Opinion ID: 1667082
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting photographs of the victim's body?

Text: ¶ 25. Manix urges that seven of the photographs shown to the jury lacked evidentiary value and inflamed the passions of the jury. For example, S-17 shows the body of Heather Hampton on the carpet of the motel. Partially in the photo are two emergency technicians attempting to stabilize her. Her white blouse is soaked with blood and has been torn open to provide access to her wounds, exposing her breasts. ¶ 26. S-18 is substantially similar but is mainly a shot of the torso of the victim. Her breasts are visible as well as several knife wounds to her chest. Her blood-soaked shirt is also in the frame, along with the scissors used to cut her shirt and undergarments from her in the rescue effort. ¶ 27. S-30 is not a crime-scene photograph, but was taken during the post-mortem medical examination of the victim. It is a close up of the neck of the victim, showing a slightly-larger than life view of the one-inch stab wound in her neck. There is a ruler alongside the wound to show its scale. ¶ 28. S-31 is a close-up of the victim's chest also taken while the victim's body was being examined. She is nude, and there is blood splattered across her chest. The close-up shows at least three stab wounds to the chest. One of the wounds has a metal rod inserted in it; the rod allows the examiner to determine the angle of the wound. ¶ 29. While objecting to these photographs and three others in general, Manix specifically objects to the photos that were taken during the post-mortem medical examination of the victim, arguing case law that finds widespread condemnation of the practice. These arguments do not represent our position on this point of law. We have allowed photographs from autopsies and other post-mortem examinations when the probative value of the photographs outweighed their gruesome content. ¶ 30. We have held that the admissibility of photographs rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. Brawner v. State, 872 So.2d 1, 14 (Miss.2004); Jackson v. State, 684 So.2d 1213, 1230 (Miss.1996); Griffin v. State, 557 So.2d 542, 549 (Miss.1990). Moreover, the decision of the trial judge will be upheld unless there has been an abuse of discretion. This standard is very difficult to meet. Brawner, 872 So.2d at 14. In fact, the discretion of the trial judge runs toward almost unlimited admissibility regardless of the gruesomeness, repetitiveness, and the extenuation of probative value. Id. As to the photos in general, we have often allowed gruesome photos, including photos after autopsies, with warnings to the prosecution and the trial court to guard against excess. Walker v. State, 740 So.2d 873, 880-88 (Miss.1999); Manning v. State, 735 So.2d 323, 342 (Miss.1999); Jordan v. State, 728 So.2d 1088, 1093 (Miss.1998). While one photo might be probative, a series of photos can be prejudicial. We allowed an autopsy photo in Griffin v. State, 557 So.2d at 549, because it was probative in that it corroborated the finding made by [the forensic pathologist] that the shot was fired from an intermediate range. Yet we again caution[ed] prosecuting attorneys that there can be a limit both in the number of photographs and the manner in which they are displayed to the jury. Id. at 550. The discretion we have afforded circuit judges is by no means unlimited, and we strongly urge that they curtail excess. Id. ¶ 31. One specific photograph of the victim's body may be probative, but ten similar photographs may be prejudicial. One photograph of the body may inform the jury about the crime; ten similar photographs may inflame their passions. Photographs that depict gruesome subject matter may be highly probative to a case and should continue to be admitted, continuing our decades-long practice. Yet multiple photographs of the same subject are successively less probative and simply fan the flames of the jury's passion. We caution trial courts to scrutinize this issue closely and to guard against inflaming the passions of the jury. ¶ 32. In the instant case, the photographs of the victim's body had substantial probative value. They identified the victim and showed her as she was found at the crime scene. They helped corroborate the State's assertion of the manner, time and cause of death. They helped the jury to determine the credibility of Manix's statements to police and his testimony on the witness stand. Thus, we cannot say the admission of S-17, S-18, S-30 and S-31 either individually or collectively prejudiced Manix's right to a fair trial. It follows that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of photographs of the victim's body. ¶ 33. Manix also urges that the McNeal balancing test was not employed in admitting the photographs. In admitting gruesome photographs, we require our trial courts to utilize a simple two-part test. First, the trial court must determine whether the proof is absolute or in doubt as to identity of the guilty party. Secondly, it must be determined whether the photographs are necessary evidence or simply a ploy by the prosecutor to arouse the passion and prejudice of the jury. See McNeal v. State, 551 So.2d 151, 159 (Miss.1989). In each instance where the prosecution offered a photograph of the victim's body, the judge simply announced that the photograph had more probative value than danger of prejudice. On the facts before us, the trial court's analysis of the McNeal factors was sufficient for admission of the photographs at issue. We have already dispensed with the notion that this case hinged upon the admission of the photographs. If the photographs had truly inflamed the passions of the jury it is doubtful Manix would have received only a life sentence. We hold that the trial court did not err in conducting the McNeal balancing test prior to admission of the photographs. In summary, these photographs had probative value in accurately depicting the scene of the gruesome crime, as well as the means, time and cause of death. It follows that the trial court's admission of the photographs of the victim's body in the instant action did not constitute reversible error.