Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Alfred B. SHAPIRO
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1982-07-02
Citations: 431 So. 2d 372
Docket Number: No. 81-KA-1905
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Alfred B. SHAPIRO.
Judges: LEMMON, J., dissents.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 431
Pages: 372–389

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Alfred B. SHAPIRO.
No. 81-KA-1905.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
July 2, 1982.
On Rehearing April 4, 1983.
Concurring Opinion April 14, 1983.
Rehearing Denied June 3, 1983.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Edwin 0. Ware, Dist. Atty., David Miller, Asst. Atty. Gen., Patrick Quinlan, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
J. Michael Small, Kathrine S. Williamson, Alexandria, for defendant-appellant.

Opinion:
BURRELL J. CARTER, Justice Ad Hoc.
Alfred B. Shapiro was charged by indictment with second degree murder in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. After trial by jury, defendant was found guilty. The trial court sentenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. On appeal, defendant relies on nine assignments of error for reversal of his conviction and sentence. Originally, defendant had ten assignments of error, but he has abandoned Assignment of Error No. 1 and a part of his supplemental motion for new trial referred to in Assignment of Error No. 10.
FACTS
On November 25, 1979, at about 2:30 a.m., Lavonna D. Ryland was fatally wounded from a gunshot wound to her face. The shot was fired from a .38 caliber revolver which had been purchased by Shapiro. The incident occurred in the defendant's residence after an earlier altercation at the hospital between Ryland and Shapiro. Other than the defendant, there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting. Shapiro claims that Ryland either shot herself accidentally, or committed suicide. The defendant's version of the shooting incident was that after Ryland's sister and the sister's husband had left, he had gone outside the house to move his car into the carport, since it was raining. When he opened the door to re-enter the house, he heard his back bedroom door open. He then saw Ryland about two to three feet from the doorway of the bedroom, holding the revolver to her head with the hammer cocked. According to Shapiro, the gun then went off. At first he claimed Ryland intentionally shot herself, but later said the pistol may have been fired accidentally. The prosecution presented a different version of the shooting incident, claiming that Shapiro had a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm on the victim by shooting her with the pistol, which was apparently accepted by the jury.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1
In this assignment, appellant had urged that the trial court had erred in denying his pretrial request that the State furnish the defense with a list of witnesses which the State intended to call at the trial. This assignment has been abandoned by the appellant.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2
By this assignment, defense argues that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to suppress his inculpatory statements of November 25, 1979, and February 18, 1980. Defendant contends that the inculpatory statements were not voluntary because "he was in such a drugged condition that he was unconscious of the consequences of what he was saying." We find that the evidence in the record does not support appellant's contention that he was incapable of comprehending the consequences of his statements. The testimony of the police officers present when Shapiro gave his statements fully supports the State's position that the statements were voluntarily and knowingly given. The trial judge did not consider that the testimony of Dr. Joe Hayes, an expert in the field of forensic psychiatry, who had not seen Shapiro on the dates in question, outweighed the evidence presented by the State. In his reasons for denying the motion to suppress, the lower court stated:
"Officer Humphries testified that the defendant did not appear to be intoxicated or drugged at the time the statement was taken; Officer Callahan testified that the defendant appeared to understand what was taking place at the time the statement was given, but that the defendant was upset. Chief Ezernack, who had known the defendant a long time testified that the defendant knew what he was doing when he gave the statement. In the statement defendant told the officers that he was familiar with his Miranda rights.... No doctor who saw defendant on November 24th was called to testify."
We do not find from the evidence adduced that defendant was so drugged (or intoxicated) or in such an emotional state that he was unaware of what he was saying, or that his statements were involuntary. We reiterate the standard by which we determine the free and voluntary nature of a defendant's inculpatory statement challenged on the ground that the defendant was drugged or intoxicated at the time: the "confession (inculpatory statement) will be rendered inadmissible only when the intoxication is of such a degree as to negate defendant's comprehension and to render him unconscious of the consequences of what he is saying. Whether intoxication exists and is of a degree sufficient to vitiate the voluntariness of the confession are questions of fact. The admissibility of a confession is in the first instance a question for the trial judge. His conclusions on the credibility and weight of the testimony relating to the voluntariness of a confession will not be overturned unless they are not supported by the evidence." State v. Godeaux, 378 So.2d 941 (La.1979); State v. Rankin, 357 So.2d 803 (La.1978).
Under the circumstances of the instant case, we do not find that the trial court erred in finding that the defendant's incul-patory statements were free and voluntary. The defendant's drugged condition (intoxication), or emotional state, if it did exist, was not of such a degree as to negate his comprehension and consciousness of the consequences of what he was saying. See State v. Fisher, 380 So.2d 1340 (La.1980).
This assignment lacks merit.
