 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
North Carolina v. McKoy9/7/1988
. at 293, 337 S.E.2d at 567. In light of this, and in view of the record as a whole, we do not believe there is a reasonable possibility that the jury would have reached a different result if the court had overruled
the objection. Thus, assuming error, arguendo, defendant has not carried his burden of showing prejudice. N.C.G.S. § 15A-1443(a) (1983).
We conclude that the guilt phase of defendant's trial was fair and free of prejudicial error.
Sentencing Phase
Defendant contends that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the jury failed to find the statutory mitigating circumstance that "the defendant was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance." N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000(f)(2) (1983). Defendant presented two psychiatrists who testified that he was suffering from significant psychological disorders at the time of the shooting. He argues that there thus was uncontradicted and inherently credible evidence to support the existence of this mitigating circumstance, and that the jury's refusal to find this circumstance makes the sentencing determination unreliable in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
We conclude that other evidence regarding defendant's mental and emotional state at the time of the shooting conflicted with that presented by defendant's experts. Prior to the shooting, defendant had held the same job for four years, and his supervisor described him as a good employee . On the day of the shooting, defendant was able to aim and fire his shotgun. When confronted by Haskell, defendant was able to explain that he was firing his shotgun into the air because "it's Christmas." At several points prior to the shooting, defendant conversed with the officers. After receiving medical treatment for his gunshot wounds, defendant was able to answer Dr. Perry's questions coherently. During the ride to Raleigh, defendant "appeared to be rational in all respects." Defendant gave a detailed narration of the day's events, and he explained that the reason he shot Horne was because Horne "pressured" him. Agent Jackson testified that defendant responded logically, and with clarity of recollection and expression, to questions posed by the officers. Defendant's own witness, Dr. Lara, testified that he found no evidence that defendant suffered from hallucinations, delusions, or "an ongoing psychosis."
We also reject defendant's assertion that the testimony of his psychiatric experts was inherently credible. Defendant's mental
and emotional state at the time of the crime is the central question presented by the submission of the mitigating circumstance in question; however, neither of defendant's experts examined him until several weeks or months after the crime. See State v. Smith, 305 N.C. 691, 705-06, 292 S.E.2d 264, 273-74, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1056, 74 L. Ed. 2d 622 (1982) (State's evidence concerning defendant's mental capacity conflicted with defendant's expert's after-the-fact opinions; "jury's duty to decide what to believe"). The jury was not required to believe defendant's evidence simply because the State did not specifically refute the testimony of defendant's experts. "Determining the credibility of evidence is at the heart of the fact-finding function." State v. Jones, 309 N.C. 214, 220, 306 S.E.2d 451, 456 (1983).
Because the evidence concerning defendant's mental and emotional state was neither uncontradicted nor inherently credible, we find no merit in this argument. See St
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 North Carolina DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|