Opinion ID: 2150043
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Admission of Certain Photographs.

Text: Defendant claims that it was reversible error for the trial court to admit State's exhibits 11 through 22. These exhibits consisted of photographs of the burned bodies of the three victims. We find nothing in the record indicating that defendant objected to the admission of these exhibits. By failing to object, defendant waived this issue. Smith v. State (1985), Ind., 475 N.E.2d 1139, 1144, reh'g denied, post-conviction relief granted on other grounds (1989), Ind., 547 N.E.2d 817. We do note, however, that defendant did object to the admission of exhibits 23 through 26, consisting of autopsy photographs of Stacy Forsee's stab wounds. Once it is established that a photograph is an accurate depiction of that which it is intended to portray, its admissibility turns on the question of relevancy. Photographs are relevant if they depict scenes that a witness is permitted to describe in their testimony. A relevant photo will be admitted into evidence unless its relevancy is outweighed by its tendency to inflame the passions of the jury. Baird v. State (1992), Ind., 604 N.E.2d 1170, 1189, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 255, 126 L.Ed.2d 208 (1993); Games v. State (1989), Ind., 535 N.E.2d 530, cert. denied, 493 U.S. 874, 110 S.Ct. 205, 107 L.Ed.2d 158 (1989). Although defendant claims that the photographs could serve no purpose other than to inflame and prejudice the jury, Br. of Appellant at 22, they were in fact used to illustrate the testimony of a pathologist and so met the test of relevancy. Defendant makes no specific argument or showing as to how the relevancy of the photographs was outweighed by their tendency to inflame the passions of the jury. We have regularly held that such evidence is not unduly prejudicial, e.g., Baird, 604 N.E.2d at 1189, Jackson v. State (1992), Ind., 597 N.E.2d 950, 963, reh'g denied, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 113 S.Ct. 1424, 122 L.Ed.2d 793 (1993), Kennedy v. State (1991), Ind., 578 N.E.2d 633, 640, reh'g denied, cert. denied, 503 U.S. 921, 112 S.Ct. 1299, 117 L.Ed.2d 521 (1992), after remand, (1993), Ind., 620 N.E.2d 17, reh'g denied, and do so here in the absence of any such argument or showing.