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Beckham v. State3/23/1999
the crash.
. Since an argument regarding the sufficiency of the evidence requires consideration of the evidence before the trial court when made, this Court properly reviews the ruling on the last occasion the challenge was made in the court below. This occurred when the circuit court overruled Beckham's motion for a JNOV. Wetz v. State, 503 So. 2d 803, 807-08 (Miss. 1987). Both motions for directed verdict and motions for a JNOV challenge the legal sufficiency of the evidence. Noe v. State, 616 So. 2d 298, 302 (Miss. 1993). Where a defendant moves for a JNOV, the trial court considers all of the credible evidence consistent with the defendant's guilt, giving the prosecution the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. McClain v. State 625 So. 2d 774, 778 (Miss. 1993).
. We begin by addressing the law in Mississippi with regard to culpable negligence manslaughter in the course of operating a motor vehicle: "In order to obtain a conviction under § 97-3-47 for vehicular manslaughter, 'it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of culpable negligence.'" Hopson v. State, 615 So.2d 576, 578 (Miss. 1993) (quoting Stever v. State, 503 So. 2d 227, 229 (Miss. 1987)). Proof that Beckham "was guilty of such gross negligence . . . as to evince on his part a wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of human life, or such an indifference to the consequences of his act under the surrounding circumstances as to render his conduct tantamount to willfulness. . . ." Hopson, 615 So. 2d at 578 (quoting Dickerson v. State, 441 So. 2d 536 (Miss. 1983); Smith v. State, 197 Miss. 802, 20 So. 2d 701 (1945)).
. Moreover, "while driving . . . under the influence of intoxicating liquor is a crime in and of itself . . . . his in itself does not constitute culpable negligence, nor does it make what would otherwise be no more than a negligent act in operating a motor vehicle culpable negligence under the meaning of the statute." Hopson, 615 So. 2d at 578 (quoting Craig v. State, 520 So. 2d 487, 492 (Miss. 1988)). However, the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants may "be considered as an element constituting gross and careless disregard for the value of human life," and further, it may be a factor indicating criminally culpable negligence if the influence of intoxicants proximately contributed both to the negligence of the defendant and to the resulting death. Hopson, 615 So. 2d at 578 (citing Gibson v. State, 503 So.2d 230, 233 (Miss. 1987); Whitehurst v. State, 540 So. 2d 1319, 1327-28 (Miss. 1989)).
. The testimony at trial was of a nature that the jury could have reasonably found that Beckham's intoxication while operating the Lincoln was the proximate cause of the crash with Joiner's vehicle that resulted in her death. As to what effect driving while intoxicated can have on one's culpable negligence, the intoxication "must create an abnormal mental and physical condition which tends to deprive one of the clearness of intellect and control of himself which he would otherwise possess." Hopson, 615 So. 2d at 578 (citing Evans v. State, 562 So. 2d 91, 95 (Miss. 1990) (other citations omitted)).
. The applicable law set forth, we turn to the merits of Beckham's challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, and we find they are without merit. Accordingly, this alleged error is overruled. The collective evidence was the following: the .12% concentration of alcohol in Beckham's blood, his lawful admission to investigators that he was traveling approximately seventy miles per hour at the time of the crash, and the testimony of Simpson County Coroner Robert Williams, Mississippi
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