Opinion ID: 3187215
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The State’s Evidence of Guilt

Text: The trial commenced on November 9, 1992. The state presented overwhelming evidence of Ledford’s guilt. Mrs. Johnston gave her account of Ledford’s home invasion, the surrounding circumstances, and how she observed Ledford drive away in her husband’s truck. Two pawn shop employees testified that Ledford sold them the rifle and shotgun stolen from the Johnston residence. Law enforcement officers gave their accounts of Ledford’s arrest, the items seized from Dr. Johnston’s truck, the discovery of Dr. Johnston’s body, and the discovery of the murder weapon with Ledford’s assistance. A state witness read Ledford’s written confession to the jury. A forensic serologist testified that, according to a blood enzyme analysis, the blood found on Ledford’s clothes, along with the blood on the knife recovered from the side of the highway, could not have been Ledford’s, but could have been the blood of Dr. Johnston. 8 Case: 14-15650 Date Filed: 03/21/2016 Page: 9 of 103 Dr. Floyd James, a pathologist, conducted an autopsy of Dr. Johnston’s body. Dr. James testified that Dr. Johnston had a non-fatal inch-long stab wound on his back, a large and deep laceration across the side of his face, a large and deep laceration on the left side of his neck, and several other lacerations on his neck, including one that penetrated his windpipe. The wounds required a significant amount of force to inflict. When presented with the pictures of Dr. Johnston’s wounds, Dr. James stated, “Well, I’m a pathologist and this is rather sickening.” Defense counsel did not object to this testimony. When asked to describe the pictures further, Dr. James stated, “Well, I’ve seen a lot of really bad things in the numerous types of autopsies I’ve seen. . . .” At that point, the judge cut off Dr. James and instructed him not to compare Dr. Johnston’s wounds with other wounds he had seen as a pathologist. Dr. James testified that Dr. Johnston’s death was not instantaneous. Dr. Johnston continued to bleed to death for approximately eight to nine minutes after the wounds were inflicted. Dr. James testified that Dr. Johnston suffered during that time and that it would have been “extremely painful.” Ledford’s counsel did not contemporaneously object. Rather, on cross-examination, Ledford’s counsel attempted to demonstrate that Dr. Johnston could have died a lot quicker than Dr. James believed. 9 Case: 14-15650 Date Filed: 03/21/2016 Page: 10 of 103 The next day, Ledford’s counsel moved for a mistrial based on Dr. James’s inflammatory testimony. The state trial court denied the motion as untimely. In its closing argument, the state, citing Dr. James’s testimony, repeatedly asserted that Dr. Johnston suffered a brutal, long, and agonizing death.