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Bland v. State5/16/2000
bstances on the body, the expert opinion could not include whether Appellant did or did not have the intent to kill at the time of the homicide. Id. That is a decision for the jury under the law and evidence presented.
In the present case, Appellant established, if believed, that he had ingested cocaine the day he confronted the victim. However, he testified to the details of the shooting and never once indicated that he could not remember shooting the victim or any of the surrounding events. While he denied having the premeditated intent to kill the victim, he did not claim nor did the evidence show that his denial was based upon being so intoxicated that he could not have formed the intent to kill. See Jackson v. State, 964 P.2d 875, 892 (Okl.Cr.1998). Therefore, any testimony by Dr. Church as to the effect Appellant's chemical dependency could have had on the formation of his intent to kill would not have been relevant to an issue before the jury. See 12 O.S.1991, § 2401.
Additionally, Dr. Church's testimony would not have been relevant in proving the lesser included offense of first degree manslaughter. An element of first degree heat of passion manslaughter is adequate provocation. 21 O.S.1991, § 711. This element is not a subjective test of reasonableness, but an objective test. See Valdez v. State, 900 P.2d 363, 377 (Okl.Cr.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 967, 116 S.Ct. 425, 133 L.Ed.2d 341 (1995). Dr. Church's proposed testimony was not that Appellant was acting as a reasonable person at the time of the homicide, but that his chemical dependency at the time caused him to act to an extreme degree when provoked. Accordingly, her testimony would not have been relevant to an issue before the jury and therefore would not have been admissible. See 12 O.S.1991, §§ 2401, 2402.
The decision to limit the scope of Dr. Church's expert opinion did not deny Appellant the right to fully present his defense. Appellant presented evidence which showed the killing occurred during a scuffle with the victim and that Appellant's response was not the result of premeditation, but rather a heat of passion reaction to the victim's provocation. Evidence was also introduced as to his ingestion of cocaine the day of the murder and drug induced paranoia. The trial court's ruling did not prohibit any testimony by Dr. Church concerning Appellant's chemical dependency, only testimony on the ultimate issue of intent. Therefore, despite the trial court's ruling, Appellant was able to fully present his defense that he lacked the necessary intent to commit first degree premeditated murder. Accordingly, this assignment of error is denied.
C.
Appellant contends he was denied a fair trial by the admission of gruesome photographs in his tenth assignment of error. At trial, counsel objected to State's Exhibits 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, and 6B. The trial court admitted all of the exhibits except for 6B, finding it was gruesome. Appellant now argues the trial court erred in its ruling as Exhibit 6A was just as gruesome as 6B and the other photos were not relevant to any issues in the case as he did not contest the fact the victim died from a single gunshot wound.
The admissibility of photographs is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Absent an abuse of that discretion, this Court will not reverse the trial court's ruling. Conover v. State, 933 P.2d 904, 913 (Okl.Cr.1997). Photographs are admissible if their content is relevant and unless their probative value is substantially outweighed by their prejudicial effect. Id. When the probative value of photographs is outweighed by their prejudicial impact on the jury--that is the evidence tends to elicit an emotional rather than r
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