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State v. Clifton3/4/1997
insufficiency of the evidence.
The test for sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction in a criminal case is whether there is substantial evidence of all elements of the offense charged that would allow any rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed the offense. State v. Richardson, 342 N.C. 772, 785, 467 S.E.2d 685, 692, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 136 L. Ed. 2d 160 (1996). Substantial evidence is that relevant evidence which a reasonable mind would accept as sufficient to support a Conclusion. State v. Patterson, 335 N.C. 437, 449, 439 S.E.2d 578, 585 (1994). "The law will not allow a conviction on evidence that merely gives rise to a suspicion or a conjecture that defendant committed a crime." State v. Lambert, 341 N.C. 36, 42, 460 S.E.2d 123, 127 (1995). On sufficiency of evidence review, the evidence "must be viewed in a light most favorable to the State, and the State is to receive any reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence." State v. Hardy, 339 N.C. 207, 236, 451 S.E.2d 600, 617 (1994).
Involuntary manslaughter is the "unintentional killing of a human being without malice proximately caused by a culpably negligent act or omission." State v. McCoy, 122 N.C. App. 482, 485, 470 S.E.2d 542, 544, disc. review denied, 343 N.C. 755, 473 S.E.2d 622 (1996). Culpable negligence means any act or omission which evidences a disregard for human rights and safety. State v. Burton, 119 N.C. App. 625, 633, 460 S.E.2d 181, 188 (1995). The act or omission must be so careless or reckless that it "imports a thoughtless disregard of the consequences of the act or the act shows a heedless indifference to the rights and safety of others." State v. Meadlock, 95 N.C. App. 146, 149, 381 S.E.2d 805, 806, disc. review denied, 325 N.C. 434, 384 S.E.2d 544 (1989).
The jury confronted a single question in reaching their verdict of guilty of involuntary manslaughter: Did defendant pull the trigger of the gun that killed James Clifton? The State presented the following evidence that assisted the jury in answering the question in the affirmative: Defendant's statements the day of the shooting; evidence that James Clifton had been happy just prior to the shooting; evidence that defendant was in close proximity to James Clifton with back splatter blood stains on the right shoulder of her blouse; evidence that shortly before the shooting, defendant and James Clifton were arguing about a new pickup truck and pistol; evidence that both defendant and James Clifton had been drinking at the time of the shooting; evidence concerning the path of the bullet and the wound itself, in the left armpit, coursing slightly down and through the body, coupled with the strong powder residue and stippling present on James Clifton's inside upper arm and left forearm, contradicted the possibility of self-infliction; evidence that self-infliction of such a wound by the victim with the .44 caliber pistol that was thirteen inches in length with a seven and three eighths inch barrel would be physically difficult; evidence that the pistol was found lying on the kitchen counter some 54 inches from the body of James Clifton while the victim's glasses were askew on the floor near the body; evidence that no blood was found on the pistol; evidence that James Clifton's father did not hear about his son's death from his daughter-in-law; evidence that defendant did not speak to her father-in-law for over a year prior to trial; and evidence that both defendant and James Clifton were right handed. We conclude that the trial court correctly determined that there is sufficient evidence to justify submission of the case to the jury. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in denying defend
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