Caston v. State

• Citation: 823 So.2d 473
• Decision Date: 23 May 2002
• Docket Number: No. 1999-KA-01985-SCT.,1999-KA-01985-SCT.
• Parties: James "Doc" CASTON, Charles E. Caston a/k/a Charles Ernie Caston and Hal Spivey Crimm a/k/a Harold Spivey Crimm v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

823 So.2d 473

James "Doc" CASTON, Charles E. Caston a/k/a Charles Ernie Caston and Hal Spivey Crimm a/k/a Harold Spivey Crimm v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1999-KA-01985-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 23, 2002.

Rehearing Denied August 15, 2002.

Julie Ann Epps, Jackson, attorney for appellants.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorneys for appellee.

Before SMITH, P.J., DIAZ and EASLEY, JJ.

EASLEY, J., for the Court.

s 1. The case before this Court addresses the 1970 death of Rainey Pool (Pool), a one-armed man. In 1970 a number of individuals were indicted in connection with the beating and ensuing death of Pool. However, an order granting nolle prosequi was entered by the circuit court in July, 1970. After more than twenty-eight years, five men¹ were indicted for the murder of Pool in 1998. Two of the five men had severed trials. On June 30, 1999, Dennis Newton (Newton) was tried and found to be not guilty of murder by a Humphreys County jury. On August 2, 1999, Joe Oliver Watson (Watson) entered a guilty plea for manslaughter. The trial court continued the sentencing of Watson until the October 1999 term of court.

s 2. On November 10 through 13, 1999, James "Doc" Caston (Doc), Charles Ernie Caston (Charles) and Hal Spivey Crimm (Crimm)² [hereinafter Doc, Charles and Crimm collectively will be called "the brothers"] had a joint jury trial in the Circuit Court of Humphreys County, Mississippi, the Honorable Jannie M. Lewis, presiding, for the death of Pool. Doc, Charles and Crimm were convicted of manslaughter by an unanimous jury. All three men were sentenced to serve a term of twenty (20) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. From that conviction and sentence, Doc, Charles and Crimm jointly appealed to this Court.³

FACTS

s 3. Newton, Watson, and Doc testified to varying accounts of the events that occurred on the night of Pool's death. The testimonies mainly differed as to the amount of involvement in the beating and which people were present at the scene.

s 4. Dennis Newton (Newton) was a bartender at Jimmy Williams's lounge in Louise on April 11, 1970. Newton was charged in the case and found not guilty in June 1999.

s 5. According to Newton, on that night, about 30 to 40 people were in the bar shooting pool. It was hot and the air conditioner was not working, so the blinds and windows were open in the bar. Newton and Doc saw Pool with his arm in the bed of Doc's truck. Doc ran out the door. Doc told Pool to get out of his truck. Newton testified that Pool "got smart with [Doc], kept smarting off. So, Doc hit him one lick." When Doc hit him, Pool fell down and then "Hot Sanford [ (Hot)]⁴ ran over and kicked him upside the head a couple of times, had on a pair of brown corduroy house-shoes." Pool was dragged to the side of the liquor store attached to the bar.⁵

s 6. A little later Newton, Jimmy Williams (Williams) and the eight-year-old son of Williams went out and poured a soda on Pool. They knew Pool was alright, so they went back inside the bar. A few minutes later Pool came to the front door and was told to go away. Somebody grabbed Pool and led him from the bar.

s 7. Newton later went to Williams's car to get some change. Newton opened the trunk and then opened the money box. Pool came from the shadows of the cotton gin, which was located to the right of the bar. Newton pulled a rifle from the back of the car and told Pool not to come over to him or he would shoot Pool. Pool asked Newton who had hit him. About that time Doc and Charles came out of the bar. Newton was not sure who else came out of the bar.

s 8. Doc told Pool that he had hit him. Pool ran toward Doc to hit him. Charles hit Pool one time, then Doc hit Pool and knocked down Pool. Pool got up and "came at" Doc again. Doc hit Pool and knocked him down again. Doc hit Pool in the face these two times. However, Newton could not see where Charles hit Pool.

s 9. When Pool was knocked to the ground, Charles told Doc not to hit Pool anymore. At this point, Watson came and kicked Pool a couple of times in the head and a couple of times in his body. Newton stated "Well, y'all back off and let me shoot him, the S-O-B." Doc stated "Do what you want to. I'm through with him." Then Doc and everyone walked back and inside the bar.

s 10. Newton stated that he probably saw Crimm but that he did not see Crimm do anything. Newton saw Doc, Charles, Watson, and Hot strike Pool. Newton testified that Doc and Charles walked into the bar in front of him. Newton did not see Watson and Crimm anymore that night. Newton also testified that he could not remember whether he ever saw Crimm outside on either of the two occasions.

