McNeal v. State, 52878
| Decision Date | 14 October 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 52878,52878 |
| Citation | 405 So.2d 90 |
| Parties | Ruth McNEAL v. STATE of Mississippi. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
J. Hal Ross, Brandon, for appellant.
Bill Allain, Atty. Gen. by Charles W. Maris, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.
Before SMITH, P. J., and WALKER and BOWLING, JJ.
WALKER, Justice, for the Court.
This is an appeal from the Circuit Court of Rankin County wherein the appellant was convicted of the crime of armed robbery and sentenced to serve a life term in the custody of the State Department of Corrections.
On or about February 26, 1980, two persons robbed Mrs. Lois Giordano, operator of a business establishment in the City of Pearl. During the course of the robbery, Mrs. Gioradano was shot and seriously wounded and $200 was taken from her.
It is conceded by appellant that a suppression hearing was held to determine the voluntariness of the confession out of the presence of the jury and that the dictates of Agee v. State, 185 So.2d 671 (Miss.1966) were complied with at that hearing. The rule laid down in Agee is that "... when, after the State has made out a prima facie case as to the voluntariness of the confession, the accused offers testimony that violence, threats of violence, or offers of reward induced the confession, then the State must offer all the officers who were present when the accused was questioned and when the confession was signed, or give an adequate reason for the absence of any such witness." (185 So.2d at 673).
Agee was fully complied with at the suppression hearing. The court ruled that the confession was admissible and admitted it into evidence during the state's case in chief.
After the state rested, the defendant took the stand in her own behalf and testified that she did not sign the confession until after Officer Manning slapped her about the head and further abused her for approximately one and one-half hours. She further contended that she did not commit the armed robbery.
Thereafter, the state, in rebuttal to the defendant's testimony, recalled all of the officers except Manning. All of the officers again testified that the appellant was not beaten, threatened, forced, coerced, etc. in their presence. Although Manning did not testify in rebuttal, the state points out that he did testify on several occasions during the course of the trial that the appellant was not beaten, threatened, coerced, etc. at any time in his presence and that the defendant voluntarily signed the confession.
The question before the Court is whether, after a suppression hearing has been held in accordance with the dictates of Agee, it is necessary for the state to recall all of the officers present when the confession was taken and signed to again rebut the defendant's allegations of coercion after she testified in her defense before the jury. We answer that question in the negative. Once the court has ruled, as a matter of law, that a confession was freely and voluntarily given, and it is admitted into evidence, the jury is the sole judge of its weight and worth as evidence in determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Although it is within the discretion of the state to recall the officers, or any particular officer, to rebut the defendant's claim of coercion or mistreatment, there is always the practical risk that the jury will believe The competency of a confession as evidence is for the court to decide as a matter of law, while the weight and credibility of a confession is for the jury to decide along with other testimony and physical evidence.
the defendant and fail to give the confession any weight in its deliberations.
Once a suppression hearing has been held in strict accordance with the mandate of Agee, outside the presence of the jury, and the court has ruled, as a matter of law, that the confession was freely and voluntarily given and the confession is admitted into evidence, the state need not, except in its discretion, recall all the officers to again testify to the voluntariness of the confession after the defendant takes the stand and claims that the confession was obtained by coercion, etc. Ratliff v. State, 317 So.2d 403, 405 (Miss.1975); Rhone v. State, 254 So.2d 750 (Miss.1971).
PROPOSITION II
During the state's case in chief, when Mrs. Giordano was asked to make an in-court identification of the defendant, the defendant objected and moved to suppress any in-court identification by Mrs. Giordano on the ground that said identification would be tainted because she had previously identified the defendant by way of photographs, which were allegedly presented to her in a highly suggestive manner. The jury was excused from the courtroom and a hearing was conducted by the court out of the presence of the jury. At the...
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