Cunningham v. State

• Decision Date: 12 October 1982
• Docket Number: 8 Div. 680
• Parties: Larry D. CUNNINGHAM v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 484

426 So.2d 484

Larry D. CUNNINGHAM v. STATE.

8 Div. 680.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Oct. 12, 1982.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 23, 1982.

Certiorari Denied Feb. 11, 1983

Alabama Supreme Court 82-211.

Earl D. McNeal, Huntsville, for appellant.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Jennifer M. Mullins, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

BOWEN, Judge.

The defendant was indicted and convicted for the murder of Gary Vice. Sentence was forty years' imprisonment.

The defendant argues on appeal, as he did at trial, that there was no evidence to refute the evidence of his insanity at the time he committed the crime. He contends that the evidence of insanity overcame the presumption of sanity and that his conviction is due to be reversed.

"A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law." Alabama Code 1975, Section 13A-3-1(a). The legal principles governing the burden and sufficiency of proof of insanity were collected in Christian v. State, 351 So.2d 623 (Ala.1977).

"Those principles may be summarized as follows:

"1. By statute, there is a presumption of sanity extending to all persons over the age of 14.

"2. The defense of insanity is an affirmative defense. The burden of proving this defense rests upon the defendant and never shifts to the state.

"3. The burden upon the defendant is to establish the issue of legal insanity by a preponderance of the evidence and to the reasonable satisfaction of the jury.

"4. The question of insanity at the time of the commission of the crime is a matter to be determined by the jury from a consideration of all the evidence.

"5. In making its determination, the jury may reject all expert testimony though it is without conflict.

"6. However, opinion testimony, even of experts must be weighed by the jury and may not be arbitrarily ignored.

"Authority for each of these principles may be found in Christian, supra, at 351 So.2d 624.

"The one exception to these rules is found in those cases where the proof of insanity is overwhelming and uncontradicted.

" 'Cases of insanity may be so clear, the proof so strong and undisputed, that the jury should be instructed in like form.' Boyle v. State, 229 Ala. 212, 222, 154 So. 575, 583 (1934)."

Herbert v. State, 357 So.2d 683, 688-89 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 357 So.2d 690 (Ala.1978).

Generally, see Anno. 17 A.L.R.3d 146 (1968).

The presumption of sanity relieves the State of any affirmative duty to prove that the defendant was in fact sane and responsible for his actions until evidence to the contrary is produced and the presumption of sanity is rebutted. Alabama Code 1975, Section 15-16-2.

"(I)nasmuch as the law presumes sanity, that presumption, like that of innocence, should prevail throughout the trial, until it is overcome. And whether the evidence of insanity arise out of the testimony which proves the homicide, or is shown aliunde, reason and analogy alike declare it insufficient, until it overcomes the presumption of sanity."

Boswell v. State, 63 Ala. 307, 325, 35 Am.Rep. 20 (1880).

Although the presumption of sanity can be overcome or rebutted, the accused is not entitled to a directed verdict on the issue of insanity unless the evidence of insanity is clear, strong and undisputed. Boyle v. State, 229 Ala. 212, 222, 154 So. 575 (1934).

"But courts should be careful not to invade the province of the jury in cases of this character. Although the evidence may be offered only by the defense, and all tend to one conclusion, yet, in view of the presumption of sanity, if the evidence is inconclusive, and reasonable inferences may be drawn that the act was that of a sane man as defined by law, the affirmative charge should be refused." Boyle, 229 Ala. at 222, 154 So. 575.

This is because "the general proposition that most men are sane creates so strong a probability that the specific defendant is sane that the party asserting the contrary is required to carry the burden not only of producing evidence, but of persuading." H. Weihofen, Mental Disorder As A Criminal Defense 315 (1954). The presumption of sanity prevails until the contrary is established to the reasonable satisfaction of the jury. Weihofen at 215. "(I)n view of the presumption of sanity, if the evidence (of insanity) is inconclusive, and reasonable inferences may be drawn that the act was that of a sane man as defined by law, the affirmative charge should be refused." Boyle, 229 Ala. at 222, 154 So. 575.

