Opinion ID: 2607859
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: failure to give instructions on negligent homicide and hindering prosecution

Text: Defendant argues that the trial court erred in refusing to give his requested jury instructions on negligent homicide and hindering prosecution. We find no error. A defendant is entitled to an instruction on an offense other than the one with which he or she is charged where (1) the offense is a lesser included offense of the one with which he or she is charged and (2) based on the evidence presented at trial, the jury could rationally find that the state failed to prove an element of the greater that distinguishes it from the lesser. State v. Wise, 137 Ariz. 477, 671 P.2d 918 (App.), approved as modified, 137 Ariz. 468, 671 P.2d 909 (1983); State v. Celaya, 135 Ariz. 248, 660 P.2d 849 (1983); State v. Dugan, 125 Ariz. 194, 608 P.2d 771 (1980). Negligent Homicide The general rule is that negligent homicide is a lesser included offense of manslaughter. In State v. Parker, 128 Ariz. 107, 624 P.2d 304 (App. 1980), vacated in part on other grounds, 128 Ariz. 97, 624 P.2d 294 (1981), the Court of Appeals determined that the only difference between manslaughter and negligent homicide is an accused's mental state at the time of the incident. See also State v. Montoya, 125 Ariz. 155, 608 P.2d 92 (App. 1980). Manslaughter is established where a person, aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her conduct will cause the death of another, consciously disregards that risk. Negligent homicide is established where a person fails to perceive the substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her conduct will cause the death of another. The element of the greater not found in the lesser is awareness of the risk. There is, however, a statutory exception to this rule. The Legislature has determined that when a defendant is unaware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk solely by virtue of his or her voluntary intoxication, that defendant must be charged with manslaughter, not negligent homicide. See A.R.S. § 13-105(5)(c); State v. Bravo, 131 Ariz. 168, 639 P.2d 358 (App. 1981) (voluntary intoxication is not a defense to manslaughter). Because lesser included offenses are such that one cannot commit the greater without necessarily committing the lesser, State v. Wise, supra ; State v. Celaya, supra ; State v. Malloy, 131 Ariz. 125, 639 P.2d 315 (1981), and because a voluntarily intoxicated person who recklessly causes the death of another has committed manslaughter but not negligent homicide, negligent homicide is not a lesser included offense of manslaughter where the defendant's sole defense is voluntary intoxication. [8] At trial, defendant claimed that he had not murdered Bailey and that, if he had, he was unaware that he had due to his voluntary intoxication. Because voluntary intoxication is the sole reason for his failure to perceive that his actions would cause Bailey's death, negligent homicide was not a lesser included offense of manslaughter in this case. The trial court did not err when it failed to give a negligent homicide instruction. Hindering Prosecution Defendant argues that he was entitled to an instruction on hindering prosecution because his defense was that his wife, not he, had killed Bailey and that it was therefore reasonable for the jury to infer that he had only helped her dispose of the body. We reject this argument. First, hindering prosecution is not a lesser included offense of homicide. To prove homicide, the state must show that a defendant with a particular mental state caused the death of another. See A.R.S. §§ 13-1102 to -1105. To prove hindering prosecution in the first degree, the state must show that a defendant intended to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for a felony and that the defendant rendered assistance to such person. See A.R.S. § 13-2512. We find no elements common to both. Hindering prosecution is not a lesser included offense of any form of homicide. Second, the fact that the jury could infer from the defense theory that the defendant assisted Ann Fisher in the murder of Bailey does not entitle the defendant to an instruction on hindering prosecution. A jury is impaneled to determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant for a crime with which he or she is charged, not to determine with which crimes a defendant should be charged. Because defendant was not indicted for hindering prosecution and because hindering prosecution is not a lesser included offense of the crime for which he was charged, the trial court properly denied the request for an instruction on hindering prosecution. JUROR EXCLUSION In his appeal, defendant asserts two challenges to the voir dire conducted in his case. He claims the trial court violated the Arizona constitutional protection for religious freedom when it excused two jurors because of their religious convictions and that the trial court's imposition of the death penalty was improper because defendant had been convicted by a deathculled jury. We find no error. The Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 12 states: No religious qualification shall be required for any public office or employment, nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror in consequence of his opinion on matters of religion, nor be questioned concerning his religious belief in any court of justice to affect the weight of his testimony. Defendant claims this article of the constitution prohibits a trial judge from asking prospective jurors if they have any religious beliefs that would affect their ability to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant. We disagree. Art. 2, § 12 provides that no person shall be incompetent as a juror solely because of his opinion on matters of