People v. Watkins

• Decision Date: 21 December 1972
• Docket Number: No. 4,4
• Citation: 202 N.W.2d 780,388 Mich. 717
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DeShorn WATKINS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

Page 780

202 N.W.2d 780

388 Mich. 717

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DeShorn WATKINS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Dec. 21, 1972.

Paul M. Ladas, Pros. Atty., by Lawrence R. Backofen, Asst. Pros. Atty., Muskegon County, Muskegon, for plaintiff-appellee.

Krueger & Gray, Carl S. Krueger, Muskegon Heights, for defendant-appellant.

Before the Entire Bench except BLACK, J.

SWAINSON, Justice.

On the evening of December 31, 1969, DeShorn Watkins, the defendant, Crawford Crowell, and Dora Kirks were at the home of Cora Williams, a sister of Dora Kirks. They engaged in some drinking and discussion and left the house late that evening or early on the morning of January the first. DeShorn Watkins, Crawford Crowell, and Dora Kirks agreed to go to DeShorn's apartment. While walking to the apartment, they met Arnold Penn and Larry Kirk. Larry Kirk, the deceased, was a first cousin of Dora Kirks. Arnold Penn and Larry Kirk joined the others and proceeded to the defendant's apartment.

When they arrived at the apartment defendant put on a record player. There was continued drinking and general conversation. Dora Kirks danced with Larry Kirk. There was no animosity shown between any of the individuals involved. Larry asked the defendant to show him karate. Defendant proceeded to do so and they engaged in general horseplay. The parties continued to play records and talk and drink for between two and three hours. Arnold Penn fell asleep on the couch. Sometime in the early morning hours, Crawford Crowell and Dora Kirks went into one of the bedrooms and engaged in sexual intercourse. At the time they entered the bedroom, Larry and the defendant were in the bathroom laughing and talking. Precisely what happened thereafter is a matter of dispute.

Dora Kirks testified that when she was in the bedroom she heard Larry and DeShorn laughing and talking but could not make out what they were saying. She stated that the door was not completely closed. She testified that while she was still engaged in sexual intercourse the defendant came into the room and informed Crawford Crowell 'You'd better come and get this mother fucker before I kill him.' Defendant then left and came back and said he had cut or stabbed Larry. She testified that the interval between the first and second statements was a matter of seconds. At that point Crawford Crowell left the bedroom and she followed. She went into the living room and saw Larry slumped on the couch. Defendant put Larry in Arnold Penn's lap. Dora Kirks informed them that she was going to faint and was told that she could leave. She then did so.

Crawford Crowell testified that he closed the door when he entered the bedroom with Dora. He testified that they were in the room 15 to 20 minutes. They had not completed the act of sexual intercourse when defendant entered the room. He denied hearing the statement that Dora said the defendant made. His version was that defendant came into the room and stated 'Larry has been cut,' or 'Larry has been stabbed.' In response to a question he stated that he could not remember word for word what defendant said but that the essence of the statement was that Larry Kirk had been cut or stabbed. Crowell testified that after an interval of a few seconds, defendant came back and stated 'Hey, man, I ain't playing, come on the guy is hurt.' He then put on his pants and went into the living room. Defendant told him that a guy came up the stairs and started fighting with Larry. Crawford Crowell called an ambulance and was informed that it was on its way. He then went downstairs to meet it. Defendant testified that he was out of the living room and returned and found Larry with a knife. When he asked Kirk to put it down, Kirk challenged him to take it from him. Defendant returned to the kitchen, picked up a butcher knife and returned with the knife pointed toward the deceased. He told the deceased to give him the knife and Larry Kirk lunged at him and was impaled on the knife held by the defendant.

At the conclusion of the people's proofs defendant made a motion for dismissal of the charge of first-degree murder. ¹ A jury found defendant guilty of second-degree murder. ² The Court of Appeals affirmed with Judge Levin dissenting. 36 Mich.App. 380, 193 N.W.2d 914. We granted leave to appeal. 386 Mich. 782.

Both parties agree that the single issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court erred in failing to grant a motion by defendant to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder on the ground there was insufficient evidence to support the charge?

We are dealing here with a very narrow issue involving submission of a charge of first-degree murder to the jury. Thus, we must determine that if taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the State there was any evidence upon which a jury could predicate a finding of guilty of murder in the first- degree. After a careful review of the transcript in this case, we are unable to find any evidence of premeditation.

