Sanders v. State, CR
| Decision Date | 27 January 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 308 Ark. 178,824 S.W.2d 353 |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
| Parties | Raymond C. SANDERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 91-122. |
Robert N. Jeffrey, Sheridan, for appellant.
Clint Miller, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
This is an appeal from the appellant's conviction of two counts of capital murder and death penalty sentences for each count. Appellant raises three issues on appeal: 1) there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions; 2) the trial court erred in denying his motion for funds to obtain expert psychiatric assistance in preparing his defense; and 3) during the sentencing phase of the trial, the trial court erred in permitting evidence of the appellant's conviction of capital murder committed subsequent to the present murders. Because we find merit only in the appellant's third argument, we affirm the jury's guilty verdict, but remand for resentencing. Wilson v. State, 295 Ark. 682, 692-A, 752 S.W.2d 762 (1988) ().
The appellant properly preserved his sufficiency of the evidence issue by timely making a directed verdict motion at the end of the state's evidence and at the end of the trial. ARCP Rule 36.21. As this court has stated numerous times, we treat directed verdicts as challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. See, e.g., Glick v. State, 275 Ark. 34, 627 S.W.2d 14 (1982). In criminal cases, this court affirms where there is substantial evidence to support the verdict. Lunon v. State, 264 Ark. 188, 569 S.W.2d 663 (1978). Substantial evidence is evidence which is of sufficient force to compel a conclusion one way or another and forces or induces the mind to pass beyond suspicion or conjecture. See Jones v. State, 269 Ark. 119, 598 S.W.2d 748 (1980). In determining whether there is substantial evidence, the court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee. Pope v. State, 262 Ark. 476, 557 S.W.2d 887 (1977). It is permissible for the court to consider only the testimony which supports the verdict of guilt. Gardner v. State, 296 Ark. 41, 754 S.W.2d 518 (1988). Even circumstantial evidence may be sufficient to sustain a conviction, as it may constitute substantial evidence. Id. Whether the circumstantial evidence excludes every other reasonable hypothesis is for the fact finder to determine. Id.
Charles and Nancy Brannon were killed by gunshot wounds. Charles' body was found on the Rockport church grounds on November 21, 1989, and Nancy's body was found two days later a short distance from where the police found the Brannons' pickup truck on Grigsley Ford Road in Malvern. The police found the Brannons' home had been ransacked. After an investigation by the Hot Spring County Sheriff's Office, the appellant was charged with the robbery-murder of the Brannons.
To prove its case, the state was required to prove the following:
Acting alone or with one (1) or more persons, he commits or attempts to commit ... robbery ..., and in the course of and in furtherance of the felony, or in immediate flight therefrom, he or an accomplice causes the death of any person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;
Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(1) (Supp.1991).
At trial, the state presented Eddie Watkins who testified that, while he and appellant were incarcerated in the Hot Spring County jail, appellant confessed that he shot Charles Brannon and dumped his body and shot Nancy Brannon and took some rings from her fingers. Watkins further testified that the appellant told him that Charles Brannon always carried around a large sum of money and that the appellant took a briefcase full of money.
The state's witness, Bobby Kirchoff, who worked at the Malvern Pawn Shop, identified the appellant as the man who came into the shop with a female on December 19, 1989, and pawned a .22 caliber automatic rifle. Kirchoff testified that he believed that the rifle the appellant pawned was the rifle the state introduced into evidence as exhibit number thirty-three. Berwin Monroe, a ballistics expert, testified that a .22 caliber shell casing recovered from the Brannons' pickup truck had been fired by the same .22 caliber rifle. The state's evidence also showed that the truck was covered in blood matching the Brannons' blood types.
Further, Mark Roys, owner of the A-1 Pawn Shop, related that on November 27, 1989, the appellant pawned three pieces of jewelry. Through the testimony of Nancy Brannon's two daughters, the state established that the jewelry pieces pawned by appellant belonged to their mother. The state also presented other evidence at the trial establishing that Charles Brannon was known to carry large sums of money on his person, appellant had worked for Charles and had visited the Brannons' house many times. Additionally, two acquaintances of the appellant's, Dorene Luster and Deloris Baker, testified that they saw the appellant with a large sum of money after the Brannons had been murdered. Baker also testified that she saw a gun and some jewelry at appellant's house, and when she asked the appellant about the Brannon murders, appellant stated, "there were some things she didn't need to know."
From the evidence set out above, we clearly find no merit in the appellant's argument that there is insufficient evidence to support his capital murder convictions.
Next, the appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion requesting the provision of funds to hire expert psychiatric assistance for his defense. The trial court did grant the appellant's motion for psychiatric evaluation and ordered the appellant to be examined at the Southeast Mental Health Clinic in Pine Bluff. The appellant was found to be without psychosis and competent to stand trial. The examining psychiatrist found that the appellant has the mental capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and was not impaired at the time of the crimes.
In arguing that the psychiatric evaluation was not sufficient, the appellant relies on Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). In Ake, the Supreme Court held that when a defendant had made a preliminary showing that his sanity at the time of the offense is likely to be a significant factor at trial, the Constitution requires that a state provide access to a psychiatrist's assistance on this issue if the defendant cannot otherwise afford one. However, the Supreme Court made it clear that the indigent defendant does not have the constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or receive funds to hire his own.
With respect to the question of a defendant's sanity at the time an offense was committed and competency to stand trial, this court has held that the statutorily provided review by a state hospital is sufficient. Coulter v. State, 304 Ark. 527, 804 S.W.2d 348 (1991). As previously stated, the appellant was examined by such a facility and found to have no problems with his sanity. The appellant is in fact arguing that he should have been allowed the "opportunity to have a second opinion." Again, the Supreme Court did not hold in Ake that a defendant has the constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to shop around to find one who will support his insanity defense. Also, the Supreme Court made it clear that the defendant must make a preliminary showing that his sanity at the time of the offense is likely to be a significant factor at the trial before the state is required to provide psychiatrist assistance in preparing his defense. Clearly, here the appellant has not made this preliminary showing, and in fact, the psychiatric examination exhibits that the appellant has no problems with his sanity. See Day v. State, 306 Ark. 520, 816 S.W.2d 852 (1991). In sum, under the facts of this case, the trial court gave the appellant all of the psychiatric assistance required under Ake.
Because we find no merit in the appellant's first two arguments, we affirm...
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