s 11. On cross-examination, Newton testified that Pool acted like he had been drinking, Doc hit Pool in the face only, and he did not actually see whether Charles struck Pool. Newton stated that Pool did not appear to have any severe injuries due to the blows from Doc. Also, Newton stated that Doc and none of the men seated at the table beside him (i.e., Charles and Crimm) ever struck Pool while he was on the ground. Newton saw Watson kick Pool twice in the head and twice in the body, and he saw Hot kick Pool twice in the head when Pool was on the ground. Newton did not see Doc or Charles go outside the remainder of the night, and he never saw Crimm touch Pool. On redirect Newton stated that he did not know whether Doc or Charles went outside again that night.

s 12. Watson testified that Doc, Charles, Crimm, Newton and he were involved in a fight with Pool on April 11, 1970. According to Watson, all of them hit and kicked Pool for about ten minutes. About thirty minutes later the same five men, including Watson, went outside again. Watson stated that all five of the men were hitting and kicking Pool for about five minutes.

s 13. Watson stated that all five of the men were hitting and kicking Pool at one time or another while he was on the ground. Watson thought it was Crimm's idea to load and carry away Pool. After the beating, Watson thought Pool was unconscious, but he did not know if Pool was alive or dead and could not tell whether Pool was breathing. Watson then stated that he and Crimm loaded Pool into Watson's pick-up truck and took Pool to the Sunflower River. Pool was then thrown into the river.

s 14. Candy Bradshaw, a former girlfriend of Doc's son, testified that, in 1986 while she was at Doc's house, Doc stated that he had killed a black man, gotten away with it and that he would not hesitate to do it again.

s 15. James Caston, Jr., son of Doc and nephew of Charles and Crimm, testified for the defense. James testified that he and Candy never went to Doc's house.

s 16. Doc was the only defendant who testified at trial. According to Doc, a week before he went to the bar, tools were stolen out of his truck. He asked the patrons of the bar to keep an eye on his truck if they went outside because he had the tools stolen.

s 17. Newton told Doc someone was in his truck. Doc went outside and saw Pool. Doc and Pool knew each other. Doc asked Pool why he was in the truck. Doc stated that Pool came toward him and that Pool was mad. Doc hit Pool in the mouth, and Pool fell down. Doc bent over Pool and his breath smelled like he had been drinking, probably moonshine.

s 18. Charles came out of the bar, and Doc grabbed him and pushed him back toward the door. Then Hot went by Doc and began kicking Pool while wearing house shoes. Doc and Watson laid Pool under a light by the whiskey store.

s 19. Later, Doc went out to check on Pool. Doc stated that Pool ran toward him and lunged at him. However, Pool hit the ground, but Doc had not hit him. Then Doc and Watson moved Pool near the gin so that no one would run over him and no one could see him. Doc stated that he had trouble keeping other people from jumping on Pool.

s 20. When they laid Pool down, Doc stated that Pool asked who had hit him. Doc told Pool that he had hit him. Pool turned around and "started at" Doc again. Doc hit Pool in the mouth. At this point, Newton told everyone to get back and he would kill the S.O.B. Then, Watson began stomping Pool in the throat. Watson wore heavy work boots, western boots with big heels. The second time Watson stomped on Pool's throat, Doc told Watson that he was killing Pool.

s 21. Doc stated that he went back inside with Newton. Doc then sat down beside Crimm. Doc also stated that Charles was in the bar and had not been outside the building nor touched Pool. Doc asked Williams if he had called the law, and Williams stated that he had called them. A few days later Doc was arrested. Doc denied knowing Bradshaw and making any statement about killing anybody.

s 22. Dr. David Steckler (Steckler), is the pathologist who performed the original autopsy on Pool's body in 1970. Pool had one arm. Pool had multiple face, neck, chest and arm abrasions. In addition, his T-3 vertebrae and larynx were fractured and there was some hemorrhaging of the brain. At the time of the autopsy, there was a question as to whether Pool was dead or alive at the time he entered the water. He had enough damage to his larynx and brain to cause death but the condition of his lungs suggested that he may have been alive when he went into the water. Steckler testified that, upon reviewing the autopsy findings again, Pool was probably alive when he went into the water. However, the injuries were enough to cause death regardless of whether Pool was placed in water. Steckler submitted an addendum report in 1998. The injuries to the larynx were consistent to being kicked, choked or grabbed. Pool had a blood alcohol content of 220 milligrams per hundred milliliters of blood. Steckler testified that the actual cause of death was drowning.

s 23. Dr. Steven Hayne (Hayne), a forensic pathologist, reviewed the earlier case findings. Hayne testified that the injuries that Pool sustained to the brain would have been...