Jackson v. State
| Decision Date | 09 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 1999-KA-01763-SCT.,1999-KA-01763-SCT. |
| Citation | 791 So.2d 830 |
| Parties | Willie Nick JACKSON v. STATE of Mississippi. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Allan D. Shackelford, Clarksdale, for Appellant.
Office of the Attorney General by Scott Stuart, for Appellee.
Before BANKS, P.J., SMITH and WALLER, JJ.
¶ 1. This case is before this Court on appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict convicting Willie "Nick" Jackson of the crime of capital murder. Because we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict, the trial court did not err in limiting the scope of Jackson's voir dire, the trial court did not err in refusing the defense's proffered instruction, and the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of evidence, we affirm.
¶ 2. On June 21, 1993, eighty-one year old Andy Watson ("Watson") was stabbed to death at his home on Oasis Street in Quitman County, Mississippi. Watson collected water bill payments for the local water association. Two witnesses, Cloretta Qualls ("Qualls") and Neurida Johnson ("Johnson"), testified that they saw Watson on the day of his death. Qualls testified that at approximately twelve noon she spoke with Watson at his house while paying her mother's water bill. Later that day, around 6:30 p.m., Johnson went to Watson's house to pay her bill. She testified that she saw Watson lying on the floor and went to a neighbor's house to call for help. Johnson testified that when she viewed Watson's body through the screen door, he was lying on his stomach and his head was closer to the door than his feet.
¶ 3. After arriving on the scene, Deputy Oliver Parker ("Parker") summoned Sheriff Jack Harrison ("Harrison") and Deputy Bill Cole ("Cole"). Deputy Parker testified that when he arrived, several crime scene technicians were in the house and Watson's head was positioned away from the door. Sheriff Harrison also testified that the crime scene had been slightly altered after he arrived. ¶ 4. In 1998, five years after Watson's death, Willie "Nick" Jackson ("Nick") and his brother Larry ("Larry") Jackson were indicted for murder during the commission of a robbery, a capital offense. The indictments were based on the statements of Mattie Reed ("Reed"), Rhonda Carpenter ("Carpenter") and Daniel Faulkner ("Faulkner").
¶ 5. At the time of the murder, Larry Jackson lived with his girlfriend Mattie Reed in a house belonging to Reed's mother, Mattie Carpenter. Rhonda Carpenter, Mattie Carpenter's other daughter, also lived in that house with her boyfriend, Faulkner.
¶ 6. Reed testified that around noon on June 21, 1993, Nick Jackson came to Reed's house and asked Larry Jackson to borrow his car, but Larry refused. Subsequently, Larry and Nick left together and did not return until later that night. Reed stated that earlier that day when Larry left he was wearing a shirt and blue jeans, he returned that evening wearing coveralls. Nick returned wearing the same outfit that he was wearing when he left, a peach and brown shirt and blue jeans; however, the outfit was now splashed with blood. Nick informed Reed that he had been in an accident, but Reed noted no injury on Nick. Nick changed into clothing belonging to Larry and left the house. Reed stated she never saw the peach and brown shirt and pants again.
¶ 7. Reed further testified that the next morning she went to use Larry's car to go to the store. She stated that the car was parked behind the house which was unusual because normally Larry parked it in the driveway. When she got in the car, she saw smears of blood in the car, so she decided to walk to the store. Later, Larry left the house and returned with Nick. When they returned, the interior of the car had been changed. The brothers also returned with cigarettes, beer, drugs, and money. Reed stated that she asked Larry where the money came from for the items because she previously did not see Larry with any money. At trial after an objection by defense counsel, the judge conducted an evidentiary hearing in chambers. In chambers Reed stated that Larry told her "We took care of that old man on Oasis Road yesterday." She also stated that Nick told Larry that he need to quit talking so much and that he needed to holler at him outside. This testimony was excluded by the trial court. When she returned to the courtroom, Reed testified that the Nick and Larry went outside of her window, and she heard Nick tell Larry that he was talking too much, he needed to let things die down, and he was going to get them in trouble.