religion. It does not say an individual will be qualified as a juror despite his religious beliefs if those beliefs prevent him or her from being fair and impartial in a given case. Art. 2, § 12 must be read with art. 2, § 24 which guarantees the right of trial by an impartial jury. A person whose religious beliefs prevent him or her from finding a defendant guilty, notwithstanding proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty, is not impartial. Such a person's presence on the jury would be improper. State v. (Joseph Clarence, Jr.) Smith, 123 Ariz. 231, 599 P.2d 187 (1979); Mast v. Superior Court, 102 Ariz. 225, 427 P.2d 917 (1967). The trial court may, at voir dire, question and excuse venire members who would not be impartial for any reason, religious or otherwise. [9] We note further that the phrase nor be questioned concerning his religious belief in any court of justice to affect the weight of his testimony does not refer to jurors. This phrase imposes limits on the questions that may be asked of witnesses to bolster or impeach their testimonies. Jurors do not provide testimony. This phrase does not apply to them. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it asked venire members if they had religious beliefs that would make it difficult or impossible for them to be impartial or when it excused two jurors who answered affirmatively. In addition, defendant submits his death sentence must be set aside under Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968). We find no merit to this contention. In Witherspoon, id. at 522, 88 S.Ct. at 1777, 20 L.Ed.2d at 785, the United States Supreme Court held that: a sentence of death cannot be carried out if the jury that imposed or recommended it was chosen by excluding veniremen for cause simply because they voiced general objections to the death penalty or expressed conscientious or religious scruples against its infliction. The Court explicitly refused to find that the jury was not impartial on the issue of guilt because the evidence before it was too tentative and fragmentary to establish that jurors not opposed to the death penalty tend to favor the prosecution in the determination of guilt. Id. at 517, 88 S.Ct. at 1774, 20 L.Ed.2d at 782. Because the jury in Arizona determines guilt or innocence only, the mandate of Witherspoon does not apply here. Defendant is not entitled to have his sentence set aside under Witherspoon. Though defendant's objection to the exclusion of Juror MacKenzie is based exclusively on Witherspoon, we will, pursuant to our duty to search the record for fundamental error, A.R.S. § 13-4035, examine the propriety of the exclusion pursuant to Witherspoon's Arizona progeny. In State v. Ramirez, 116 Ariz. 259, 569 P.2d 201 (1977), we considered the appellant's claim that the exclusion of three anti-death penalty venire members stacked the jury with prosecution-prone people who were implicitly biased on the issue of guilt. Assuming, without deciding, that the exclusion of death-scrupled venire members did result in a prosecution-prone jury, we applied the rule established in Witherspoon to Arizona voir dire questioning. We rejected the appellant's claim based on our finding that the excluded venire members had not been excused for general moral aversions to the death penalty, but instead, [they had been excused] because of their specific inability to separate their scruples on the matter of punishment from their duty to impartially decide the theoretically unrelated issue of guilt or innocence. In other words, even though the excluded veniremen recognized that the jury does not impose the sentence under Arizona law, they still felt that because of the possibility that the defendant may receive the death penalty, it would affect their vote on the issue of guilt and further their convictions on this matter were so strong that they would be unable to follow the court's instructions. Id. at 264, 569 P.2d at 206. The same is true in the instant case. The transcript of the voir dire reveals the following: Court (addressing Juror MacKenzie in chambers after the latter indicated an inability to determine guilt or innocence because of the sentence that might flow from that decision): Let's assume that the State has proved that he is guilty, in your mind, beyond a reasonable doubt. But you feel that he shouldn't be put to death for whatever reason, but all the evidence is there to show that he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, of first degree murder, but you don't think he should be put to death, for whatever reason. Would you then have a moral dilemma and not be able to render a verdict? Juror MacKenzie: I would have a moral dilemma.       Defense Counsel: You will be taking an oath, if you sit as a trial juror, to follow the instructions of law and to render a verdict solely based upon the law and the evidence as you find it. Will you be able to follow that oath and instructions of the Judge concerning the law, and then render an impartial verdict based on what you feel the evidence shows? Juror MacKenzie: I'm not sure that I can. Juror MacKenzie, like the venire members in Ramirez, was excused because of a specific inability to separate his scruples on the matter of punishment from his duty to impartially decide the theoretically unrelated issue of guilt or innocence. We find no error. MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL On April 29, 1982, the jury found the defendant guilty of first degree murder. