State v. Adkins

• Citation: 653 S.W.2d 708
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Wayne ADKINS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Decision Date: 28 March 1983
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 708

653 S.W.2d 708

STATE of Tennessee, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Wayne ADKINS, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

March 28, 1983.

Mark C. Hicks, Jr., Robert D. Arnold, Johnson City, for defendant-appellant.

Robert L. Jolley, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, for plaintiff-appellee; William M. Leech, Jr., Atty. Gen., Nashville, of counsel.

BROCK, Justice.

The defendant, Wayne Adkins, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution for the killing of Junior Adams on May 22, 1979, at about 7:30 p.m. and has appealed the conviction and sentence to this Court.

At about 7:45 p.m. on May 22, 1979, Steve Frazier and James Dupkossky discovered the bullet riddled body of Junior Adams lying along the edge of an unnamed, single track, dead-end road .45 miles from its intersection with the Starr Mill Road in Washington County. Upon making the discovery Frazier and Dupkossky hastily operated their green 1973 Chevrolet automobile in reverse back down the dirt road to its intersection with Starr Mill Road where the Bailey residence was located. They promptly informed the Baileys of their discovery and Mrs. Bailey reported the discovery of the dead body to law enforcement authorities by telephone at 7:50 p.m. Later that night the defendant Adkins was arrested and charged with the murder.

The State's evidence was wholly circumstantial in nature. Except for the introduction of evidence of a blood alcohol sample taken from the deceased which measured .12%, the defendant offered no evidence.

In the sentencing phase of the trial the State introduced evidence of a 1965 indictment against the defendant charging burglary and larceny that resulted in a plea of guilty and conviction for attempting to commit a felony. ¹ The State also produced evidence of a 1965 indictment of the defendant for abduction and armed robbery which resulted in a plea of guilty and conviction for larceny from the person. It was not shown whether a weapon was used in the perpetration of this offense. But, the State also proved that the defendant had been convicted in 1965 of second degree murder based upon evidence that the defendant and three other persons had killed a homosexual while in jail. Also during the sentencing phase of the trial, the State produced evidence that two assault charges were then pending against the defendant, one of which was almost a year old and the other of which was an indictment handed down about a week prior to the murder in this case. The State not only proved that the assault charges were pending but also introduced statements from witnesses to the incidents upon which the pending charges were based. Moreover, at the sentencing phase of the trial, the State was permitted to introduce evidence that the defendant had been guilty of public drunkenness, loitering, illegally possessing whiskey with intent to resell, and of having been absent without official leave from the Army.

The jury found two aggravating circumstances, (1) that "the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding, interfering with, or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution of the defendant or another," and (2) the defendant had been previously convicted of one or more felonies, other than the present charge, which involved the use or threat of violence to the person.

The defendant strongly urges on this appeal that reversible error was committed in the sentencing phase of the trial; he charges that T.C.A., Sec. 39-2404, was violated by the introduction of evidence of the two pending assault charges, the introduction of the statements of witnesses concerning those assault charges and the introduction of evidence of public drunkenness, loitering, illegal possession of whiskey with intent to resell, and of being absent without official leave from the Army.

We affirm the verdict and conviction of murder in the first degree but we reverse the sentence of death because of the introduction of evidence in violation of T.C.A., Sec. 39-2404, last above mentioned.

I

GUILT PHASE

The most substantial issue raised by the defendant respecting the guilt phase of his trial is his insistence that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. The issue is a close one, but our conclusion is that the evidence, considered as a whole, and in the light most favorable to the State, is sufficient to support the verdict.

The standard to be applied in our review of the sufficiency of the evidence is to be found in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) ² and in Rule 13(e), T.R.A.P. The constitutional standard was set out in Jackson v. Virginia, supra, as follows:

"After Winship [In Re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970) ] the critical inquiry on review of the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction must be ... to determine whether the record evidence could reasonably support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But this inquiry does not require a court to 'ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.' (Citation omitted.) Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. (Citation omitted.) This familiar standard gives full play to the responsibility of the trier of fact fairly to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. Once a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, the factfinder's role as weigher of the evidence is preserved through a legal conclusion that upon judicial review all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution. The criterion thus impinges upon 'jury' discretion only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental protection of due process of law." (Emphasis original.) 99 S.Ct. at 2788-89.

Rule 13(e) of Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure provides:

"Findings of guilt in criminal actions, whether by the trial court or jury, shall be set aside if the evidence is insufficient to support the findings by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

We now summarize the State's theory and the evidence upon which it relies to sustain the conviction. When found, the victim's body had sustained ten wounds from bullets, according to the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Potter. The victim had died from shock and loss of blood; no vital organ had been struck by any of the bullets. At the time the autopsy was made on the day following the finding of the victim's body, the time of death could not be determined. The ten bullet wounds represented the entry and exit points of either four or five bullets. No bullets were found in the victim's body. A police officer who arrived at the scene shortly after the victim's body was discovered examined a pool of blood beneath the head and body but found no bullet in it. However, it was dark and raining at that time. The next day, May 23, 1979, a further investigation at the scene where the body was found resulted in the discovery of a portion of a .38 caliber bullet lying in the blood on the ground where the victim's body had lain.

At the time this murder occurred the defendant was living with Dorothy Mayes. He was employed by Walt Whaley, alias, King, as a bartender at a beer tavern in Johnson City called "Nappy's." Nine days before the murder occurred Dorothy Mayes gave the defendant her check for $100.00 payable to Walt Whaley to be used to pay for a .38 caliber pistol which the defendant purchased from Whaley. A holster and cartridges were also obtained. The defendant carried this pistol with him on the day of the murder, wrapped in a towel, and placed it under the driver's seat in a blue Plymouth Volare station wagon, also owned by Dorothy Mayes, but driven by the defendant throughout the day of the murder.

In the forenoon of the day of the murder the defendant, accompanied by Kenneth Dykes, began driving about the city of Johnson City in the Mayes' Volare and drinking beer in large quantities both in the automobile and at various beer taverns located in the area. Dykes testified that the defendant showed to him the .38 caliber pistol which he had in the car and said that he had bought it from Walt Whaley (King).

The defendant, accompanied by Dykes, drove to a trailer park in search of the victim, Junior Adams. David Ealey who lives near the location of Junior Adams' trailer testified that he was standing outside his residence between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on May 22, 1979, when the defendant and a dark haired man drove up in a blue station wagon resembling the one owned by Dorothy Mayes. The defendant approached Mr. Ealey and inquired where Junior Adams lived. The witness pointed out the Adams' trailer to the defendant who was then observed by the witness to go to the door of Adams' trailer and to enter therein. At this point Ealey went to his residence for dinner and did not observe the departure of the defendant and his companion.

It is not shown whether the victim, Adams, was at home at the time of this visit by the defendant. However, the inference is that he was not at home at that time but was in fact in the downtown area visiting some of the beer taverns there. A cab driver, Tony Phillips, testified that the victim, Adams, came by his taxi cab lot at a time estimated by Phillips as between 3:30 and 3:45 p.m. on May 22, 1979. He testified that at this time the defendant was also observed to be across the street from the cab lot and that the defendant motioned for the victim, Adams, to come over to where the defendant was standing on the other side of the street, that Adams did cross the street and was observed walking down the sidewalk with the defendant. This testimony by Phillips was...