Siler v. State

• Decision Date: 02 May 1997
• Docket Number: CR-95-2213
• Citation: 705 So.2d 552
• Parties: M.C. SILER v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 552

705 So.2d 552

M.C. SILER v. STATE.

CR-95-2213.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

May 2, 1997.

Rehearing Denied June 20, 1997.

Certiorari Denied Oct. 24, 1997

Alabama Supreme Court 1961661.

Charles D. Bryant, Brundidge; and Thad Yancey, Jr., Troy, for appellant.

Bill Pryor, atty. gen., and Beth Slate Poe, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.

BASCHAB, Judge.

The appellant, M.C. Siler, was convicted of the murder of T.J.H., a minor, and sentenced to life in prison. The undisputed evidence was that T.J.H. was last seen alive on June 7, 1995. On June 9, 1995, the body of T.J.H. was found with two gunshot wounds to the head. The body had been dragged approximately three feet from where it had fallen. Near the body was a pool of blood, in which was found a spent bullet cartridge, a clip spring from an automatic weapon, the victim's orange University of Tennessee hat, and a "cartoon arm" pointing toward the body. The gun used in the crime was not found. The only witness to directly tie the appellant to the murder was C.P., a juvenile. C.P. was adjudicated a delinquent because of his presence at the murder of T.J.H.

The pertinent testimony of C.P. was as follows: The appellant asked C.P. to accompany him because the appellant had earlier been "jumped" by someone. During this walk, the two came into contact with T.J.H. and Eric Seymore. The appellant told T.J.H. "I got you now." The appellant raised his shirt, pulled out a gun, and shot T.J.H. Eric Seymore then took the gun from the appellant and began to hit T.J.H. over the head with the weapon. Then Eric Seymore shot T.J.H. The appellant retrieved the gun back from Seymore, pointed the gun at C.P.'s head, and told C.P. that he knew where he lived and that if C.P. told anyone what had happened the appellant would kill him.

The appellant raises four issues on appeal.

I

The appellant argues that State's witness, C.P., was an accomplice as a matter of law and that his testimony was not sufficiently corroborated to sustain the appellant's conviction.

" 'Whether a witness is an accomplice may be a question of law or fact, depending on the circumstances. Doss v. State, 220 Ala. 30, 123 So. 231 (1929). However the question of complicity is usually a question of fact; it becomes a question of law only where the court is clearly convinced by a preponderance of the evidence that the witness could have been indicted and convicted of the same charge of a felony for which the defendant is on trial and that the witness freely participated in the crime. Where there is no conflict in the testimony, the question of whether a witness is an accomplice is a question of law for determination by the trial court. Pryor v. State, 47 Ala.App. 706, 260 So.2d 614 (1972).

" ' "The question of law for the court resolves itself into one of undisputed evidence. If this, taken altogether most favorably toward the noncomplicity of the witness, still leaves unchallenged acts which would support a verdict of guilt of the witness, then the court, if requested, must require the State to adduce corroboration." Leonard [v. State], supra, 43 Ala.App. , 464, 192 So.2d , 469.

" 'Thus where there is doubt or dispute whether a witness is in fact an accomplice, the question is for the jury and not the trial court. Skumro v. State, 234 Ala. 4, 170 So. 776 (1936). Where there is doubt whether a witness is in fact an accomplice, and the testimony is susceptible to different inferences on that point, that question is for the jury. Sweeney v. State, 25 Ala.App. 220, 143 So. 586 (1932); Horn v. State, 15 Ala.App. 213, 72 So. 768 (1916).' "

Wright v. State, 494 So.2d 726, 738 (Ala.Cr.App.1985) (quoting Jacks v. State, 364 So.2d 397, 403 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 364 So.2d 406 (Ala.1978)). If the trial court finds that the evidence is disputed and cannot determine whether or not a witness is an accomplice as a matter of law, then it must submit the issue to the jury. The jury must then determine from the facts if the witness is an accomplice, and if so, look to see if there is enough independent corroborating evidence that tends to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime.