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial on May 4, 1982, based on the existence of newly discovered evidence. Ariz.R. Crim.P. 24, 32.1(e). The evidence presented in support of this motion was a confession and sworn affidavit by the defendant's wife, Ann Fisher, in which she stated that she, rather than the defendant, had killed Bailey. After a hearing, the trial court denied the motion. The defendant appeals that decision. Before post-conviction relief based on newly discovered evidence shall be granted, the material presented must meet five requirements: (1) it must appear from the motion that the evidence relied on is, in fact, newly discovered, i.e., discovered after the trial; (2) the motion must allege facts from which the court can infer due diligence; (3) the evidence relied on must not be merely cumulative or impeaching; (4) the evidence must be material to the issue involved; and (5) it must be evidence that would probably change the verdict if a new trial were ordered. State v. Jeffers, supra . Further, if the motion relies on the existence of a witness willing to testify and present the new evidence at a new trial, such witness must appear to be credible to the trial judge hearing the motion. Id. State v. Salinas, 129 Ariz. 364, 631 P.2d 519 (1981). In assessing the credibility of a prospective witness, the trial judge does not usurp the function of the jury. State v. Urry, 104 Ariz. 244, 450 P.2d 1018 (1969); State v. Blankenship, 99 Ariz. 60, 406 P.2d 729 (1965). As motions for new trials are disfavored, State v. Schantz, 102 Ariz. 212, 427 P.2d 530 (1967), they should be granted with great caution. Id. Absent an abuse of discretion, we will not disturb the trial court's determination as to the need for a new trial. Jeffers, supra; Salinas, supra . In a minute entry dated July 2, 1982, the trial court denied defendant's request for two reasons. First, he found that the evidence presented was not newly discovered because the thrust of the defense at trial was that Ann Fisher, rather than the defendant, was the guilty party. Second, he found the evidence was not credible and would not have affected the verdict because it was recanting testimony of a witness with a prior felony conviction and because it was one more in a series of conflicting stories offered by the witness. We have previously recognized that there is no form of proof as unreliable as recanting testimony, Axley, supra; State v. Hickle, 133 Ariz. 234, 650 P.2d 1216 (1982); State v. Sims, 99 Ariz. 302, 409 P.2d 17 (1965), cert. denied, 384 U.S. 980, 86 S.Ct. 1880, 16 L.Ed.2d 691 (1966). In Axley, as in the instant case, the evidence in support of the defendant's petition for post-conviction relief was an affidavit of a co-defendant essentially corroborating statements made by the defendant at trial and exonerating the defendant of any complicity in the criminal acts. The trial court denied Axley's petition based on its findings that the co-defendant/affiant had made numerous statements in contradiction with statements in his affidavit and that the affidavit, had it been introduced at trial, would not have affected the verdict. On appeal, we found no abuse of discretion. In the instant case, Ann Fisher's credibility and the probability that her affidavit would have altered the result were at least as doubtful as they were in Axley. Following her arrest in Iowa on September 17, 1981, Ann Fisher gave the police a thorough, step-by-step recitation of how the defendant, with premeditation, had killed Bailey. In a letter to the defendant, written January 11, 1982, she stated that a third party had killed Bailey and that the defendant had been framed. In a second letter to the defendant, she told him that, if forced to take the stand, she would confess out of love for him. See, Admissibility of Letters from Ann Fisher to Defendant, supra. In a third letter to the defendant, written two days after he was found guilty, she urged him to go along on the story she had written to the trial judge inculpating Roger as the person who killed Bailey. The trial court's findings that Ann Fisher was not a credible witness and that her testimony, had it been introduced at trial, would not have affected the verdict were more than justified. We find no abuse of discretion in the denial of the request for a new trial. AGGRAVATING AND MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES At sentencing, the court found two aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. The death sentence was imposed. Pursuant to State v. Richmond, 114 Ariz. 186, 560 P.2d 41 (1976), cert. denied, 433 U.S. 915, 97 S.Ct. 2988, 53 L.Ed.2d 1101 (1977), we have independently reviewed the record to determine the existence or absence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and to determine if the death penalty was properly imposed. The trial court found that the defendant had killed Bailey in expectation of the receipt of something of pecuniary value. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(5). We agree. In their post-arrest statements, the defendant and his wife each stated that the defendant had killed Bailey for the approximately $500 rent money that they had collected for her. The absence of the initials MB on stubs in the rent receipt book supports their statements. Because the defendant's motive in killing Bailey was financial, A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(5) was properly found. State v. Graham, 135 Ariz. 209, 660 P.2d 460 (1983); State v. Woratzeck, 134 Ariz. 452, 657 P.2d 865 (1983). The trial court also found that Bailey was killed in an especially heinous and depraved manner. Heinous and depraved go to the mental state and attitude of the perpetrator as reflected by his or her words and actions. Woratzeck, supra; State v. Ceja, 115 Ariz. 413, 565 P.2d 1274, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 975, 98 S.Ct. 533, 54 L.Ed.2d 467 (1977). At defendant's trial, Dr. Heinz Karnitschnig, Maricopa County Chief Medical Examiner and a specialist in anatomical and forensic pathology, testified that Bailey had died of head injuries. He said she had been dealt three separate blows with a claw