Propes v. State, 378S48
| Decision Date | 27 November 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 378S48,378S48 |
| Parties | Norman William PROPES, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
John W. Doehrman, Jeffersonville, for appellant.
Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Robert J. Black, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Appellant Propes was convicted of conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree murder at the conclusion of a jury trial in the Clark Circuit Court on November 16, 1977. For the crime of conspiracy, appellant was sentenced to a term of two to fourteen years imprisonment. For the crime of first-degree murder, appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Three alleged errors are presented in this appeal: (1) whether photographs of the decedent were erroneously admitted into evidence; (2) whether the verdicts on both counts are supported by sufficient evidence, and; (3) whether it was erroneous to convict and sentence appellant on both counts.
Appellant first argues that four color photographs, of the body of the decedent at the time of autopsy, were erroneously admitted into evidence. These pictures portray bullet wounds in the decedent's body, which body had been cleaned of blood. They were identified by a state trooper who witnessed the autopsy. Photographs may be admitted where testimony concerning that which they depict would be proper, and their relevance is determined by inquiry as to whether a witness would be permitted to describe verbally the subject of the photographs. Murphy v. State, (1977) Ind., 369 N.E.2d 411, 416. Testimony about these wounds would have been proper, and thus these photographs were properly admitted.
Appellant next challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to both his convictions of conspiracy and first-degree murder. The evidence shows that appellant agreed, to one Jack Webb, that he could kill a person for $8,000. Webb then told appellant that one Georgia Schmitt wanted her father-in-law, Eugene Schmitt, killed. Webb, appellant, and others then scouted a mobile home lot, believing they had found where Schmitt lived, on the basis of a pickup truck parked in front of a mobile home. Three days later, appellant and the others returned to this locale, and appellant knocked on the door of the mobile home they believed to be Schmitt's. Decedent Joseph Duvall came to the door, and was killed by several shots fired by appellant. This evidence is sufficient to sustain the verdict of the jury on both counts.
Appellant finally argues that it was erroneous to convict and sentence him on both the counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree murder. In essence,...
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Bergdorff v. State
...is determined by whether a witness would be permitted to describe what is depicted in the photograph. Porter, supra; Propes v. State, (1978) Ind., 382 N.E.2d 910. Photographs of the scene of the crime are admissible if they are competent and relevant aids to jurors in orienting themselves a......
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Hopkins v. State
...whether or not a witness would be permitted to describe verbally that which the photograph depicts. Porter, supra; Propes v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 626, 382 N.E.2d 910. Certainly it was proper to admit testimony from the police officer as to the cause of death of the victim. The admission o......
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Askew v. State
...or explain the testimony of a witness and depicted that which the witness would be permitted to describe. See, e.g., Propes v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 626, 382 N.E.2d 910. However, he argues Exhibits Eleven and Twelve should not have been admitted because they were cumulative and served no p......
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Propes v. State
...to fourteen (14) years and life imprisonment, respectively. This Court affirmed the judgment below on direct appeal, Propes v. State (1978), 269 Ind. 626, 382 N.E.2d 910. In 1984, appellant filed pro se his petition for post-conviction relief; shortly thereafter, the Public Defender of Indi......