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WOODS v. STATE4/18/1997
defendant guilty of the offense of child abuse.
"[State's requested charge # 4:] In order for you to find the defendant guilty of child abuse, you must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the following elements — these are the elements of child abuse. Number one, that the defendant is the natural parent or stepparent or adopted parent or legal guardian or custodian or person having the temporary or permanent care or responsibility for the supervision of [the child]. Number two, you must find that [the child] was a child under the age of 18 years. And number three, you must find that the defendant either tortured, willfully abused, cruelly beat or otherwise willfully maltreated [W.C.W.]; or alternatively that the defendant willfully failed to act in a certain manner and [that] this willful failure or omission to act caused the said child to be abused, tortured, cruelly beaten or maltreated."
(R. 290-92.)
A trial court has broad discretion in formulating jury instructions, provided the charges are an accurate reflection of the law and the facts of the case. Coon v. State, 494 So.2d 184 (Ala. Cr. App. 1986).
The above charges are accurate statements of the law. (See Phelps, supra, and our discussion in Part III, of this opinion.) Woods argues that charges 3 and 4 were vague or incomprehensible because the
trial court did not specifically state those "certain acts" or "failure to act in a certain manner" upon proof of which the jury could find him guilty of child abuse. We find this argument to be without merit.
The trial judge did not abuse its discretion in giving the four charges requested by the State.
For the above-stated reasons, the judgment of the trial court is due to be, and is hereby, affirmed.
OPINION OF MARCH 6, 1998, WITHDRAWN; OPINION SUBSTITUTED; RULE 39(k) MOTION DENIED; APPLICATION GRANTED; AFFIRMED.
LONG, P.J., and McMILLAN, BROWN, and BASCHAB, JJ., concur.
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