Opinion ID: 1058439
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Photographs at Guilt Phase

Text: Exhibit number 3 is a photograph depicting the location of the victim's body in relation to the dresser. The defense objected stating that sketches of the crime scene were available to show the location of the victim's body and that the photograph was too graphic. The trial court found that the probative value of this photograph is not outweighed by any unfair prejudice. It's not, in my mind, other than showing someone dead who obviously has been beaten around the head, it's not inflammatory. Five other photographs that were more graphic were excluded by the trial court. Exhibit numbers 33 though 37 and exhibit number 41 are all photographs of the victim taken during the autopsy. At trial, the State asserted that the photographs were necessary to show different aspects of the examination performed by Dr. Smith. The prosecution stated that the photographs were also necessary as evidence of repeated blows, or proof of premeditation, and not that a single blow was struck in anger. Because the photographs of the wounds were taken during the autopsy, the wounds had been cleaned up as much as possible. There was no fresh blood and the photographs were basically scientific photographs. The trial court made the following rulings with regard to these photographs: This [exhibit # 33] shows a wound. Apparently, her scalp has been shaved on the right top side of her head to show the wound there. Other than having a little blood in her ear, that seemed to pool in the ear, this picture is a cleaned up picture. ... Well, I find that this will help assist the jury. It's very probative as to the position and the repeated wounds, and it's been cleaned up. And there's nothing gross or heinous about it other than the obvious wound that was inflicted. So I'm going to allow number nine [exhibit # 33]. Well, for the record, photograph number twelve [exhibit # 34] is a scalp shaved showing a wound or, apparently, several wounds.... Because it's a close up showing the obvious repeated blows to that area, I'm going to allow this. It's been cleaned up. And although the wound is red, there is no running blood or pooled blood, so I'm going to allow picture 12. All right. Looking at picture eight [exhibit # 35] in it[ ]s totality, there's nothing gross or heinous about it. It's much less graphic than number seven. There is a definite gap or dent or cut in the bottom lip that you can see in this picture, you can't in the other one. I don't think there's any additional unfair prejudicial value at all to number eight, so I'm going to allow number eight also. All right. That is  covers the same material that [exihibit # 35] covers .... and that's cumulative with [exhibit # 35].... He has a ruler next to it. ... Well, it's  before it was cumulative, but because it has the ruler, I'm going to do this, then ... we're going to ... allow this one as well.... Well, this photograph [exhibit # 37] is a close up of the nose and her left eye and the left side of her mouth, and that shows other things that I didn't see in any other pictures. One, it shows a cut to her nose, to the left side of her nose; it shows two to three cuts to the top left of her mouth, and also a definite cut or blow to the left eye. There's a line on the eyelid. Although her eyelid is partially open, and up at the top  I mean, up in the right eye area, you can barely start to see a wound there. There's nothing about this picture in my mind that's inflammatory, and for that reason, it's probative, and I'm going to allow it. All right. Well, of all 13 pictures, this is the one that is the most unpleasant to look at because it shows her frontal face., it shows the area where her right eye would be as just a big dent in her head. It show a denture  a partial denture  in her mouth.... Her face has been cleaned up and there's no blood. There are open wounds, but there's no pools of blood or dripping blood, and it shows repeated  what seems to me numerous, repeated blows to the front of her face. Which, in my mind ... would be very probative of the fact that she just laid on the ground. Apparently, if someone hits her in the face like this to cause this wound, her body would have moved. Laying on the ground with someone standing over her, hitting her repeatedly with an object or objects, which is extremely probative of premeditation. The main issue in this case ... is whether or not the defendant could form intent or premeditation, or whether this was just a knowing killing. This is a 3-D picture ... you can see that not only was she struck repeatedly, but from different angles which would take some time to do  to do this damage. And I find that it's cleaned up. And other than being unpleasant, because we have a person who has been killed by these wounds, I don't think that it's being introduced as inflammatory. Any unfair prejudice in this picture over a diagram would be slight, and it does not at all, I think, overcome the extreme probative value of it.... While Defendant admitted to the murder of his wife, he claimed that he acted in a state of passion and thus, was not guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. The issue before the jury was whether the killing resulted from a state-of-passion produced by adequate provocation or whether the killing was premeditated. The purpose for introducing photographs into evidence is to assist the trier of fact. As a general rule, the introduction of photographs helps the trier of fact see for itself what is depicted in the photograph. State v. Griffis, 964 S.W.2d 577, 594 (Tenn.Crim.App.), perm. to appeal denied, (Tenn.1997). In State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d at 947, our supreme court set forth several factors to be considered by the trial court in determining admissibility of photographs, including their value as evidence, whether they are needed to establish a prima facie case and whether, and to what extent, they are gruesome. The only seriously contested issue in the case was the degree of homicide. The State relied heavily upon the nature and extent of injuries inflicted upon the victim to establish a prima facie case of first degree murder. While repeated blows are not alone sufficient to establish premeditation, see State v. Brown, 836 S.W.2d 530, 542 (Tenn.1992), the photographs were relevant to the critical issue of premeditation and were not inflammatory. The photographs, demonstrating repeated blows to the head of the victim, were relevant to show the element of premeditation in this first degree murder case. There is little dispute that the photographs are unpleasant and gruesome. However, they are highly relevant and probative to show that Defendant used a weapon upon an unarmed victim, the repeated blows upon the victim, and the brutality of the attack. Our supreme court has held that photographs of the victim may be admitted as evidence of the brutality of the attack and the extent of force used against the victim, from which the jury could infer malice, either express or implied. State v. Goss, 995 S.W.2d 617, 627 (Tenn.Crim.App.1998) (citing Brown, 836 S.W.2d at 551; see also State v. Smith, 868 S.W.2d 561, 576 (Tenn.1993) (trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting a photograph of the victim when the trial court stated that the photograph was relevant to show `premeditation, malice and intent because of the multiplicity of these wounds and an obvious intent of whoever was inflicting these wounds.')). In this case, the State was required to prove that the killing was intentional. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-202(a)(1). The Defendant claims that he acted out of passion. The photographs of the victim demonstrate that the attack was brutal and non-relenting. The primary effect of seeing the photographs is not so much to inflame the viewer as to reveal to the viewer that, whoever inflicted the injuries upon the victim did so deliberately and premeditatively, striking the victim multiple times. The photographs depict a savage beating. Although they are admittedly gruesome, they give a better description of the nature and extent of the wounds than the testimony of the medical examiner. Under the principles expressed in State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d 947 (Tenn.1978), we find that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in admitting these photographs.