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State v. Robinson4/14/2004
ican venire-members. Even though the court did not find the defense argument supported a prima facie showing, the court permitted the State to articulate its race-neutral reasons out of an abundance of caution. A review of the voir dire record as a whole indicates that the State articulated race-neutral reasons for each of the four challenges raised by defendant. With regard to Patricia Brown, Charlene Arvie, and Karla Charles, the State explained that all three women expressed a profound reluctance to imposing the death penalty. Based upon the answers given during the colloquy, the trial court agreed and found no pretext in the reason given by the State for its use of peremptory strikes.
With regard to John Key, his interview revealed that sequestered jury service would be a problem for him because of lost income. Further, several members of his family had health concerns, and serious illness had stricken his mother-in-law.
The State initially raised a challenge for cause based on his employment and family issues. The trial court denied the State's cause challenge, and both sides provisionally accepted Mr. Key. Subsequently, the State used a back strike to excuse Mr. Key. No pattern of racially discriminatory strikes by the State is detected, nor any abuse of discretion on behalf of the trial court in finding that the defense failed to present a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. Thus, defendant's assignment of error is without merit.
IV.
In his fourteenth assignment of error, defendant contends that the admission of photographs from the murder scene were more prejudicial than probative, and therefore violated his right to a fair trial. We disagree, and find that the trial court's decision to admit the crime scene photographs did not violate defendant's right to a fair trial because the photographs possessed probative value, and further, the contents were not so gruesome as to overwhelm the jury and cause them to convict based on insufficient evidence.
This Court held in State v. Letulier, that even where the cause of death is not at issue, the State is entitled to the moral force of its evidence. State v. Letulier, 97- 1360, (La. 7/8/98), 750 So.2d 784, 795. Therefore, post-mortem photographs of murder victims are admissible to prove corpus delicti, to corroborate other evidence establishing cause of death, location, placement of wounds, as well as to provide positive identification of the victim. Id. In Letulier, the defendant stabbed an elderly man to death, robbed him of his social security income, and dumped his body in a local levee. Id. at 787. The State introduced pictures of the victim during the testimony of his daughter for identification purposes, as well as during the testimony of Det. Scott Haydel, a detective with the St. Martin Sheriff's Office, to explain the condition of the body when it was found. Id. at 795. Photographic evidence will be admitted unless it is so gruesome as to overwhelm the jurors' reason and lead them to convict the defendant without sufficient evidence, or, as explained in La. C.E. art. 403, when the prejudicial effect of the photographs substantially outweighs their probative value. Id. See also State v. Koon, 96-1208, (La.5/20/97); 704 So.2d 756; State v. Maxie, 93-2158, (La.4/10/95); 653 So.2d 526; State v. Martin, 93-0285, (La.10/17/94); 645 So.2d 190.
In State v. Perry, this Court affirmed defendant's conviction of five counts of first degree murder where the defendant shot both of his parents and two cousins, as well as a small child. State v. Perry, 502 So.2d 543 (La. 1986). In Perry, the defendant argued that the admission of the photographs was unnecessary as the pathologist who per
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