Opinion ID: 1855709
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Gruesome photographs/ defendant's assignment of error number 11

Text: In this assignment of error, the defendant contends the trial court erroneously admitted gruesome autopsy photographs into evidence. Defendant argued in a pre-trial motion that the probative value of the photos was outweighed by their prejudicial effect. Post-mortem photographs of murder victims are usually admissible to show the location, number, and severity of the wounds, prove corpus delecti, establish the victim's identity, and to corroborate any other evidence of the manner of death. State v. Robertson, 97-0177 (La.3/4/98), 712 So.2d 8; State v. Koon, 96-1208 (La.5/20/97), 704 So.2d 756; State v. Maxie, 93-2158 (La.4/10/95), 653 So.2d 526; State v. Martin, 93-0285 (La.10/17/94), 645 So.2d 190. Further, the State is entitled to the moral weight of its evidence. Robertson, 712 So.2d at 32. Photographic evidence will be admitted unless it is so gruesome as to overwhelm the jurors' reason and lead them to convict defendant absent other sufficient evidence. Robertson, 712 So.2d at 32; Maxie, 653 So.2d at 533; State v. Perry, 502 So.2d 543, 558 (La.1986) cert denied, 484 U.S. 872, 108 S.Ct. 205, 98 L.Ed.2d 156 (1987). In the instant case, the photos at issue are not overly gruesome. They are, however, relevant to show the manner of death, the location of the victims' wounds, and the angle of entry of the bullets. The defendant does not show, and we cannot ascertain from the record, how the probative value of these photos is outweighed by their prejudicial effect. This assignment of error thus lacks merit.