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 3 AND 4
These assignments arise from a certain statement made by a prospective juror during voir dire examination, and the judge's admonition following the statement. The defendant complains of the trial judge's denial of his motion for a mistrial. The drastic remedy of mistrial is authorized only if the court is satisfied that an admonition is insufficient to assure the defendant a fair trial. See LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 771, State v. Madison, 345 So.2d 485 (La.1977). Hence, when a remark made by a prospective juror is of such a nature that it might create prejudice against the accused in the minds of the other jurors, the court shall admonish the jury to disregard the remark. State v. Madison, supra.
In the present case, the prospective juror was being questioned as to whether she had formed an opinion in view of news coverage of the incident in question. She indicated that she had not formed an opinion, as follows: "Well, I wouldn't say for this particular part of it, no. The first part of it I don't agree with some of the things that Mr. Shapiro did, so . but I don't know if that . (Interrupted)." The trial judge then admonished the jury panel to disregard the remarks of the prospective juror. In refusing the mistrial, the trial judge stated:
"... She made the comment; she did not say any crime or anything else. We didn't get to that point. She didn't approve of certain prior conduct at which point Mr. Small approached the bench and moved for a mistrial which I denied and informed him I was going to instruct the jurors that anything to do with any other activity, was my word, was not to be considered. After counsel returned to the table, I so instructed (the prospective juror) and all of the audience that no activity of the defendant, which wasn't alluding to any crime at all, could allude to some personal acquaintance, some personality problem or some conduct, criminal or non-criminal, that she might be thinking about. I don't know and I don't think the prospective panel does either, had nothing to do with, this law suit and I then read the charge and told her that this is all that we are allowed to consider and only what happens in the courtroom and the law as I give it to her. She said she would do that. I don't think the court commented on any other offenses, nor did the witness, and, therefore, the Motion for a Mistrial is denied."
We find that the motion of mistrial was properly denied, and that admonition as given by the trial judge was proper under the circumstances of this case. See State v. Monroe, 397 So.2d 1258 (La.1981). As a further complaint to this occurrence, the defendant urges that the judge's admonition was an indirect reference to or comment upon another offense. The judge was careful in his choice of words, referring to other "activities"; and, in the context in which his admonition was given, his remarks cannot be construed as a prejudicial remark interdicted by LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 770. See State v. Gallow, 338 So.2d 920 (La.1976).
These assignments are without merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 5
Defendant argues in this assignment of error that the trial court erred in admitting defendant's statements in evidence "in the absence of predicate (or subsequent) proof by the state of corpus delicti."
In the present case we consider that the corpus delicti of the crime charged, i.e., second degree murder, was proved, and that this proof was established by evidence independent of the defendant's inculpatory statements. See State v. Carson, 336 So.2d 844 (La.1976). It is not necessary that evidence independent of a confession (inculpa-tory statement) encompass all of the elements of the crime charged in proving the corpus delicti. A confession or inculpatory statement may be used to supplement the proof of the corpus delicti provided independent proof corroborates the confession (in-culpatory statement), thus indicating its trustworthiness. See Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147, 75 S.Ct. 194, 99 L.Ed. 192 (1954); State v. Ashley, 354 So.2d 528, 530 (La.1978) (Dixon, J., concurring).
The record reflects that the State proved that the victim was found lying on her back, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the face, with .the weapon belonging to Shapiro near her body in Shapiro's residence. The State also proved a prior altercation between the victim and the defendant. The evidence definitely placed the defendant at the scene. Atomic absorption tests revealed the presence of gunshot residue on the defendant's hands, but none on the victim's. The autopsy showed that the gun had not been held against the skin of the victim when fired. The autopsy established that the cause of death was a massive cerebral laceration due to a single gunshot wound of the right cheek.
The proof of the corpus delicti must be made independent of the accused's inculpa-tory statement or confession (an uncorroborated confession will not of itself sustain a conviction); however, proof of the corpus delicti is not required as a prior condition for admission into evidence of an inculpato-ry statement (or confession), so long as proof of the corpus delicti is subsequently established during trial. State v. Romero, 369 So.2d 1342 (La.1979). In the case at bar the State did establish the corpus delicti during the trial.
It is our opinion that the State proved the corpus delicti of the crime charged to the defendant, i.e., that Lavonna Ryland was the subject of an unlawful homicide and the unlawfulness of some person's conduct caused her death. This proof was established by evidence independent of defendant's inculpatory statements. While proof that the defendant was the person who engaged in this unlawful conduct is essential to a conviction, it is not an element of the corpus delicti. State v. Freetime, 334 So.2d 207 (La.1976).
We do not, therefore, find any merit in this assignment of error.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 6
By this assignment, defense argues that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence, over objection, numerous allegedly gruesome and prejudicial photographs. The photographs presented were seven black and white and one color, and appear to depict the scene and the victim's body at the scene.
