Evans v. State

Decision Date14 June 2011
Docket NumberNo. 2009–KA–00854–COA.,2009–KA–00854–COA.
Citation109 So.3d 1056
PartiesDante Lamar EVANS, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
CourtMississippi Court of Appeals

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Robert B. McDuff, Robert Charles Stewart, Bryan A. Stevenson, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Ladonna C. Holland, attorney for appellee.

IRVING, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. On March 12, 2009, Dante Lamar Evans was convicted of the murder of his father, Darold Evans. In accordance with the requirements of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97–3–21 (Rev.2006), the Harrison County Circuit Court sentenced Evans to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Although Dante was fourteen years old at the time of the offense, the circuit court had no discretion in the pronouncement of sentence.

¶ 2. On March 20, 2009, Dante filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, which the circuit court denied. Feeling aggrieved, Dante appeals and argues that: (1) the circuit court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on imperfect self-defense; (2) the circuit court erred in excluding testimony regarding Dante's father's alleged past abuse of Dante and Dante's mother; (3) the circuit court erred in refusing funds to hire an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder; (4) the circuit court denied Dante's right to a fair trial and an impartial jury by improperly influencing potential jurors during voir dire and by excluding potential jurors who indicated that Dante's age would inhibit their ability to be fair and impartial; (5) the circuit court erred in admitting Dante's statements made to security guards; (6) the circuit court erred in admitting Dante's statements made to Biloxi police officers; and (7) Dante's life sentence is unconstitutional.

¶ 3. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 4. According to Dante's videotaped police statement, he had witnessed his father physically abusing his wife and Dante's mother, Juanita, on several occasions. Dante stated that he had witnessed his father hold his mother's head underwater in a bathtub until she could not breathe. Dante told the police that his father had tried to run Dante's mother over in a car. According to Dante, he also overheard his father threaten to kill Dante's mother numerous times.

¶ 5. In 2006, Dante's mother and father separated. Following the separation, Dante and his mother moved to North Carolina. Dante began associating with a gang, using drugs, and getting into trouble. Dante's mother decided to send him to live with his father, whom she described as a “strict disciplinarian.”

¶ 6. On February 27, 2007, Dante moved from his mother's home in North Carolina to his father's home in Biloxi, Mississippi. According to Dante, his father's abusive behavior continued when he moved in with his father. Within weeks of moving in with his father, Dante came to Latrice Walker Richardson, a guidance counselor at Dante's school, and told her, “Well, I've been thinking about killing my dad.” At that point, Richardson called another counselor, Ms. Crockett,1 to her office. Dante then complained that his father had beaten him. He explained that he did not want to be in Mississippi with his father. He wanted to go back and live with his mother. Before they could talk further, the bell rang for the end of the school day. Richardson asked Dante if he felt comfortable going home, and he stated that he did. However, the next morning, Dante returned to Crockett's office, and Crockett called Richardson and the school's social worker, Cassandra Jones, to her office. During the meeting, Richardson and Crockett informed Jones of the conversation that they had had with Dante the previous day. Jones explained to Dante that parents have the right to discipline their children but not to bruise them. She inquired of Dante whether his father had left bruises on him, and Dante said that he had not, although his father “might push or punch him in the chest.” Dante again expressed a desire to return to his mother's home, but he stated that his father refused to allow him to contact his mother. Jones suggested that Dante write a letter to his mother, which he did. However, because Dante was working on the letter during class, his teacher confiscated it.2 In the letter, Dante alleged that his father had “already put his hands on me leaving lumps and marks.” Dante further stated: “I can't stand living down here, and you know that Daddy is acting like a straight fool!!! He already has got [sic] me thinking about committing serious murder and killing, and I mean SERIOUS! Daddy is a liar, a money[-]hungry, too[-]strict dummy.” As stated, Dante's teacher confiscated the letter. Dante became defiant and, as a result, was written up for his behavior. Richardson and Jones contacted Dante's father to discuss Dante's behavior. Jones asked Dante's father if there were any problems in the home. The father explained that he was a strict father but that he and Dante had a good relationship. He further explained that they prayed together in the mornings. During the meeting, Dante's mother called Dante's father's cellular telephone. The father passed the telephone to Dante, and Dante spoke with his mother. This surprised the school officials because Dante had told them that his father would not allow him to contact his mother.

¶ 7. The following day, Richardson and Jones met with Dante again. Dante stated that when he and his father returned home, his father pushed him against their trailer and told him to leave. Richardson and Jones noticed that Dante had a small dark bruise next to his eye. Jones contacted the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS later performed a home visit, but the record is unclear as to what DHS's findings were.

