 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Reed6/25/2002
es the defendant's initial presumption of innocence and replaces it with a presumption of guilt, so that on appeal, a convicted defendant has the burden of demonstrating that the evidence is insufficient. See State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474, 476 (Tenn. 1973).
First, the defendant argues that he did not knowingly kill the victim, claiming that he had not taken his medication "for his nerves" for several days prior to the shooting. As additional proof of his mental state at the time of the shooting, he points to Billy Grandberry's testimony that he was talking and acting crazy the day of the shooting and to Dwayne Draine's testimony that he just sat there after shooting the victim instead of quickly fleeing the scene.
Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-210(a)(1) defines second degree murder as " knowing killing of another." "Knowing" is defined as follows:
"Knowing" refers to a person who acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result[.] Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(20) (1997).
Voluntary manslaughter, which the defendant argues that he committed, is "the intentional or knowing killing of another in a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner." Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-211(a) (1997).
In order to establish second degree murder, the State must prove that a killing was knowing beyond reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S. Ct. at 2789, 61 L. Ed. 2d at 573. Substantial evidence was presented at the defendant's trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly killed the victim. Billy Grandberry, the defendant's first cousin, testified that the defendant first aimed his shotgun at Corey Dean before brandishing the gun and yelling at the victim and Dwayne Draine to give him all of their money. Grandberry stated that the defendant was holding the shotgun in his hand when Grandberry exited the car. A few minutes after leaving the car, Grandberry heard a gunshot and never saw the victim alive again. Dwayne Draine, who was in the passenger seat of the victim's car when the victim was shot, testified that the defendant aimed a shotgun at him and the victim and demanded their money. Minutes later, as Draine and the victim were about to park outside their house on Craig Street, the defendant suddenly appeared, pulled beside their car, and shot the victim in the face.
Draine's testimony is supported by the testimony of Pearlie Currin, another eyewitness to the shooting. Currin stated that she saw a black male fire a shotgun into a car carrying two individuals on Craig Street. John Terrell Sales testified that on March 11, 1997, he encountered the defendant, who aimed a shotgun at him and the passengers in his car and chased after them as they were en route to the hospital where the victim had been taken. Dr. Thomas Deering testified that the victim died as a result of a shotgun wound to the head.
Investigator Chandler testified that at about 6:00 p.m. on March 11, 1997, he saw the defendant run from his girlfriend's house in an effort to escape from the police. A short time later, Chandler and other officers found the defendant's car, with the shotgun locked inside. At trial, the audiotape of the defendant's statement, in which he confessed to shooting the victim, was played for the jury. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to show that the d
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|