¶ 8. Rhonda Carpenter testified that on the morning of June 22, 1993, she and Faulkner went to the garbage dump together. They looked in the garbage and found a peach and brown striped shirt and a pair of pants that had blood on the clothes. She stated that she and Faulkner took the clothes to the Mayor's Office in Lambert and gave them to the police department.1 Carpenter further testified that she heard Larry say "We took him out, we took the man, took this man out," and Nick replied Faulkner testified that he had previously seen either Nick or Larry wearing the peach and brown shirt.
¶ 9. Mattie Carpenter testified that she overheard Nick telling Larry that he had wrestled with an old man out in the weeds and finally got the best of him ¶ 10. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of capital murder. After further deliberation, the jury returned with a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Following the denial of his motion for a JNOV or a new trial, Jackson filed a timely notice of appeal.
¶ 11. When reviewing the sufficiency of evidence, this Court looks to all of the evidence before the jurors to determine whether a reasonable, hypothetical juror could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty. Jackson v. State, 614 So.2d 965, 972 (Miss. 1993); Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987). In an appeal from an order denying a motion for JNOV, the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law is viewed and tested in the light most favorable to the State. Tait v. State, 669 So.2d 85, 88 (Miss.1996); Smith v. State, 646 So.2d 538, 542 (Miss.1994); May v. State, 460 So.2d 778, 781 (Miss.1984).
¶ 12. Jackson contends that when there is no evidence that the defendant committed the crime, the case must be reversed and a judgment of not guilty entered. Id. Jackson charges that there is no evidence that he was present at the murder or knew anything about the murder. He alleges that the State based its entire case on the statement, which was allegedly made in his presence and with which he allegedly concurred. First, Jackson posits that there is no evidence concerning what "old man" was taken care of. Second, Jackson avers that the evidence does not place him at Watson's residence or even support that he knew about Watson's murder. Moreover, Watson alleges that Larry did not make the comment referring to an old man in his presence.
¶ 13. Jackson refers to Mattie Carpenter's statement where she stated that she heard Nick Jackson tell Larry that he wrestled some man in the bushes until he wore the man down and got him where he wanted him. It follows, Jackson contends, that evidence about the struggle exculpates him rather than inculpates him since the evidence indicates that Watson was murdered in his living room.
¶ 14. Reed's testimony referring to the old man on Oasis Road was excluded from evidence. However, there is more than sufficient evidence that would allow a reasonable and fair-minded juror to find Jackson guilty of murder. Reed stated that Nick told Larry to keep quiet and let things die down before they got in trouble. Rhonda Carpenter testified that Larry also stated that "we took care of that old man," with "we" referring to he and Nick. Mattie Carpenter further testified to hearing Nick state that he had to wear the old man down.
¶ 15. Nick returned to Carpenter's house wearing a peach and brown shirt and pants covered in blood that was later found in the garbage dump. Reed also testified that she saw blood smears in Larry's car the next day. Larry left with the car and returned with new interior. Further, the day after Watson was murdered Nick and Larry returned to Carpenter's house with money, beer, drugs and cigarettes. When presented with this evidence, a reasonable and fair-minded juror could find Jackson guilty of murder. See White v. State, 722 So.2d 1242, 1246 (Miss. 1998); May v. State, 460 So.2d at 781.
¶ 16. Jackson also maintains that Sheriff Harrison testified that $22.00 was left in plain view on a table next to the victim and the victim's watch was left on his arm. Jackson alleges because these items were present at the crime scene, this is evidence that a robbery did not occur. Jackson cites Walker v. State, 671 So.2d 581 (Miss.1995) for the holding that there must be proof of the underlying crime in the instant case to the same extent and degree as if the charge of robbery were standing alone in order to support a conviction of capital murder.
¶ 17. Jackson argues that the only evidence of robbery is the alleged missing wallet of Watson and the fact that his left pocket, where Watson normally carried the wallet, was turned inside out. He further submits that when Johnson, the witness who found the body, viewed the body she did not see the pocket inside out, in spite of the fact that Sheriff Harrison testified that the pocket was easily visible when he arrived. Jackson contends that by the time Harrison arrived the crime scene had been contaminated. Therefore, he asserts it is plausible that crime scene technicians could have moved the pocket.
¶ 18. The State maintains that there is sufficient evidence to support a robbery and a reasonable and fair-minded juror could find that the defendant was guilty of robbery. In Cabello v....
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