Opinion ID: 1560476
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the guilty verdicts were based on insufficient evidence and/or were contrary to law or the weight of the evidence.

Text: ¶ 23. The trial judge denied Davis's motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, for a new trial. An appellate court is not allowed to discharge a defendant who has been found guilty by a jury unless given the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the verdict, no reasonable, hypothetical juror could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty. May v. State, 460 So.2d 778, 781 (Miss. 1984). [R]eview of the sufficiency of the evidence is adequate protection from jury error or irrationality. Curry v. State, 939 So.2d 785, 791 (Miss.2006) (citing Holloman v. State, 656 So.2d 1134, 1141 (Miss. 1995)). Therefore, as long as the evidence is sufficient to support the jury's verdict of guilty, a conviction cannot be overturned on insufficiency of the evidence. Id. This Court must decide whether after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Curry, 939 So.2d at 791. See also Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843-44 (Miss.2005). ¶ 24. Allowing the conviction for convicted-felon-in-possession-of-firearm charge to stand will not be prejudicial to the defendant. All the evidence pointed to Davis, a prior convicted felon, being in possession of a firearm while not under duress, a conclusion that could be reached by any rational juror. Based on this Court's standard of review for this issue, the evidence is legally sufficient and supports the affirmance of the guilty verdict for felony possession of a firearm. ¶ 25. The evidence also is legally sufficient to support the motor-vehicle-theft conviction. While it could appear to be inconsistent for the jury to find Davis not guilty of kidnapping, but guilty of motor-vehicle theft, this is without consequence. [9] This Court has stated: Inconsistent verdicts present a situation where error, in the sense that the jury has not followed the court's instructions, most certainly has occurred, but it is unclear whose ox has been gored. Given this uncertainty, and the fact that the [prosecution] is precluded from challenging the acquittal, it is hardly satisfactory to allow the defendant to receive a new trial on the conviction as a matter of course. Curry, 939 So.2d at 791 (quoting United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 65 105 S.Ct. 471, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984)). ¶ 26. In determining whether a jury verdict is supported by sufficient evidence to show the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the appellate court must accept as true all evidence presented that supports the verdict. Eakes v. State, 665 So.2d 852, 872 (Miss.1995). A jury verdict will be reversed only when the evidence is such that a reasonable and fair-minded juror could find the accused only not guilty. Harveston v. State, 493 So.2d 365, 370 (Miss.1986). Since there is conflicting testimony in this case, reasonable and fairminded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment could reach different conclusions as to the verdict, thus resulting in our finding that there was legally sufficient evidence to convict Davis of motor-vehicle theft. ¶ 27. Likewise, as to the weight of the evidence, based on the evidence before the Court, as set out above, it is clear that the verdicts were not so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow them to stand would amount to the sanctioning of an unconscionable injustice. Nelson v. State, 10 So.3d 898, 908 (Miss. 2009) (citing Jones v. State, 904 So.2d 149, 154 (Miss.2005)). See also Bush, 895 So.2d at 844-45. This issue is without merit.