Opinion ID: 1110731
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Allowing presentation in rebuttal of evidence of physical injuries to Levy, an uncharged crime irrelevant to this trial

Text: ¶ 51. The standard of review of an admission or exclusion of evidence is abuse of discretion. Smith v. State, 839 So.2d 489, 496 (Miss.2003) (citing Stallworth v. State, 797 So.2d 905, 908 (Miss. 2001)). In this assignment of error, Flora contends the trial court erred by admitting into evidence a photograph of Levy, depicting her appearance on the night of Spann's murder. The trial court allowed the photograph for the limited purpose of impeaching Flora's credibility as to his testimony that Levy got into his car voluntarily that night and that he did not remember hitting her, especially with a gun. ¶ 52. Flora argues the holdings of this Court in Flowers v. State, 773 So.2d 309 (Miss.2000), Flowers v. State, 842 So.2d 531 (Miss.2003), and Stringer v. State, 500 So.2d 928 (Miss.1986), should apply in this case. Although each of these cases involved multiple murders, the defendants were being tried separately for each victim. In each one of these trials, the prosecutors put in evidence of the murders of the other victims for which the defendants were not then on trial, and this Court held the admission of that evidence constituted reversible error. ¶ 53. The present case and those cited by Flora are clearly distinguishable. The evidence questioned by Flora is much less severe than that found to be improper in the Flowers and Stringer, in which the prosecution introduced pictures of and testimony about the bodies of the other murder victims. The facts and photographs were particularly gruesome in Stringer, in which the trial court permitted the prosecutor to show the jury pictures of the second victim, a woman who was decapitated by a point-blank shotgun blast. The photograph challenged by Flora is black and white, and the photocopy contained in the record is not clear. It was admitted for a legitimate purpose, and does not rise to the level of gruesomeness or repetitiveness which requires denial of admission into evidence. The trial court did not err in allowing it on rebuttal.