Carter v. State
| Decision Date | 30 June 2000 |
| Parties | Triona Ann CARTER v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
J. William Cole, Birmingham, for appellant.
William H. Pryor, Jr., atty. gen., and Andy Scott Poole, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.
The appellant, Triona Ann Carter, was convicted of murder and manslaughter, violations of §§ 13A-6-2 and 13A-6-3, Ala. Code 1975, respectively. Carter was sentenced to life in prison on the murder conviction and to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter conviction.
This case involves convoluted facts and conflicting evidence. At trial, the appellant's entire theory of defense was self-defense and she requested a jury charge on self-defense. The trial court refused that jury charge. Consequently, the primary issue of this appeal is whether the trial court should have granted the appellant's request for instructions on self-defense.
On November 28, 1996, Tamiko Smith, Sheri Baker, Marcus Cephus, and Smith's infant daughter went to see a movie at a local theater in Birmingham. When the movie ended, Smith's group got into an altercation in the theater parking lot with Carter, her boyfriend Trevas Bell, and her friend Artimese Johnson.
As Smith approached the exit of the parking lot, she noticed that Bell was tailgating her car. Bell was so close to Smith's car that when she slowed at a speed bump in the lot, Bell's car hit the bumper of Smith's car. At that point, Smith and Cephus got out of Smith's car and asked if there was a problem. Bell and the passengers in his car, Triona Carter and Artimese Johnson, got out of Bell's car. Conflicting evidence was presented at trial with regard to what happened after the parties in the two vehicles got out of their cars.
However, it is uncontradicted that Carter and Baker exchanged words. Carter and Baker were involved in an altercation several months prior to this incident. On that occasion, Carter was attacked and beaten by unknown individuals carrying baseball bats; Baker had allegedly aided the attackers by letting one of them use her telephone to make a phone call. In the present case, when Carter confronted her, Baker denied being involved in the attack and Cephus intervened on Baker's behalf. The appellant's evidence showed that Cephus, who was 5'10" tall and weighed 232 pounds, attempted to push Carter, who was 5' tall, weighed 99 pounds, and was pregnant at the time of the incident. When Bell saw Cephus move toward Carter, he punched Cephus in the head. At that point, a fist fight began between Bell and Cephus.
After Bell punched him, Cephus tackled Bell to the ground and began throwing punches at Bell. While the two men were fighting on the ground, Carter walked up behind Cephus and punched him in the back in an attempt to get him off Bell. In response, Cephus got up and punched Carter in the face. The force of the blow knocked Carter to the ground and left her dazed. When she hit the ground, Carter noticed a 9mm pistol lying approximately one foot away from her.1 Carter grabbed the gun and began firing the gun rapidly. As a result, Carter shot and killed Cephus and her companion Artimese Johnson, and she shot and wounded her boyfriend Bell. Carter was subsequently arrested and charged with capital murder for killing two persons by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct. See § 13A-5-40(a)(10), Ala.Code 1975. After a two-day trial, Carter was convicted of manslaughter with respect to Cephus and murder with respect to Johnson.
On appeal, Carter contends that the trial court erred in denying her requested jury instructions on self-defense. Section 13A-3-23(a) states, in pertinent part:
Like the case at hand, the appellant in King v. State, 478 So.2d 318 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985), killed an unarmed person but contended at trial that he acted in self-defense and that he was therefore entitled to a self-defense charge. In that case, King stabbed the victim (Williams) after having threatened to "get him." Evidence indicated that before the stabbing incident, Williams provoked a fight with King over King's fiancee.
A short time after this incident King went home, armed himself with a butcher knife, and returned to the same neighborhood where he had been confronted by Williams. King met Williams and his fiancee when he returned. When an argument arose between King and his fiancee, Williams intervened and pushed King. A shoving match ensued between King and Williams. Then, King pulled out the butcher knife and stabbed Williams who died as a result of the stabbing. King never saw Williams with any weapon and did not know if Williams had a weapon when he stabbed him.
In King, this court stated the general rule regarding a trial court's duty to instruct on the law of the case:
478 So.2d at 319. See also Ex parte Pettway, 594 So.2d 1196, 1200 (Ala.1991); and Chavers v. State, 361 So.2d 1106, 1107 (Ala.1978).
In determining whether there is sufficient evidence to instruct a jury on self-defense, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant. See Eubanks v. State, 611 So.2d 448, 449 (Ala.Crim.App.1992); King v. State, 478 So.2d at 319; Chavers v. State, 361 So.2d at 1106; Ex parte Pettway, 594 So.2d at 1200; Toler v. State, 623 So.2d 408, 411 (Ala.Crim.App.1993); and Coon v. State, 494 So.2d 184, 186 (Ala.Crim.App.1986). If there is the slightest evidence tending to prove a hostile act that could reasonably be interpreted as placing Carter in apparent imminent danger to life or grievous bodily harm at the time of the shooting, the issue of self-defense becomes a question for the jury. See Ex parte Pettway, 594 So.2d at 1200.
The evidence favorable to Carter showed that Cephus and Smith were the first people to exit a vehicle before the shooting. Both Smith and Cephus were seen "fumbling" under the car seats as if they were looking for something. When Cephus and Smith got out of their car, they walked toward the front of Bell's car and at that point Bell, Carter, and Johnson got of their car. Cephus and Smith began yelling at Carter and her companions and an argument quickly ensued between Bell and Cephus. Cephus then attempted to assault Carter, and Bell intervened on her behalf and a fight ensued. Thus, according to the evidence presented by Carter, Cephus and Smith were the aggressors and the instigators of the fight.
While Bell was lying on the ground being punched by Cephus, Carter attempted to help him by hitting Cephus in the back. Cephus then punched Carter in the face and knocked her to the ground. Carter, who was pregnant at the time, testified that when Cephus hit her she was afraid for her own safety and for the safety of her unborn child. Like the...
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