Johnston v. State, 28668
| Decision Date | 21 May 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 28668,28668 |
| Citation | 206 S.E.2d 468,232 Ga. 268 |
| Parties | Lewis JOHNSTON v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Ham, Mills & Freeman, W. Franklin Freeman, Jr., Forsyth, for appellant.
Edward E. McGarity, Dist. Atty., McDonough, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., William F. Bartee, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Thomas P. Burke, Deputy Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
Lewis Johnston was indicted and convicted for the murder of his wife and sentenced to life imprisonment.
It appears from the evidence adduced at the trial of the case that on October 14, 1972, the appellant and his wife accompanied a long-time friend, E. F. Martin, to the local fair and then afterwards to the V.F.W. Club. After spending a considerable amount of time at the V.F.W. Club, Martin volunteered to drive the appellant and his wife home. Martin testified at the trial that while the three were on their way home the appellant struck his wife several times. Martin further testified that when the appellant failed to cease the beating of his wife, he threatened to stop at the police station and that after his threat, the appellant fled from the vehicle into the night. Mrs. Johnston informed Martin that she had no desire to return home. Martin then drove her to the Country Court Motel and registered under a false name. What transpired at the motel is in conflict, but appellant testified in an unsworn statement that he found his wife 'buck naked' and that she admitted having intercourse with Martin. After finding his wife the appellant left the motel and took her home. Another witness for the state testified that on the morning appellant retrieved his mate from the Country Court Motel, he witnessed the appellant beating her with sticks and saw him 'stomp her a time or two' and then pick her up and carry her into the couple's house trailer. Later on that day, the appellant stopped by the sheriff's office and informed him that he had whipped his wife a little and was going to take her to the hospital. After learning of the extent of the beating the sheriff held appellant in custody and upon his wife's death charged him with murder.
Wanda Johnston died on October 23, 1972, some 9 days after the beating. Three medical doctors testified as to the cause of her death. The two doctors that participated in the autopsy performed on the deceased testified that her death was caused by pneumonia induced from the lengthy comatose state that resulted from the beating. The third doctor, who treated the deceased while hospitalized, testified that her death was caused by renal failure induced by the beating. All three doctors stated that death could have been caused by the injuries alone.
As part of the general issue raised by appellant in his plea of not guilty, he contended that at the time of the beating he was legally insane and not responsible for his acts. The appellant was sent to the Central State Hospital for examination and evaluation. The examining doctor stated during the trial that in his opinion at the time of the alleged criminal act the appellant 'was not suffering from a psychosis and . . . that he knew right from wrong.' Another doctor stated that after a two-hour examination it was his opinion that appellant was suffering from a 'passive-aggressive personality' but that he could not form a firm opinion as to whether or not the appellant could distinguish between right and wrong. Held:
1. Appellant first contends that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence sticks and a portion of a small bat, in that they were not properly identified and there was nothing in the transcript which related to them. To the contrary, there is testimony by an eyewitness to the beating that it was done at least in part with sticks. The sticks and the bat were found by the Lamar County Sheriff outside of appellant's house trailer. They were examined by the State Crime Lab and blood and hair were found to be present on the items. The trial judge did not err in admitting them into evidence.
The appellant contends that it was error to admit photographs of the deceased at the time the autopsy was performed because it was not shown that they were accurate representations of the object photographed, and further that there had been a substantial change in his wife's appearance between the time of the alleged injury and the time when the photographs were made. He further complains that no foundation was laid by the state to show that the photopraphs were a correct likeness of the deceased at the time the injuries were inflicted. It appears in the record that three witnesses, including the photographer, testified that the pictures were taken in their presence and were true and accurate representations of the victim's body at the time of the October 23, 1972 autopsy.
The quantum of evidence required to sufficiently identify photographs as true and accurate representations of what they purport to depict is a matter to be left within the discretion of the trial court. Chance v. State, 156 Ga. 428(5), 119 S.E. 303; Johnson v. State, 158 Ga. 192, 198, 123 S.E. 120. We conclude that there was no abuse of discretion in admitting the photographs.
2. One of the appellant's main contentions is that there was no causal relationship between the injuries inflicted on the deceased and her death. In furtherance of this contention appellant submitted...
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