State v. Harden, 34268.

Citation679 S.E.2d 628
Decision Date04 June 2009
Docket NumberNo. 34268.,34268.
PartiesSTATE of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Appellee, v. Tanya D. HARDEN, Defendant Below, Appellant.
CourtSupreme Court of West Virginia
Dissenting Opinion of Chief Justice Benjamin July 27, 2009.
Syllabus by the Court

1. "A reviewing court should not reverse a criminal case on the facts which have been passed upon by the jury, unless the court can say that there is reasonable doubt of guilt and that the verdict must have been the result of misapprehension, or passion and prejudice." Syllabus Point 3, State v. Sprigg, 103 W.Va. 404, 137 S.E. 746 (1927).

2. "The function of an appellate court when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, is sufficient to convince a reasonable person of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the relevant inquiry 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 proved beyond a reasonable doubt." Syllabus Point 1, State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657, 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995).

3. Where a defendant has asserted a plea of self-defense, evidence showing that the decedent had previously abused or threatened the life of the defendant is relevant evidence of the defendant's state of mind at the time deadly force was used. In determining whether the circumstances formed a reasonable basis for the defendant to believe that he or she was at imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death at the hands of the decedent, the inquiry is two-fold. First, the defendant's belief must be subjectively reasonable, which is to say that the defendant actually believed, based upon all the circumstances perceived by him or her at the time deadly force was used, that such force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. Second, the defendant's belief must be objectively reasonable when considering all of the circumstances surrounding the defendant's use of deadly force, which is to say that another person, similarly situated, could have reasonably formed the same belief. Our holding in Syllabus Point 6 of State v. McMillion, 104 W.Va. 1, 138 S.E. 732 (1927), is expressly overruled.

4. Where it is determined that the defendant's actions were not reasonably made in self-defense, evidence that the decedent had abused or threatened the life of the defendant is nonetheless relevant and may negate or tend to negate a necessary element of the offense(s) charged, such as malice or intent.

5. An occupant who is, without provocation, attacked in his or her home, dwelling or place of temporary abode, by a co-occupant who also has a lawful right to be upon the premises, may invoke the law of self-defense and in such circumstances use deadly force, without retreating, where the occupant reasonably believes, and does believe, that he or she is at imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury. In determining whether the circumstances formed a reasonable basis for the occupant to believe that he or she was at imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury at the hands of the co-occupant, the inquiry is two-fold. First, the occupant's belief must be subjectively reasonable, which is to say that the occupant actually believed, based upon all the circumstances perceived by him or her at the time deadly force was used, that such force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. Second, the occupant's belief must be objectively reasonable when considering all of the circumstances surrounding the occupant's use of deadly force, which is to say that another person, similarly situated, could have reasonably formed the same belief. Our decision in Syllabus Point 2, State v. Crawford, 66 W.Va. 114, 66 S.E. 110 (1909), is expressly overruled.

6. "Once there is sufficient evidence to create a reasonable doubt that the killing resulted from the defendant acting in self-defense, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense." Syllabus Point 4, State v. Kirtley, 162 W.Va. 249, 252 S.E.2d 374 (1978).

Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., Attorney General, Robert D. Goldberg, Assistant Attorney General, Charleston, WV, for Appellee.

Russel S. Cook, Esq., J.L. Hickok, Esq., West Virginia Public Defender Services, Charleston, WV, for Appellant.

KETCHUM, J.:

This case is before the Court upon the appeal of Tanya A. Harden (defendant) from the final order of the Circuit Court of Cabell County sentencing the defendant to a term of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole following defendant's conviction for first degree murder.

The defendant, who asserted a claim of self-defense at trial, has submitted several assignments of error in support of her appeal. After careful consideration of the parties' arguments, the record, and relevant authorities, we find one of those assigned errors to be dispositive. Specifically, we find that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's actions were not made in self-defense. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in this opinion, we vacate the defendant's conviction and remand this matter to the circuit court with directions to enter a judgment of acquittal.

