Opinion ID: 863607
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 35

Heading: whether the trial court erred in allowing the state to refer to, and present evidence of, alleged admissions by edwards prior to proving corpus delicti?

Text: ś 117. Edwards contends that it was error for the trial court to allow the State to present evidence of inculpatory statements before the prosecution had proved corpus delicti. However, as to Edwards' claims about statements made in trial, there was no objection made by defense counsel. Thus, this claim is procedurally barred from review. Jackson, 684 So.2d at 1226; Chase, 645 So.2d at 854. ś 118. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, we will address this issue on the merits. Edwards cites Burkhalter v. State, 302 So.2d 503 (Miss.1974), for the general ... rule that the prosecution should first submit evidence tending to prove the corpus delicti before introducing into evidence a confession made by an accused person. Burkhalter v. State, 302 So.2d 503, 505 (Miss.1974). That case goes on to say, however, that the rule is not without some flexibility as to the order of proof in conjunction with confessions and independent proof of corpus delicti. Burkhalter, 302 So.2d at 505. The Court in Burkhalter found no error in admitting the defendant's confession prior to admitting a stipulation on cause of death. Burkhalter, 302 So.2d at 505. The Court emphasized not the order of proof but the rule that  the state must establish corpus delicti aliunde an out of court confession of the crime with which the accused is charged and must present sufficient evidence to establish `that a real and not an imaginary, crime has been confessed.' Id. at 505 ( quoting Brooks v. State, 178 Miss. 575, 173 So. 409 (1937)). See also Miskelley v. State, 480 So.2d 1104, 1107-08 (Miss.1985); Poole v. State, 246 Miss. 442, 150 So.2d 429 (1963). In these cases it is not the order of proof which is crucial but the rule that a confession may not be treated as sufficient to establish the corpus delicti. Thus, there is no merit to this assignment of error.