Thornton v. State

• Decision Date: 15 May 2014
• Docket Number: No. CR–13–807.,CR–13–807.
• Citation: 2014 Ark. 157,433 S.W.3d 216
• Parties: Justin Jamaille THORNTON, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

2014 Ark. 157

433 S.W.3d 216

Justin Jamaille THORNTON, Appellant

v.STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR–13–807.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

April 10, 2014.

Rehearing Denied May 15, 2014.

Potts Law Office, by: Gary W. Potts, Monticello, for appellant.

Dustin McDaniel, Att'y Gen., by: Nicana C. Sherman, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

DONALD L. CORBIN, Justice.

Appellant Justin Jamaille Thornton appeals from an order of the Lincoln County Circuit Court convicting him of capital murder, and sentencing him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Thornton's sole argument on appeal is that the circuit court erred in denying his motions for a directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to establish that he acted with the requisite intent of premeditation and deliberation. Our jurisdiction is pursuant to Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 1–2(a)(2) (2013). We reverse and remand.

Officers with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office received a call that the body of a black male had been discovered in a ditch on Brooklyn Road. According to Lt. Kenneth Davis, an officer assigned to investigate the case, the victim, later identified as Kwame Turner, had suffered a gunshot wound to the side of his face. Lieutenant Davis also stated that there were scuff marks on the victim's back indicating that the body had been dragged down to the ditch. Authorities later discovered Turner's car at an apartment complex in Pine Bluff.

After police developed Thornton as a suspect, they obtained a warrant to search his residence, which sits behind a house on Boston Road. Lieutenant Davis stated that upon arriving at the residence, he noticed grass in the backyard that looked identical to grass found inside the front door of Turner's vehicle. There was also a blood stain on a back step, as well as what appeared to be blood inside the door. Officers also discovered a bag in the kitchen that contained a towel with red stains, believed to be blood, and a bucket with pinkish water and a mop in the kitchen near the backdoor. There were also several areas of what appeared to be blood on an orange chair in the living room. Also in the living room, investigators discovered a pair of house shoes and a pair of sweat pants, both of which appeared to have blood stains on them. Police found two .45–caliber bullets on a dresser in the bedroom, as well as five bullet casings on the ground about 100 yards away from Thornton's residence.

Police arrested Thornton on October 2, 2011, at the Executive Inn in Pine Bluff, in a room registered to Alex Reed, a friend of Thornton's. When police knocked on the door to the room, they heard a male say, “I'm going to lay face-down on the floor.” Thornton initially told police that his name was Jamaille Thompson, but Lieutenant Davis recognized him as Thornton and took him into custody. Thornton was charged by felony information with one count each of capital murder, felony theft of property, possession of a firearm, and abuse of a corpse. The State also alleged that Thornton was subject to a sentence enhancement for using a firearm to commit a felony and as a habitual offender.

Prior to trial, Thornton filed a motion seeking to waive his right to a trial by jury. The circuit court held a hearing to inquire whether Thornton understood the nature of the right he was waiving and whether his waiver was being freely made. At this hearing, the State announced that it agreed to the waiver and as a result would not seek the death penalty. Thornton announced on the record that he understood and that he wished to be tried by the court. Thereafter, the circuit court granted Thornton's motion.

A bench trial was then held on February 19–21, 2013. At the close of the State's case, Thornton moved for a directed verdict on all charges. He specifically argued that the State failed to prove that he had murdered Turner. Thornton further argued that there was no proof that he had acted with premeditation and deliberation. The circuit court denied the motion. Thornton was the only defense witness and at the close of all the evidence, he again renewed his motions for a directed verdict. The circuit court denied the motions and took the case under advisement. The court then ruled from the bench that the State had proved the charges of capital murder, possession of a firearm, and abuse of a corpse. But, the circuit court reduced the felony-theft charge to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a vehicle.¹

The circuit court entered a sentencing order on March 4, 2013, finding Appellant guilty as set forth above. The circuit court sentenced Thornton to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on the capital-murder charge; 240 months' imprisonment on the possession-of-a-firearm charge; 240 months' imprisonment on the abuse-of-a-corpse charge; and 12 months' imprisonment in the county jail on the unauthorized-use-of-a-vehicle charge. In addition, the court imposed an additional term of 120 months' imprisonment as a firearm enhancement, pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16–90–120. The court ordered that the firearm enhancement and the sentence for abuse of a corpse were to be served consecutively, with the remaining terms to run concurrently. This timely appeal followed.

