Opinion ID: 1946348
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: refusal of certain circumstantial evidence instructions

Text: Instruction D-4 told the jury that it does not have the right to convict upon mere suspicion nor upon the preponderance of the evidence but only upon evidence that he was guilty beyond all reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty and to the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. The court refused this instruction and instead granted instruction C. 13SC which informed the jury that the law presumes the defendant to be innocent and places the burden upon the state to prove him guilty of every material element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and to the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. Instruction D-5 cautioned the jury not to indulge in speculation, conjecture, or guesswork. Further it instructed the jury that where there is a controverted issue of fact and the testimony fails to show beyond all reasonable doubt that the state's contention in regard to that issue is true, then the presumption of innocence controls. Instead, the court granted instruction C-1 which also informed the jury that its verdict should be based on the evidence and not upon speculation, guesswork or conjecture. The court also granted instruction D-8, which provided that if there are facts in the case susceptible of two interpretations, one favorable and the other unfavorable to the accused, and if there is a reasonable doubt as to the correct interpretation, then the jury must resolve the doubt in favor of the accused. Finally, the court refused instruction D-11, which informed the jury that it did not have to explain its verdict to a living soul and that a verdict of acquittal will not mean that the jury is convinced of Gray's innocence but only that a reasonable doubt remains in their minds. It is well settled in this state that where defendant's instructions on circumstantial evidence are properly covered by other instructions given by the court, the trial court will not be put in error for refusing to grant other instructions on the same point using alternative language. Bullock v. State, 391 So.2d 601 (Miss. 1980); Jones v. State, 381 So.2d 983, 991 (Miss. 1980). A very strong circumstantial evidence instruction was granted to Gray and read to the jury which accomplished essentially the same thing that any of the other refused instructions would have done. There was no error in refusing to grant the other circumstantial evidence instructions. We have carefully reviewed all of the assignments of error offered by Gray affecting the guilt phase of his trial and we find that none of them are meritorious. We, therefore, affirm the conviction of David Randolph Gray for the crime of capital murder.