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State v. Clifton3/4/1997
mist of blood, known as back splatter, to spray back in the direction from which the shot came. He observed that the bullet upon exit from the body would produce considerably more and larger drops of blood travelling in the same direction as the bullet, known as forward splatter. The back splatter would generally not travel more than 10 to 18 inches.
On 17 May 1994 SBI Special Agent Eugene Bishop tested the .44 caliber Ruger pistol recovered from the scene, found that it was in good working order, and determined that the fragmented bullet that killed James Clifton came from it.
Associate Chief Medical Examiner Karen E. Chancellor performed an autopsy on James Clifton. The autopsy revealed that a single large bullet entered James Clifton's body under his left arm in the armpit area and partially exited near the midline of his upper back. The entry wound was surrounded by powder residue and powder stippling from a gun. This indicated that upon the firing of the gun the barrel of the weapon was in close proximity to the body. Dr. Chancellor observed dense powder stippling on the upper inside of James Clifton's arm, near the elbow, and to a lesser degree on his left forearm. Dr. Chancellor determined that James Clifton died as a result of extensive bleeding caused by a gunshot.
SBI Agent David McDougall conducted experiments to produce blood splatter patterns on white poster board and on a white undershirt. Agent McDougall obtained the patterns from his experiments by firing both a .22 caliber pistol and the .44 caliber Ruger into a blood-soaked sponge, and by slapping a blood source by hand. He compared the results of his experiment to defendant's blood soaked blouse. He found the fine droplets of blood covering the upper right shoulder and back of the blouse were a distinct misting-type stain consistent with the back splatter pattern he produced on the undershirt. While he concluded that this indicated defendant was in close proximity to James Clifton at the time the gun was fired, he also found that these results were not helpful in determining who was holding the gun at the time of the shooting.
By true bill of indictment returned 23 May 1994 defendant was charged with first degree murder of James Clifton. On 26 June 1995 defendant was arraigned upon a charge of second degree murder. Upon a plea of not guilty , on 30 June 1995 the jury found defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The trial Judge took judicial notice of defendant's pardon of forgiveness and considered it for purposes of sentencing. Upon finding that aggravating factors outweighed mitigating factors, the trial Judge sentenced defendant to ten years imprisonment and recommended work release when eligible. As a condition of work release, defendant was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000.00 to James Clifton's father for funeral expenses. Defendant appeals from this judgment imposing sentence and ordering her to pay restitution.
EAGLES, Judge.
Defendant fails to bring forward or argue assignments of error 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in her brief. These assignments of error are deemed abandoned pursuant to N.C.R. App. P. 28(a).
We first consider whether the trial court erred by allowing evidence of results of blood splatter experiments conducted by the State's witness over defendant's objection on the grounds that the experiments were not conducted under substantially similar circumstances to those prevailing at the time of the shooting and that the experiment was not relevant.
In order for experimental evidence to be admissible it must be relevant and the experiment must be conducted under circumstances substantially similar to
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