The majority opinion of the Court of Appeals cited People v. Dumas, 25 Mich.App. 173, 181 N.W.2d 89 (1970) which cited two of our cases, People v. Wolf, 95 Mich. 625, 55 N.W. 357 (1893) and People v. Bauman, 332 Mich. 198, 50 N.W.2d 757 (1952).

In Wolf, the Court stated (95 Mich. p. 629, 55 N.W. p. 358):

'The learned counsel for the respondent contends that there was no evidence to sustain the verdict, because there was no proof of previous deliberation or premeditation. This would result in holding that deliberation and premeditation cannot be inferred from the character of the weapon used, the wounds inflicted upon vital parts, the circumstances surrounding the killing, the acts, conduct, and language of the accused before and after the killing, and the improbability of the story told by him. * * * If the accused committed the deed, the facts were sufficient to justify the verdict.'

That statement is correct under the facts of that case, but is factually distinguishable from the present situation. The defendant in the Wolf case was convicted of a brutal murder. The Court properly held that those facts surrounding the murder were evidence of deliberation and premeditation. See 95 Mich. 627--628, 55 N.W. 357 for a detailing of the wounds that were inflicted upon the deceased. Here, it is conceded that there was only one wound made by a knife and this in itself is not evidence of premeditation or even deliberation. Bauman cites the Wolf case for the above quoted proposition but the Court held it was proper to submit a first-degree murder charge based on the direct evidence of the psychiatrist that the murder was premeditated. Hence, these cases are distinguishable on their facts and the fact that the defendant herein killed the deceased with a butcher knife is not evidence of premeditation.

The Court of Appeals' opinion cites testimony of both Dora Kirks and Crawford Crowell and concludes (36 Mich.App. 380, 388--389, 193 N.W.2d 914, 917 (1971)):

'We rule that the testimony produced at trial would justify a finding by the jury that defendant deliberately formed in his mind beforehand the intent to kill the deceased. As a result of this determination, we are constrained to rule, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the people, that the jury could also have determined that sufficient time had elapsed between the time defendant deliberately formed in his mind the intent to kill the deceased and the act of stabbing the deceased which caused his death, to justify a finding of premeditation.'

However, the Court fails to state precisely what the evidence is. A portion of the testimony of Dora Kirks cited by the Court is as follows (36 Mich.App. 386--387, 193 N.W.2d p. 916):

"Q. Now just answer my questions, if you will, please. He went out of the room?

"A. Yes.

"Q. And how long before he came back in again?

"A. It wasn't that long.

"Q. How long was it?

"A. Just a few minutes. He just went back out and he came back in again."

Thus, the Court of Appeals may have inferred that there was a lapse of several minutes which was sufficient time to form premeditation. However, the transcript reads as follows:

'A. Now, just answer my questions, if you will, please. He went out of the room?

'A. Yes.

'Q. And how long before he came back in again?

'A. It wasn't that long.

'Q. How long was it?

'A. Just a few minutes. He just went back out and he came back in again.

'Q. Was it a matter of seconds or a matter of minutes?

'A. SECONDS. (Emphasis added.)

'Q. Seconds?

'A. Yes.

'Q. So that it was just time enough for him to go back in the living room for a few seconds, and then return?

'A. Yes.'

Thus, it is clear that Dora Kirks never really meant that there was a lapse of a few minutes. Indeed, the prosecutor states in his brief:

'In the instant case the trial judge had to decide whether a jury could have reasonably believed from the evidence that DeShorn Watkins had fatally stabbed Larry Kirks Several seconds after stating that he would kill the 'mother fucker' if he was not removed from the premises.' (Emphasis added.)

Thus, the above quoted passage by the Court of Appeals was not evidence of premeditation.

The Court of Appeals also points out that Crawford Crowell's testimony when first interrogated and at trial were not the same. ³

This is true, but it is clearly not evidence of premeditation on the part of the defendant.

Thus, the only possible evidence of premeditation is the one statement of Dora Kirks, 'I heard him after he came in there, and he told Crawford Crowell, he said, 'you'd better come and get this mother fucker before I kill him." The prosecutor in the above quoted portion of the brief likewise asserts that this statement was sufficient to show premeditation. We agree with the dissent that this statement is equivocal and is clearly not evidence of premeditation. As Judge Levin stated (36 Mich.App. 396, 193 N.W.2d 921 (1971)):

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