hammer, each of which would have been fatal in itself. The blows were of great magnitude; they had shattered her skull and at least one had driven bone into her brain. This amount of violence was more than was necessary to rob and even kill the seventy-three-year-old victim. Further, defendant's decision to murder Bailey for $500, notwithstanding the generosity and concern she had displayed for him and his wife, shows the depravity and heinousness of the deed. Bailey had given the Fishers a television set; she had also given Ann Fisher clothing. The circumstances surrounding the defendant's successful effort to kill Bailey support the conclusion that her murder was heinous and depraved within the meaning of A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6). See State v. Clark, 126 Ariz. 428, 616 P.2d 888, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1067, 101 S.Ct. 796, 66 L.Ed.2d 612 (1980) (A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6) found where defendant killed employers who had given him a break after he was released from a juvenile home). In mitigation, the defendant offered the following factors for the court's consideration: (1) the plea agreement and sentence of his wife, Ann Fisher; (2) his lack of a criminal record; (3) the adverse impact of the death penalty upon his family; and (4) his impaired capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and conform his conduct to the requirements of law. In a special verdict pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-703(D), the court specifically rejected the last of the offered factors and each of the other factors enumerated in A.R.S. § 13-703(G). It then stated its finding that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. Defendant claims the court violated its duty under State v. Watson, 120 Ariz. 441, 586 P.2d 1253 (1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 924, 99 S.Ct. 1254, 59 L.Ed.2d 478 (1979), to consider all mitigating factors presented by a defendant because the trial court did not specifically address the first three proffered factors in its special verdict. We disagree. A.R.S. § 13-703(D) provides that: The court shall return a special verdict setting forth its findings as to    the existence of any of the [mitigating] circumstances included in subsection G of this section. The statute does not require a trial court to set forth findings concerning mitigating circumstances offered by a defendant that are not explicitly enumerated in A.R.S. § 13-703(G). In the instant case, the fourth factor presented by the defendant was the only circumstance among those enumerated in subsection G. The trial court was not required to state its findings with respect to the other three proffered. The fact that a trial court does not specifically address other mitigating factors presented by a defendant does not mean it did not consider them. We have been shown no reason to believe the trial court failed to fulfill its duty under Watson. Based on our independent review we agree with the trial court's finding of two aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. We therefore agree that the death sentence was properly imposed pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-703(E). Defendant's argument that it is unconstitutional to require a defendant to prove the presence of mitigating circumstances has been previously considered and rejected. See Watson, supra; State v. (Sylvester, Jr.) Smith, 125 Ariz. 412, 610 P.2d 46 (1980). PROPORTIONALITY REVIEW In addition to conducting an independent review of the sentence in a capital case, this Court examines prior cases to ensure that the death penalty is not disproportionately applied. State v. McCall, 139 Ariz. 147, 677 P.2d 920 (1983). We consider not only cases where the death penalty was imposed upon a finding of the same aggravating circumstances, but also cases where the death penalty was reduced to life imprisonment. Here, we have examined cases in which the defendant received the death penalty on one or both of the aggravating circumstances found in the instant case. E.g., id. (aspects of defendant's character did not outweigh findings that the killings were done for pecuniary gain and in a heinous, cruel, and depraved manner) and cases cited therein. 139 Ariz. at 162-63, 677 P.2d at 935-36. We have also reexamined the cases we reviewed in McCall where the death penalty was reduced to life imprisonment. Id. at 163, 677 P.2d at 936. We find imposition of the death penalty in this case is not disproportionate to the imposition of the death penalty in prior cases in this state. ENMUND REVIEW In Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 102 S.Ct. 3368, 73 L.Ed.2d 1140 (1982), the United States Supreme Court held that a sentencing scheme which permits the imposition of the death penalty absent a finding that a defendant killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill the victim violates the eight amendment of the United States Constitution. Enmund was filed on July 2, 1982. Though the defendant was convicted on April 28, 1982, he was not adjudged guilty and sentenced until July 12, 1982, ten days after Enmund became law. To insure that imposition of the death penalty was constitutional in this case, we have examined the record to determine if the finding required by Enmund was made. We find that it was. In its special verdict rendered before sentencing the defendant to death, the trial court said, The defendant was the individual who actually committed the offense. Imposition of the death penalty was made in compliance with Enmund. Pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-4035, we have reviewed the entire record for fundamental error and have found none. The judgment and conviction are affirmed. HOLOHAN, C.J., and HAYS, CAMERON and FELDMAN, JJ., concur.