In exceptional cases of insanity, the proof may be "so strong and undisputed that the jury should be instructed in like form." Boyle, 229 Ala. at 223, 154 So. 575; Hocutt v. State, 344 So.2d 194 (Ala.Cr.App.1977); Smith v. Smith, 54 Ala.App. 237, 307 So.2d 47 (1975). "The jury ... cannot disregard an overwhelming mass of uncontradicted evidence of insanity on the part of the defendant and convict him on the legal presumption of sanity." 30 Am.Jur.2d Evidence, Section 1161 (1967). These exceptional cases are few and on only five occasions have the appellate courts of this state found that the jury's verdict was contrary to the overwhelming and conclusive evidence of insanity. In chronological order those cases are: Pickett v. State, 37 Ala.App. 410, 71 So.2d 102 (1953), cert. denied, 260 Ala. 699, 71 So.2d 107 (1954); Christian v. State, 351 So.2d 623 (Ala.1977); Herbert v. State, 357 So.2d 683 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 357 So.2d 690 (Ala.1978); Woods v. State, 364 So.2d 1178 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 364 So.2d 1186 (Ala.1978); Sasser v. State, 387 So.2d 237 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 387 So.2d 244 (Ala.1980). These cases represent the exception to the general rule that the issue of insanity is for the jury. "(A)lthough great weight must be given to a jury's verdict after they have considered a plea of insanity, there is an exception where the proof of insanity is overwhelming and undisputed." Graham v. State, 383 So.2d 892, 895 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 383 So.2d 895 (Ala.1980).

In Pickett v. State, 37 Ala.App. 410, 71 So.2d 102 (1953), cert. denied, 260 Ala. 699, 71 So.2d 107 (1954), the testimony presented by law and expert witnesses led to "the necessary conclusion that this appellant is a congental mental deficient." 37 Ala.App. at 413, 71 So.2d 102.

"If this conviction be sustained, it can only be done on the bare assumption of sanity prevailing to every accused.

"The undisputed and substantial evidence as to this accused's mental defectiveness must be deemed to have overcome this presumption."

37 Ala.App. 415, 71 So.2d 102.

Testimony presented showed that Pickett was mentally defective and an imbecile before, at the time of, and after the commission of the offense.

In Christian v. State, 351 So.2d 623 (Ala.1977), the evidence also showed that Christian had a history of mental disorders prior to the homicide, including admission to Bryce Hospital on several occasions. Although the defense presented three psychiatrists who testified that Christian was insane at the time he committed the homicide, the State presented no expert testimony concerning Christian's sanity. The only evidence which could arguably be used to rebut the evidence of insanity was the testimony of Christian's sister.

"Her testimony in part was that in 1972 (Christian was indicted in October of 1972) a Bryce Hospital case worker told her and her mother that Christian was in good condition and that if he would take the medication prescribed for him he could live among normal people. Miss Williams also stated that her mother told her on one occasion that Christian had said he would kill her if she tried to put him back in Bryce Hospital." Christian, 351 So.2d at 625.

The court found that "the overwhelming evidence presented by appellant has amply overcome the presumption of sanity as to this accused." 351 So.2d at 625.

In Herbert, supra, this Court found that "(f)rom all the evidence we see no facts which would support a reasonable inference that the homicide was that of a sane man as defined by law." 357 So.2d at 689.

"Finally, there was apparently nothing before the jury to rebut the great mass of testimony directly showing actual insanity before, at the time of, and after the act in question. In other words, there were simply no facts before the jury from which opposing inferences might have been rationally drawn. Here, the evidence of insanity is not merely strongly persuasive; it is conclusive.

"There was no evidence that the appellant was sane aside from the mere presumption of sanity."

357 So.2d at 689.

In Woods v. State, 364 So.2d 1178 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 364 So.2d 1186 (Ala.1978), this Court found, and the Supreme Court agreed, that "the preponderance and weight of the evidence in this case was sufficient to overcome the statutory presumption of sanity attending defendant." 364 So.2d at 1187. Two psychiatrists testified that Woods was insane at the time he committed the murder. One psychiatrist was a member of the Forensic Board that evaluated Woods when he was sent to Bryce Hospital by the court for mental examination before his trial. The second psychiatrist was a consultant on the Forensic Board who examined Woods at the request of the court while Woods was at Bryce. Woods' appointed attorney, who had withdrawn from representing Woods, also testified that Woods was insane.

In its case in chief the State introduced the testimony of the two arresting officers that they had observed "nothing unusual" about Woods or his appearance despite the fact that when they first saw Woods he was running down the road hollering that he was the one that had stabbed and killed the little girl.

On rebuttal, the State adduced testimony from two lay witnesses that Woods was sane. Melvin Hillman was a prisoner serving time in the county jail for possessing marijuana. He...