Opinion ID: 1744864
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: assignment number twenty-two

Text: In this assignment the defendants contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for a new trial because the evidence is not sufficient to support a finding of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires this court to review the evidence upon which a criminal conviction is based to determine whether it is minimally sufficient. State v. Graham, 422 So.2d 123 (La.1982). A defendant has not been afforded due process, and his conviction cannot stand, unless, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution any rational trier of fact could conclude that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Applying this standard to the instant case, we conclude that the evidence is constitutionally sufficient and supports the convictions of the two defendants. The defendants were found guilty of the second degree murder of the victim, Arthur. Second degree murder is the killing of a human being when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. La.R.S. 14:30.1. The statute expressly requires that the offender possess specific intent, which is defined by our law as that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. La.R.S. 14:10. Though intent is a question of fact, it need not be proven as a fact. It may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction. La.R.S. 15:445. State v. Graham, 420 So.2d 1126 (La.1982); State v. Fuller, 414 So.2d 306 (La.1982). See also, State v. Chism, 436 So.2d 464 (La.1983). The medical and lay testimony in the instant case indicated that Arthur died from traumatic injury and heart failure caused by the defendants. Dr. McCormick, the physician who conducted the autopsy, testified that the cardiac tamponade which caused the child's heart failure and death was the result of a severe protein deficiency. He testified the child's malnutrition was evinced by his lack of weight, his protuberant abdomen and the absence of rigor mortis over twelve hours after his death. He said that the contusions, abrasions, and lesions on Arthur's body had been caused by a bent object such as a coat hanger. Other witnesses corroborated the doctor's evidence by testifying to the starvation, beating and binding of the child by the defendants. The evidence suggests no cause of death which cannot be attributed to the defendants. Consequently, there was abundant evidence from which a rational trier of fact could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants' actions caused Arthur's death. Moreover, the evidence was sufficient to support a finding by a rational trier of fact that the prosecution had carried its burden of proving that the defendants committed these acts with specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. Vivian, as an authority figure in the household, allotted food to each member. In September, only about one month before Arthur's death, Vivian began to treat Arthur very harshly. For a time, Vivian made the child sleep in the family truck. He later allowed the child to sleep on the kitchen floor, but required that his hands and legs be bound at night. Several witnesses testified that Vivian severely beat Arthur more than fifteen times with an extension cord because of the child's laziness. Vivian ordered Arthur to fast, without food or water, for two days not long before his death. One witness testified that Vivian, who spoke of himself as the sun which gave power to his family, claimed that Arthur dried up and died because he had deprived him of his power. Vivian also told this witness that he wanted to take power away from Arthur [B]ecause the boy was corrupt and evil. The record indicates that Sheral's role nearly equaled her husband's in causing Arthur's starvation and beatings. Sheral was present the entire time during which Arthur deteriorated and became malnourished. She aided her husband in the apportionment and preparation of the food for the household. Although toward the end of his life Arthur's body showed signs of starvation, such as his protruded stomach, Sheral denied any knowledge of his debilitated condition. She was primarily responsible for binding Arthur's hands and feet to prevent him from walking about the kitchen at night and obtaining food. She personally administered several severe beatings upon Arthur in the month before he died. Accordingly, this assignment of error lacks merit.