seven ounces. DeSchryber said that he looked good and was gaining weight but that he did have thrush, a yeast infection of the mouth. DeSchryber testified that Dr. Cheshier prescribed medication for this condition on February 4 and that the doctor renewed the prescription at the office visit on February 24. She said that thrush is a fairly common malady that can cause a baby to have difficulty eating. DeSchryber testified that parents generally call if that situation arises and that the problem is treatable. DeSchryber also testified that the office keeps records of parents' calls and that the only record of a call from either Workman or Bruner was on February 4, when Bruner called about R.B. having thrush.
Dr. Chester Carlson treated R.B. at the emergency room. He said that the child presented as an obviously very sick, lethargic, and limp baby. He also described the child as having an “alien-like appearance” and said that he was “skin and bones” without any fat or muscle. Carlson said that R.B. was cachetic and that he was in a condition called marasmus, meaning a wasting-away syndrome. He stated that the fontanel was abnormally depressed and that it was the largest he had ever seen in a two-month-old child. Carlson said that he could see the suture lines on R.B.'s skull due to lack of fat and that the skin covering his skull was so thin that “[i]f you poke on that [fontanel] you would poke right on the child's brain.” He testified he had never seen a baby this emaciated and malnourished. Carlson expressed the view that the child was not simply dehydrated, “it [was] starved.” He further testified that R.B. was nearing renal failure and that his BUN scores indicated that the child had been breaking down his brown fat and muscles for sustenance. He also said that the child was hypothermic because he had cannibalized all his brown fat that provides insulation. Carlson offered the opinion that this had been going on for a while, perhaps a week or two, and that R.B. was dying and would have...
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