As his sole point on appeal, Thornton argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motions for a directed verdict because the evidence submitted by the State was insufficient to prove the charge of capital murder. More specifically, Thornton asserts that the State failed to establish that he acted with premeditation and deliberation, which is the requisite intent to establish the crime of capital murder. In support of his assertion, Thornton argues that all of the evidence presented was circumstantial and left the fact-finder to engage in speculation and conjecture in determining guilt. The State counters that the circuit court correctly denied the directed-verdict motions as there was ample proof to establish Thornton's guilt. The State further asserts that circumstantial proof may constitute sufficient evidence and does so in this case.

Although Thornton moved for a directed verdict, such a motion at a bench trial is a motion for dismissal. A motion to dismiss at a bench trial and a motion for a directed verdict at a jury trial are both challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. SeeArk. R.Crim. P. 33.1 (2013); Stewart v. State, 362 Ark. 400, 208 S.W.3d 768 (2005). In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, this court determines whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Stevenson v. State, 2013 Ark. 100, 426 S.W.3d 416. Substantial evidence is evidence forceful enough to compel a conclusion one way or the other beyond suspicion or conjecture. Id. This court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and only evidence supporting the verdict will be considered. Id.

Circumstantial evidence may constitute substantial evidence to support a conviction. Wallace v. State, 2009 Ark. 90, 302 S.W.3d 580. The longstanding rule in the use of circumstantial evidence is that, to be substantial, the evidence must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis than that of the guilt of the accused. Id. Such a determination is a question of fact for the trier of fact to determine. Ridling v. State, 360 Ark. 424, 203 S.W.3d 63 (2005). The trier of fact is free to believe all or part of any witness's testimony and may resolve questions of conflicting testimony and inconsistent evidence. Wallace, 2009 Ark. 90, 302 S.W.3d 580.

A defendant commits capital murder, if, with the premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing the death of another person, he causes the death of any person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5–10–101(a)(4) (Repl.2013). Premeditated and deliberated murder occurs when the killer's conscious object is to cause death, and he forms that intention before he acts and as a result of a weighing of the consequences of his course of conduct. Williams v. State, 2011 Ark. 432, 385 S.W.3d 157. Moreover,

[i]n order to prove that an accused acted with a premeditated and deliberated purpose the State must prove: (1) that the accused had the conscious object to cause the death of another; (2) that the accused formed the intention of causing the death before acting; and (3) that the accused weighed in his mind the consequences of a course of conduct, as distinguished from acting suddenly on impulse without the exercise of reasoning power.

Ward v. State, 298 Ark. 448, 451, 770 S.W.2d 109, 111 (1989); see also O'Neal v. State, 356 Ark. 674, 682, 158 S.W.3d 175, 180 (2004) (quoting Ford v. State, 334 Ark. 385, 389, 976 S.W.2d 915, 917 (1998) (“Deliberation has been defined as ‘weighing in the mind of the consequences of a course of conduct, as distinguished from acting upon a sudden impulse without the exercise of reasoning powers.’ ”)). But, premeditation is not required to exist for a particular length of time. Carmichael v. State, 340 Ark. 598, 12 S.W.3d 225 (2000). It may be formed in an instant and is rarely capable of proof by direct evidence but must usually be inferred from the circumstances of the crime. Pearcy v. State, 2010 Ark. 454, 375 S.W.3d 622.

In reviewing Thornton's sufficiency challenge, we turn to the evidence adduced at trial. Bobby Humphries, chief latent-print examiner with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, testified that he had examined the evidence submitted in this case. This included a plastic-mold impression of a partial shoe print that Lieutenant Davis had discovered near the victim's body. The mold was sent to the state crime lab, along with a pair of tennis shoes that Davis recovered from Thornton after his arrest. Humphries stated that the pattern in the cast of the print was consistent with the pattern of the Nike shoes Davis recovered when he arrested Thornton. He further stated that the physical size of the heel area of Thornton's...