C.P. was adjudicated a delinquent for his involvement in the killing of T.J.H. Although juvenile records are sealed, the State did admit that the underlying charge for C.P.'s delinquency was the murder of T.J.H. The appellant incorrectly states that the adjudication of C.P. as a delinquent was a plea of guilty to the murder of T.J.H., and, as a matter of law, C.P. is an accomplice. A minor or juvenile can certainly be an accomplice in a crime. Porter v. State, 654 So.2d 63 (Ala.Cr.App.1994). However, an adjudication of delinquency is not the equivalent of a conviction or plea of guilty to a crime. Falkner v. State, 586 So.2d 39 (Ala.Cr.App.1991). See also, Chambers v. State, 497 So.2d 607 (Ala.Cr.App.1986). The two are mutually exclusive. "[T]here cannot be an adjudication of delinquency and a conviction of crime for the same act." Kinder v. State, 515 So.2d 55, 69 (Ala.Cr.App.1986) (quoting George, Gault and the Juvenile Court Revolution (1968)).

Even if C.P. had pled guilty to participating in the murder of T.J.H., this would not necessarily make C.P. an accomplice as a matter of law. "[A witness]'s testimony that he participated in the crime is not controlling because '[a] "participant" in a crime is not synonymous with an accomplice.' Ex parte Bell, 475 So.2d 609 (Ala.1985)." Wright, 494 So.2d at 739. " '[W]hen a witness denies willing participation in the crime charged against the defendant, the issue of his being an accomplice presents a question of fact for the jury.' Ex parte Bell, supra." Id. C.P. testified that although he was present during the murder of T.J.H., he was not involved in the crime. C.P. testified that he was brought there by the appellant and believed that the appellant and others were going to beat up T.J.H., but he did not know that they were going to kill T.J.H. " 'If a witness admits his participation with the defendant in the crime but seeks by his testimony to explain it and to show his innocent intent, it has been held that a question is presented for the jury.' Annot. 19 A.L.R.2d 1352, 1381 (1951)." Id. at 738.

Even if the appellant was correct that C.P.'s delinquency was the equivalent of a guilty plea to the murder of T.J.H., this would not guarantee a finding that C.P. was an accomplice as a matter of law.

"Even where a witness has been jointly indicted with the defendant and convicted before the defendant's trial, if the witness denies his participation at the defendant's trial, the issue of whether he was an accomplice is a question of fact for the jury. Yarber v. State, 375 So.2d 1229 (Ala.1978)."

Id.

The trial court properly held that C.P. was not an accomplice as a matter of law and presented this decision to the jury.

II

The appellant argues there were two defects in the trial court's charge to the jury.

A

The appellant submitted the following proposed jury charge to the trial court:

"The fact that a prosecution witness has been charged and convicted of the same crime as that charged against this defendant, you may consider this as a fact in determining whether that witness is an accomplice or not."

The trial court properly refused this submitted charge. As stated in Part I of this opinion, C.P. was not convicted of the same crime as the appellant. C.P. was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent. The above charge is an inaccurate statement of the facts in this case. The appellant's argument is without merit.

B

The appellant submitted the following proposed jury charge to the trial court:

"In determining whether the testimony of an accomplice has been corroborated, you first eliminate the testimony of the accomplice, and upon examination of all other evidence, determine if there is other credible evidence tending to connect the defendant to the murder of T.J. [H]. If there is no other credible evidence tending to connect this defendant to this crime, then you should find the defendant no (sic) guilty."

The appellant admits that the trial court charged the jury on corroborating evidence, but contends that the trial court failed to specifically mention the "subtraction process" as defined in the above submitted charge.

The relevant portion of the trial court's charge to jury follows:

"When a witness denies willing participation in the crime charged against the defendant, the issue of his being an accomplice is a question of fact to be determined by you, the jury. The mere presence of a witness at the scene of a homicide, without more, is insufficient to show him to have been an accomplice in the crime, and his testimony is admissible as evidence to show how the killing occurred. And the fact that a prosecution witness has been charged with or convicted for the same crime as the one with which the defendant is being tried does not require your conclusion that he is an accomplice to the crime. Only if you find from the evidence that a witness is an accomplice, as such term has been defined, is the corroboration requirement invoked.

"However, when properly invoked, an accomplice's testimony must be corroborated by other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense. And the rule is that such other evidence be sufficient must be believed by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not necessary that the corroborative evidence be strong or that it alone be sufficient to warrant [a] finding of the defendant's guilt. The corroborative evidence may be entirely circumstantial. If believed, evidence that the defendant planned, plotted, or threatened to commit the charged crime is sufficient corroboration of the accomplice's testimony."

(emphasis added).

The appellant contends that the trial court needed to specifically charge that the jury must "remove the accomplice's testimony and consider only the other evidence to see if it was tending to...