Opinion ID: 2648680
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Tattoo

Text: Lard contends that the circuit court abused its discretion by admitting two photographs of a large tattoo on his back entitled “Hell Bound,” which purportedly portrays the gates of hell. He asserts that the tattoo had no bearing on any relevant issue and that the photographs were admitted solely to prejudice the jury against him. Lard also notes that he proffered another one of his drawings as a substitute for the photographs of the tattoo. During the State’s case in rebuttal, Lard’s brother identified the photographs as depicting Lard’s tattoo, and he testified that Lard designed the image. The State utilized the photographs in its examination of the expert witnesses. Dr. Crown, who testified that Lard’s age equivalency was age ten and five months, stated that the design did not suggest a high order of function, and he remarked that “fifth and sixth graders are pretty artistic, too.” Dr. 17 Cite as 2014 Ark. 1 Rocho testified that the intricate design of the tattoo demonstrated that Lard had the ability to plan and organize and that the design was indicative of substantial and significant executive functioning. Dr. Molden described the tattoo as being complex and detailed. He stated that the design required abstraction, attention to detail, and a high degree of concentration and planning. Dr. Garrett Andrews, another expert witness for the State, disagreed with Dr. Crown’s opinion about the tattoo and said that it was not a drawing that a ten year old could complete. We have held that the admission of photographs is a matter left to the sound discretion of the circuit court, and we will not reverse absent an abuse of that discretion. Anderson v. State, supra. Even inflammatory photographs are admissible in the sound discretion of the circuit court if they tend to shed light on any issue or are useful to enable the jury to better understand the testimony or to corroborate the testimony. Fairchild v. State, 284 Ark. 289, 681 S.W.2d 380 (1984). Here, the State introduced the photographs in conjunction with expert testimony to demonstrate that Lard had the ability to complete intricate drawings and to think abstractly in order to show that he possessed a degree of cognitive abilities beyond that claimed by Dr. Crown. As the photographs were relied on by the State’s experts and were offered to refute Lard’s claim of brain damage and the defense of mental disease and defect, the photographs were independently relevant and admissible for those purposes. We acknowledge that the admission of the photographs resulted in some prejudice, but we find no manifest abuse of discretion in the circuit court’s conclusion that the probative value of the photographs exceeded their prejudicial effect. Nor can we say that the circuit court erred by 18 Cite as 2014 Ark. 1 rejecting Lard’s offer to introduce the proffered drawing instead of the photographs of the tattoo. The proffered drawing is comparatively simple and does not contain the degree of complexity as the tattoo. We find no error on this point.