Wade v. State

• Decision Date: 21 October 1999
• Docket Number: No. 97-CT-00504-SCT.,97-CT-00504-SCT.
• Parties: Deanna WADE v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

748 So.2d 771

Deanna WADE v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 97-CT-00504-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 21, 1999.

Rehearing Denied January 13, 2000.

Travis Buckley, Ellisville, Robert B. McDuff, Jackson, Attorneys for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Charles W. Maris, Jr., Attorney for Appellee.

EN BANC.

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

SMITH, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. This case comes to this Court on writ of certiorari granted on the petition of Deanna Wade and the State of Mississippi, both being aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeals. Wade v. State, 724 So.2d 1007 (Miss.Ct.App.1998).

¶ 2. Wade's petition argues that the Court of Appeals erred in finding that she was guilty of manslaughter and in remanding for re-sentencing for the lesser crime of manslaughter. Wade also argues that in fact, she acted in self defense, and should have been found not guilty and acquitted of the charge of murder.

¶ 3. The State argues that the Court of Appeals erred in rejecting the conviction for murder because there was sufficient evidence to support the jury verdict. The State contends that the Court of Appeals erred and substituted its judgment for the jury in reversing the murder conviction and remanding for re-sentencing for manslaughter only.

¶ 4. After a review of this record and careful consideration of the issues, we find that the Court of Appeals decision is correct. We therefore affirm the Court of Appeals and remand to the circuit court under our "direct remand rule" for re-sentencing for manslaughter in accordance with this opinion. Shields v. State, 722 So.2d 584 (Miss.1998).

FACTS

¶ 5. Deanna Wade and Ralph Simpson owned and operated a night club in Claiborne County. They were also partners in a tumultuous and often violent personal relationship. Wade testified to the numerous and vicious beatings she suffered at Simpson's hands which typically took place when he was intoxicated. In the early morning of October 6, 1996, Wade and two waitresses were outside the bar when they heard gunfire. A witness testified that Simpson had fired a .45 automatic pistol into the club's wall just to get Wade's attention. There was also testimony that Simpson had been drinking whiskey all night. Wade entered the club, and an argument ensued. Testimony showed that Simpson first beat Wade's head against a table top with enough force to knock a sign off the wall. Simpson then freed Wade and their argument continued. Witnesses testified that Simpson next pulled Wade by the hair and beat her head against the edge of a pool table.

¶ 6. Wade testified that she wanted to call her mother to come get her but the phone in the bar had been knocked from the wall. She then went to the nearby house she shared with Simpson and returned with a .38 caliber revolver. She testified that Simpson left the area behind the bar and came toward her. Two witnesses testified that Wade said something to the effect of "you ain't gonna hit on me no more." Wade testified that she fired once and that Simpson fell. He died shortly thereafter. A jury found Wade guilty of murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison.

¶ 7. The Court of Appeals held that the factual circumstances evidenced a lack of malice on Wade's part and reversed the conviction with a seven-vote majority. The Court of Appeals found:

While Wade was undoubtably mad, it is also clear that her ill will was engendered by the earlier unlawful acts of Simpson and what appeared to be a renewed attack. This clearly was a killing in the heat of passion and arguably a case of imperfect self-defense and as such, manslaughter was the appropriate verdict.

724 So.2d at 1011.

The Court of Appeals further remanded the case for re-sentencing on the offense of manslaughter. Id. Judge Payne wrote a separate dissent in which she opined that the offense constituted justifiable homicide and that the conviction should have been reversed and rendered. Id. at 1012-14. Judge Southwick, joined by Judge McMillin, dissented on grounds that the conviction of murder was supported by the evidence and that the sentence of life in prison should have been affirmed. Id. at 1014.

I.

¶ 8. When a defendant has been found guilty by a jury, appellate authority is limited, and the verdict should not be overturned so long as there is "credible evidence in the record from which the jury could have found or reasonably inferred each element of the offense." Davis v. State, 586 So.2d 817, 819 (Miss.1991). The reviewing court is to examine all of the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict. Yates v. State, 685 So.2d 715, 718 (Miss.1996). This Court has held that reversal is warranted only where the evidence is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty of the offense for which he was convicted. Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987).

