Opinion ID: 1269370
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Sentencing Phase Photographs

Text: Lastly, Evins asserts the trial court committed error at sentencing in admitting seven photographs of the victim, contending they served no legitimate purpose and served only to inflame the jury. In particular, Evins contests the admission of Exhibit numbers 70 and 71, which reveal that the victim had defecated on herself. We find the photographs were properly admitted. The relevance, materiality and admissibility of photographs are matters within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the trial court's ruling on such issues will be disturbed only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion. State v. Tucker, 324 S.C. 155, 478 S.E.2d 260 (1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1200, 117 S.Ct. 1561, 137 L.Ed.2d 708 (1997). The purpose of the sentencing phase in a capital trial is to direct the jury's attention to the specific circumstances of the crime and the characteristics of the offender. State v. Matthews, 296 S.C. 379, 373 S.E.2d 587 (1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1091, 109 S.Ct. 1559, 103 L.Ed.2d 861 (1989). Photographs may be offered as evidence in extenuation, mitigation, or aggravation. State v. Haselden, 353 S.C. 190, 577 S.E.2d 445 (2003). In the sentencing phase, the scope of the probative value of such photos is much broader than at the guilt or innocence phase. Id. See also State v. Weik, 356 S.C. 76, 587 S.E.2d 683 (2002); State v. Franklin, 318 S.C. 47, 456 S.E.2d 357 (1995). In determining whether to recommend a sentence of death, the jury may be permitted to see photographs which depict the bodies of the murder victims in substantially the same condition in which the defendant left them. State v. Kornahrens, 290 S.C. 281, 350 S.E.2d 180 (1986). There is no abuse of discretion if the offered photograph serves to corroborate testimony. State v. Johnson, 338 S.C. 114, 525 S.E.2d 519 (2000). Exhibit 70 is a 4 x 6 photograph of the victim's body, taken from a distance of several feet away. It reveals the victim lying in a grassy field, naked and face down, with her right arm stretched up over her head, and her left arm bent and stretched out to the left. Upon close inspection, a small amount of feces is visible. Exhibit 71 is a photograph of victim's body taken from a further distance away, and was taken from an angle above the victim's head. The feces is not clearly visible in Exhibit 71. We find the photographs were properly admitted to show the victim in substantially the same condition as Evins left her, and to corroborate the testimony that the victim had defecated on herself. The photographs are not unnecessarily gruesome or disturbing. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the photographs.