The test of admissibility for allegedly gruesome pictures is whether their probative value outweighs the possible prejudice that may result from their display to the jury. State v. Manieri, 378 So.2d 931 (La.1979); State v. Lewis, 353 So.2d 703 (La.1977). Photographs of the body of the victim have generally been held relevant to prove the corpus delicti, to corroborate other evidence of the manner in which death occurred, to establish location, number and severity of the wounds, and to establish the identity of the victim. State v. Landry, 388 So.2d 699 (La.1980); State v. Cooper, 334 So.2d 211 (La.1976).
After examining the photographs in question, we are of the opinion that they are not especially gruesome. Moreover, they were probative to the material issues of the identity of the victim, the corpus delicti, and the cause of death. The main issue in this trial was whether the death of the victim resulted from suicide, accident, or homicide. The position of the body, the location of the wound, and location of items in the room in relation to the body (as shown in the photographs) had distinct probative value outweighing any gruesomeness or probable inflammatory effect. Defendant further argues that since similar black and white photographs had already been introduced, the offering of the color photograph was repititious and had no probative value over and above the black and white photographs. The previous admission of similar photographs is only a factor to be considered in balancing the probative value and prejudicial effect of the photographs that defendant views as objectionable. That balancing decision is for the trial judge. A trial court's ruling in regard to the admission of this evidence will be disturbed only if it can be shown the prejudicial effect in fact clearly outweighs the probative value. State v. Brown, 395 So.2d 1301 (La.1981). Under the circumstances of this case, the trial judge's decision to admit the photographs cannot be said to have been error.
The assignment lacks merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 7
The appellant argues on this assignment of error that the trial court erred in failing to sustain the defense's objection to a hypothetical question posed by the State to one of its expert witnesses, Dr. George McCormick, because the question was, in part, not grounded upon facts previously introduced into evidence. Defense complains that the question assumes that the body of the victim had not been moved while previous testimony by a paramedic with the ambulance service who had administered medical attention to the victim established that the body had been moved. The appellant refers to the testimony of the paramedic as follows:
"Q. Okay. Do you know whether or not you ever . were you working on the young lady at the time they commenced taking pictures?
A. Yes, I was.
Q. You had already commenced your functions?
A. Right.
Q. Okay. My understanding is that one thing you had to do was, I believe, tilt her head to get a(n) air passage?
A. Right.
Q. Is that correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is meant by that?
A. Well, you move the head in certain ways and lift the jaw up a certain amount to get the tongue off the back of the throat to .
Q. Okay.
A. . to assure a good airway.
Q. Now, you think that was done before pictures were taken?
A. I believe it was, yes, sir."
The quoted testimony does not support appellant's contention. The paramedic's testimony merely indicates some tilting movement of the head in an attempt to provide an air passage. All of the evidence in the record establishes that the victim's body had not been moved prior to the photographs being taken. The photograph upon which the expert based his answer to the hypothetical question shows the position of the body after it had fallen from the shot. The question was not based upon an assumption of facts which had not been proved. The question was not violative of LSA-R.S. 15:278, and was permissible. The objection was properly overruled.
This assignment is without merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 8
By this assignment, defense counsel argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant defendant's motion for a mistrial based on the State's failure to disclose the results of scientific tests and experiments, after defendant's pretrial discovery motion requesting such results.
There is no merit to this argument. The record shows that the State did not have in its possession any report of scientific tests or experiments. The testimony of Dr. George McCormick, a forensic pathologist and coroner, concerning his opinion as to whether there was anything unusual about the smearing of blood on the back of the victim's pants does not constitute a "scientific test or experiment."
The record reflects that no tests or experiments were conducted on the jeans in question. The pathologist merely gave his opinion as to what caused the bloodstains based upon his visual examination of the pants. LSA-C.Cr.P. arts. 719 and 723 do not require the disclosure demanded by the defendant. In addition, the pants were readily available to the defense for any examination or tests he cared to have made upon them. We find that the State did not fail to comply with the disclosure requirements of the discovery provisions, or that the defendant's rights have been in any way prejudiced by the State's handling of the pathologist or his testimony concerning his visual examination of the pants of the victim.
Under the circumstances herein recited, no substantial right of the accused, that is, the right to prepare an adequate defense, was adversely affected. Hence, we find that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in refusing to grant a mistrial.