¶ 9. In the present case, the jury was instructed on murder, manslaughter, and self-defense. The jury chose to convict on the murder charge. In Gossett v. State, 660 So.2d 1285, 1293 (Miss.1995), the defendant was charged with murder yet the jury was instructed on manslaughter as well. This Court upheld the murder conviction after finding that the evidence demonstrated "ample time in which to form the requisite intent for the crime of murder." The Court held:

While there was certainly an evidentiary basis for the crime of manslaughter, the trial court properly granted an a manslaughter instruction and the jury nevertheless unanimously agreed that Gossett was guilty of murder.

Id. The Court of Appeals majority opinion concluded that, in this case however, there was not sufficient evidence to support a jury verdict of murder. The Court of Appeals recognized that the "court must consider all of the evidence which supports the State's case in a light most favorable to the State," and "the State must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences...." 724 So.2d at 1009 (quoting Butler v. State, 544 So.2d 816, 819 (Miss.1989)).

¶ 10. Here, evidence was presented that Wade left the scene of the fight, went to her house, retrieved a pistol, and returned, entering the bar and, as Simpson approached her, she cursed and declared "You ain't gonna hit on me no more." While the jury could have declined to draw an inference of malice, these particular facts, coupled with the other important facts set out herein related to the prior beatings and Wade's unique situation, are insufficient to support a finding of malicious intent. Unlike Gossett, the evidence here supports a finding of guilt of manslaughter rather than murder.

¶ 11. The issue of justifiable self-defense presents a question of the weight and credibility of the evidence rather than sufficiency and is to be decided by the jury. Meshell v. State, 506 So.2d 989, 991-92 (Miss.1987). The jury verdict in this case should not be overturned unless this Court is "convinced that the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice." Gossett, 660 So.2d at 1294.

¶ 12. In this case, the jury heard one witness, Janice Smith, testify

And I was standing on the other side of the bar, and Deanna came in hollering something at Ralph like, you bastard or something. I can't remember what it really was and said, "I bet you won't never hit me again or hurt me again."

Another witness, Bob McKay, testified

And about that time the door opened in the back and then Deanna showed up. I saw she had a gun so I kind of moved around this way, and Ralph, he just turned around.

I mean, he was facing—she was coming up this way and he turned around, he made a couple of steps back toward her and about two, I imagine, and she said, "you ain't gonna hit on me no more." So then she shot.

This Court recognizes the theory of "imperfect self-defense" whereby an intentional killing may be considered manslaughter if done without malice but under a bona fide (but unfounded) belief that it was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. Lanier v. State, 684 So.2d 93, 97 (Miss.1996). In Lanier, this Court reversed a murder conviction where the trial court refused to give an instruction which would have allowed the jury to reject a self-defense theory yet still find the defendant guilty of only manslaughter. Id. However, Wade argues against manslaughter "imperfect self defense" and instead argues that she should be acquitted and her case reversed and rendered.

¶ 13. The apprehension or fear that will justify killing another in self-defense must appear objectively real to a reasonable person of average prudence. Hart v. State, 637 So.2d 1329, 1339 (Miss.1994). In the case at bar however, there is a major problem with Wade's proof of self defense. Although she did testify, Wade stated that she had no memory of acquiring the gun. Nor did she testify that the reason she shot Simpson was because she feared great bodily harm or death. Contrary to the dissent, no other witness testified about Wade being in danger of severe bodily harm or death on this last occasion. The jury in fact was instructed regarding self-defense with instructions D-2, S-3, and D-8 all being given by the trial court. The jury rejected Wade's self-defense. The Court of Appeals was correct regarding this issue which is clearly "heat of passion" manslaughter.

II

¶ 14. The Court of Appeals found that the proof only supported the crime of "heat of passion" manslaughter and remanded for re-sentencing. The Court of Appeals supports its decision for remand for re-sentencing for manslaughter with Harrell v. State, 218 So.2d 883 (Miss.1969). Harrell is a case with facts which are stronger in support of a self-defense or "imperfect self-defense" theory. There, Harrell killed an intruder who was first ejected from her home and later returned evidencing aggressive intent. There was a factual dispute as to whether the intruder had actually entered the house or...