Opinion ID: 1671765
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Improper Other Crime Testimony by Peggy Morgan

Text: ¶ 139. Peggy Morgan was prepared to testify that sometime in the late 1960's or early 1970's, she and her husband gave Byron De La Beckwith a ride from Greenwood, Mississippi, to Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, during which ride Beckwith confessed to killing Medgar Evers. According to Ms. Morgan, Beckwith was going to Parchman to visit an inmate, Cecil Sessums, who had been convicted of bombing the home of civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer in Hattiesburg. Before she took the stand, the defense objected to any testimony regarding bombings or the identity of the inmate whom Beckwith was going to visit. The trial judge sustained the objection, ruling that Ms. Morgan could testify about those portions of her conversation with Beckwith that involved Medgar Evers and the offense charged, but she could not testify regarding the identity of the inmate or the charges against him. Assistant District Attorney DeLaughter responded, She won't get into that unless I ask her, which I won't ask her. When defense counsel requested that the record reflect that the prosecution did not undertake to caution the witness before she took the stand, Mr. DeLaughter responded that he would talk to her. ¶ 140. During Ms. Morgan's direct examination, the following exchange took place: Q. All right. Now, at any time on this trip, Ms. Morgan, would you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what, if any, statements that this defendant made concerning the murder or killing of Medgar Evers? A. Yes, sir. He started talking about some bombings  At this point, the defense objected and moved for a mistrial. The trial judge overruled the objection, but told the prosecutor to move along. Nothing more was said regarding bombings. Beckwith argues that Ms. Morgan's comment about bombings constituted improper other crimes evidence under Rule 404(b). ¶ 141. This situation is virtually identical to that in Watson v. State, 521 So.2d 1290 (Miss. 1988). In that case, the following exchange occurred during the prosecution's direct examination of a witness: Q. Have you had any contact with [Watson] lately? A. He's come by the office where I work, but we didn't really talk. He was just telling me he was out of jail  Watson, 521 So.2d at 1293. The defense objected at this point and moved for a mistrial, which objection and motion the trial court overruled. Id. On appeal, this Court affirmed, holding: The answer of [the witness] was not responsive to the question and there was no purposeful effort or intent on the part of the State to elicit such information from the witness. Assuming arguendo that the answer constituted error, certainly it was harmless error under the facts of this case. Id. at 1294. Similarly, in Craft v. State, 656 So.2d 1156, 1165 (Miss. 1995), we held that a witness' reference to another possible crime committed by the defendants did not warrant a reversal where the witness alluded to the other crime only once and the prosecution did not deliberately ask or infer about whether the defendants had been involved in any other offenses. See also United States v. Webster, 750 F.2d 307, 336 (5th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1106, 105 S.Ct. 2340, 2341, 85 L.Ed.2d 855, 856 (1985) (holding that fleeting, unexplained reference to other crime was obviously not reversible error). ¶ 142. In the case sub judice, the prosecutor did not ask Ms. Morgan about any comments made by Beckwith regarding bombings, but instead asked her about comments regarding Medgar Evers, to which question Ms. Morgan's answer was unresponsive. The prosecutor thereafter directed Ms. Morgan's testimony towards matters involving Medgar Evers, and the bombings were never again mentioned. Clearly, the prosecution did not deliberately elicit testimony regarding other crimes. There is also some doubt as to whether the naked reference to bombings, without any indication as to who may have perpetrated them, could be considered testimony of other crimes committed by Beckwith. As in Watson, however, even assuming arguendo that the answer constituted error, the error was harmless. We therefore find no reversible error under this assignment.