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State v. Guillory3/11/1998
The Court instructs the jury that the law looks with suspicion and distrust on the testimony of an accomplice or a snitch who provides evidence against a defendant for partial immunity from punishment, or for pay, or for other personal advantage. You should weigh this testimony with great care and caution and suspicion.
In judging the testimony of accomplices and snitches and deciding on what weight Ä if any Ä you should give this testimony, you should look upon it with distrust and suspicion and you should determine whether the testimony has been affected by his interest in this matter or his prejudice against the defendant. In deciding whether you believe the testimony of any accomplice or snitch in this case you should keep this in mind.
The jury instruction stated:
As jurors you alone determine the weight and credibility of the evidence. As the sole Judges of the credibility of witnesses and of the weight their testimony deserves, you should scrutinize carefully the testimony of a witness, you may consider his or her ability and opportunity to observe and remember the matter about which he or she testified, his or her manner while testifying, any reason he or she may have for testifying in favor of or against the State or the Defendant, and the extent to which the testimony is supported or contradicted by other evidence.
La. Code Crim.P. art. 807 provides that "a requested special charge shall be given by the court if it does not require qualification, limitation, or explanation, and if it is wholly correct and pertinent. It need not be given if it is included in the general charge or in another special charge to be given." We find that the charge given to the jury adequately explained their duty to determine credibility and the refusal to include the Defendant's requested charge was not error.
CONCLUSION
The convictions of the Defendant are affirmed. However, the sentences of the Defendant must be amended to grant him credit for time served. La. Code Crim.P. art. 880. Thus, we remand this case so that the district court may amend the commitment and minute entry of the sentence to reflect that the Defendant is given credit for time served. State v. Jones, 607 So.2d 828 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1992), writ denied, 612 So.2d 79 (La. 1993).
AFFIRMED; REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
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