This assignment of error is without merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 9
Defendant complains in this assignment of the trial court's refusal to give a requested special jury instruction to the effect that unanimity of the twelve jurors was required in order for the jury to return a verdict. The record reveals that the defendant was convicted by a vote of eleven to one. By this assignment of error the defendant urges the unconstitutionality of the non-unanimous verdict. Basically, his argument is that a non-unanimous verdict system dilutes the standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
There is no merit to this assignment. The less than unanimous verdict has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court and by this Court. Johnson v. Louisiana, 406 U.S. 356, 92 S.Ct. 1620, 32 L.Ed.2d 152 (1972); State v. McIntyre, 381 So.2d 408 (La.1980). The vote of one juror for acquittal can in no way be said to impeach the verdict of the other eleven jurors, or to demonstrate that guilt was not in fact proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
This assignment of error lacks merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 10
Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial based on the insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict and that the circumstantial evidence relied on by the State failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
In order to find sufficient evidence to support a verdict of conviction, it must be concluded that after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Hartman, 388 So.2d 688 (La.1980). The State, for conviction, must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every essential element necessary to constitute the crime charged. In Re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); State v. Harveston, 389 So.2d 63 (La.1980).
There is ample evidence in the record viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution to establish that Lavonna Ry-land died from a gunshot wound to the brain; the gunshot was fired from a gun (a .38 revolver) which Shapiro had purchased; Shapiro went out to his car and got bullets for the gun; there had been an altercation between the victim and the defendant earlier in the night at the hospital; the victim and the defendant were the only persons on the premises; there was gunshot residue on the defendant's hands but no such residue on the victim's; in his statements the defendant denied touching the body at all; and also denied touching the gun after the shot was fired; the defendant admitted that Ryland was not depressed and did not say anything to him at the hospital about taking her own life; he ad mitted that the gun did not have a hairtrig-ger or a tendency to go off accidentally; the defendant admitted that when he arrived home from the hospital, he ordered Ryland to "get out of the house"; the deceased was packing to leave defendant's residence; and the reconstruction of the crime scene by the State's experts discounts Shapiro's version of the incidents at his residence. We find no evidence that cannot be reconciled with defendant's guilt. There was no indication of suicide: the deceased was not depressed; there was no gunshot residue on the victim's hands; the wound was a facial not a temple wound; the wound was not a contact wound; the evidence discounts that the incident happened the way Shapiro reported it as happening in his statements; the deceased left no suicide note; and there was no evidence of prior threats of suicide other than the self-serving declarations of the defendant. There was no evidence of an accidental shooting: the defendant gave two different versions of the incident; the scene reconstruction discounts accidental shooting; the gun was not a hair-trigger pistol and had no defective mechanism; there was no gunshot residue on the victim's hands; and the position of the body and the nature or design of the bloodstains discount an accidental shooting.
In concluding that the defendant specifically intended to kill the deceased (LSA-R.S. 14:30.1), the jury was apparently unpersuaded by the defendant's own self-serving statements that the deceased accidentally shot herself or committed suicide.
LSA-R.S. 14:30.1 provides that specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm is necessary for a second degree murder conviction. However, specific intent is a state of mind, and need not be proved as a fact; it may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction and the actions of the defendant. LSA-R.S. 14:10(1); LSA-R.S. 15:445; State v. Boyer, 406 So.2d 143 (La.1981); State v. Williams, 383 So.2d 369 (La.1980).
We hold that the verdict of guilty of second degree murder is clearly supported by the evidence in this case. A rational trier of fact could certainly have found from this evidence that the defendant had a specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm, and that the State has proved these essential elements of the crime of second degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
Further, defendant contends that the trial court erred in not overturning the verdict when the verdict was based only on circumstantial evidence, and that the evidence did not exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Defendant relies on LSA-R.S. 15:438, as follows:
"The rule as to circumstantial evidence is: assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence."
Circumstantial evidence is defined as evidence of facts or circumstances from which one might infer or conclude the existence of other connected facts. Circumstantial evidence consists of proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. State v. Austin, 399 So.2d 158 (La.1981).
We believe that the State was not relying solely on circumstantial evidence to establish the guilt of the defendant, inasmuch as the State presented Shapiro's conflicting taped statements. Nevertheless, we find that the record contains circumstantial evidence of the defendant's guilt sufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The contested factual issues included the cause of death, and whether Ryland was the victim of a gunshot wound intentionally inflicted by Shapiro, or of suicide, or accidental death.
Faced with the facts and circumstances in evidence from which to draw an inference according to reason and common experience, the jury concluded that the recited facts and circumstances did not offer a reasonable hypothesis of innocence of Shapiro. After reviewing the evidence presented at trial, in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that every reasonable hy pothesis of innocence had been excluded. Jackson v. Virginia, supra; State v. Edwards, 400 So.2d 1370 (La.1981).
This assignment of error is without merit.
DECREE
For the reasons assigned, the conviction and sentence of Alfred B. Shapiro are affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
LEMMON, J., dissents.
FELIX N. SAVOIE, Jr., J. ad hoc, dissents and will assign reasons.
Judges Melvin A. Shortess, Burrell J. Carter, and Felix N. Savoie, Jr. of the First Circuit Court of Appeal participated in this decision as Associate Justices Ad Hoc, joined by Associate Justices Dennis, Blanche, Watson and Lem-mon.