I. Background

On September 5, 2004, the defendant was arrested upon her admission to having shot and killed her husband, Danuel Harden. At trial, the defendant asserted a claim of self-defense, arguing that her actions precipitously followed a "night of domestic terror" that ended only when the defendant shot and killed the decedent. The evidence adduced1 at the defendant's trial showed that the decedent, while drinking heavily (with a blood alcohol count ultimately reaching 0.22% at the time of his death) subjected the defendant to a several-hour-long period of physical and emotional violence. This violence included the decedent brutally beating the defendant with the butt and barrel of a shotgun, brutally beating the defendant with his fists, and sexually assaulting the defendant. An emergency room physician at Cabell Huntington Hospital, who examined the defendant on the morning of the shooting, testified that the defendant "had contusions of both orbital areas, the right upper arm, a puncture wound with a foreign body of the right forearm, contusions of her chest, left facial cheek, the left upper lip" and that "X-rays done at the time demonstrated a nasal fracture."

In addition to the physical violence summarized above, the evidence adduced at trial also showed that the decedent repeatedly threatened to kill the defendant and the defendant's nine-year-old son B.H.,2 ten-year-old daughter A.H., and ten-year-old B.K. (a friend of A.H.'s who had been invited for a "sleep over"). This evidence included testimony from two of the children. B.H. testified to seeing and hearing the decedent say to the defendant "I am going to go get the gun and shoot you" and that the decedent did, in fact, go to a back room in the defendant's home and get a shotgun, and returned to the room with the gun where the decedent subsequently struck the defendant with the butt of the gun in the shoulders and arms while she was seated in a recliner. In addition to B.H.'s testimony, B.K. also testified that she was frightened by what she could hear from her bedroom and had difficulty falling asleep, and that after finally falling asleep, she was awakened by more sounds of fighting, at one point over-hearing the defendant say to the decedent that "she didn't want to get killed with her two kids."

It is conceded by the State that the defendant suffered a "night of domestic terror." During its opening statement the State described the evening's violence as a "knock-down-drag-out" fight. By the time of the State's closing argument, the State conceded to the jury that "Yes, she had a night of terror." In its brief to this Court, the State concedes that the decedent's death followed an "evening of physical and sexual abuse."

Notwithstanding the fact that it does not dispute that the defendant endured a night of extreme violence at the hands of the decedent, the State nonetheless argues that the defendant's claim of self-defense is "untenable." In its closing argument, the State argued to the jury that "the law ... on self-defense says that in order to use deadly force in self-defense you must find that the apprehension existed at the time the defendant attacked, or in this case shot, the [decedent]." In addition, the State maintained that the defendant did not have a reasonable basis to apprehend any danger from the decedent at the time she used deadly force against the decedent because there had been a "cooling off" period, and the evidence showed that the decedent was lying down on a couch possibly "asleep" or, alternately, possibly "passed out drunk" when the defendant shot him.3 The State further argued to the jury that the defendant's use of deadly force was not reasonable because the defendant could have retreated from any danger posed by the decedent, evidenced by the fact that the decedent "is on that couch with a BAC of .22 and she has got control of that shotgun, she ... could have called the law, and she could have walked out of that trailer. Period. But she didn't."

II. Standard of Review

On appeal the defendant argues that the State failed to submit sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her actions were not made in self-defense. We have previously held that "[a] reviewing court should not reverse a criminal case on the facts which have been passed upon by the jury, unless the court can say that there is reasonable doubt of guilt and that the verdict must have been the result of misapprehension, or passion and prejudice." Syllabus Point 3, State v. Sprigg, 103 W.Va. 404, 137 S.E. 746 (1927). Accord ...

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    ...to negate a necessary element of the offense(s) charged, such as malice or intent.” Syllabus Point 4, State v. Harden, 223 W.Va. 796, 679 S.E.2d 628 (2009). 2. “Expert testimony can be utilized to explain the psychological basis for the battered woman's syndrome and to offer an opinion that......
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