¶ 8. In his videotaped police statement, Dante explained that two nights before the murder, he had removed his father's handgun from a locked toolbox and began sleeping with it under his bed. Dante stated that he had kept the gun under his bed for protection from one of his father's “outbursts.” Dante further stated that he had never handled a gun before. Dante told the police that either one or two nights before the murder, he had practiced pointing the gun at his father while his father slept. Dante pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. Dante told police that he “took it as a sign I'm not suppose [sic] to be doing it. But today, I tried it again....” On April 13, 2007, Dante shot his sleeping father in the face.

¶ 9. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our discussion and analysis of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Imperfect Self–Defense Instruction

¶ 10. Dante argues that the circuit court erred by refusing his jury instruction on imperfect self-defense. Under the theory of imperfect self-defense, “an intentional killing may be considered manslaughter if done without malice but under a bona fide (but unfounded) belief that it was necessary to prevent great bodily harm.” Moore v. State, 859 So.2d 379, 383 (¶ 9) (2003) (quoting Wade v. State, 748 So.2d 771, 775 (¶ 12) (Miss.1999)).

¶ 11. In Wade, the Mississippi Supreme Court recognized the theory of imperfect self-defense in the context of a domestic-violence case. Wade, 748 So.2d 771. Deanna Wade shot and killed her boyfriend, Ralph Simpson, after he had brutally beaten her in a bar. Id. at 773 (¶¶ 5–6). According to witness testimony, Simpson beat Wade's head against a table top, pulled Wade by the hair, “and beat her head against the edge of a pool table.” Id. at (¶ 5). Immediately after the attack, Wade went to the house that she shared with Simpson and retrieved a gun. Id. at (¶ 6). Wade returned to the bar, and when Simpson moved toward her, she shot him. Id. Our supreme court found that Wade should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of murder based on either “heat of passion” or imperfect self-defense. Id. at 777 (¶ 19). In support of its finding, the court noted Simpson's long history of abusive behavior toward Wade and the short lapse of time between the shooting and the most recent episode of abuse. Id. at 776 (¶ 15).

¶ 12. However, in Moore, a case which also involved domestic abuse, our supreme court found that the theory of imperfect self-defense did not apply. Moore, 859 So.2d at 383 (¶ 11). Rachel Moore's husband, Jason Moore, had physically abused Rachel throughout their marriage. Id. at 381 (¶ 2). On the day that Rachel killed Jason, the couple had argued, and Jason had physically abused her. Id. at (¶ 3). When the altercation ended, Rachel told Jason, “I hope you know you're fixing to die.” Id. Jason ran into the woods beside their trailer, but he returned approximately forty-five minutes later and yelled for Rachel to come outside and talk. Id. Once Rachel came outside, Jason walked toward her, and Rachel shot him. Id.

¶ 13. Our supreme court concluded that the facts in Moore were distinguishable from those in Wade.Id. at 383–84 (¶ 13). While both Wade and Moore were victims of domestic violence, the court noted that Moore waited over forty-five minutes after the abuse to shoot her husband. Id. at 384 (¶ 13). Additionally, the court noted that whereas Wade had no access to a telephone, Moore had access to a telephone and a car, and she failed to call for help or leave the premises. Id. at (¶¶ 12–13).

¶ 14. Our supreme court has stated that [a] defendant is entitled to have jury instructions given which present his theory of the case; however, this entitlement is limited in that the court may refuse an instruction which incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is without foundation in the evidence. Clark v. State, 40 So.3d 531, 544 (¶ 36) (Miss.2010) (emphasis added) (quoting Spires v. State, 10 So.3d 477, 483 (¶ 28) (Miss.2009)). Dante correctly points out that a defendant is entitled to present his theory of the case even where the evidence in...

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2 cases
  • Jones v. State, 2009–CA–02033–COA.
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • April 3, 2012
    ...the constitutionality of section 97–3–21 as applied categorically to juveniles, we have specifically rejected his argument. See Evans v. State, 109 So.3d 1056 (¶¶ 42–43) (Miss. Ct.App.2011) (rehearing pending). In Evans, we noted the United States Supreme Court's recent ban on sentencing ju......
  • Evans v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • April 11, 2013
    ...an adult to a mandatory term of life imprisonment. The Court of Appeals affirmed Dante's conviction and sentence. Evans v. State, 109 So.3d 1056, 1058–59 (Miss.Ct.App.2011), reh'g denied (Sept. 6, 2011). Dante petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari concerning six issues: (1) whether......

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