Opinion ID: 1059208
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of evidence regarding capital murder

Text: At the close of the Commonwealth's evidence, Green moved to strike the evidence regarding capital murder on the basis that the Commonwealth had failed to prove that the killing of Mrs. Vaughan was willful, deliberate, and premeditated. In support of his motion, Green relied primarily on his statement to a police investigator in which he had maintained that he only intended to commit a robbery and never meant to kill anyone. The circuit court denied Green's motion, finding that the evidence established that Green entered the grocery store and said nothing before shooting; that he killed, wounded and then robbed; and that he did not bother to wear a mask which he had prepared. Green assigns error to the court's ruling and makes the same argument here as he made before the circuit court. Premeditation is an intent to kill that needs to exist only for a moment. Peterson v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 289, 295, 302 S.E.2d 520, 524 (1983). It is generally a factual issue. Schmitt, 262 Va. at 143, 547 S.E.2d at 197; Clozza v. Commonwealth, 228 Va. 124, 134, 321 S.E.2d 273, 279 (1984). When reviewing the sufficiency of evidence on a question of fact, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party below, in this case the Commonwealth, and accord that party's evidence all reasonable inferences. Beavers, 245 Va. at 281, 427 S.E.2d at 421. Here, the evidence showed that Green entered the Vaughans' grocery store and shot Mrs. Vaughan without any warning. After his cousin seized the bank bag containing the cash and exited the store, Green walked over to where Mrs. Vaughan was lying on the floor and fired two more shots in her direction. Green did not leave the store until his gun was empty. These facts clearly establish premeditation. See Remington v. Commonwealth, 262 Va. 333, 353, 551 S.E.2d 620, 632 (2001) (stabbing victim eight to ten times established premeditation), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1062, 122 S.Ct. 1928, 152 L.Ed.2d 834 (2002). Thus, we find no error in the circuit court's refusal to strike the Commonwealth's evidence regarding capital murder.

During Deputy Kevin Wesson's penalty phase testimony, he stated that, when he worked for a store selling electronic devices, Mrs. Vaughan inquired about having a security system installed at the Vaughans' grocery store. According to Deputy Wesson, Mrs. Vaughan was concerned because of a robbery and murder that had occurred at a store in a neighboring county and was fearful that the same kind of crime could happen at the Vaughans' store. Green claims that this testimony violated his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and the equivalent provisions of the Constitution of Virginia. However, Green did not object to Deputy Wesson's testimony at trial. Thus, he is barred from raising this claim for the first time on appeal. Rule 5:25.
Green asserts that the circuit court erred in overruling his motion to strike the Commonwealth's evidence regarding both the vileness and future dangerousness predicates and also in overruling his motion to set aside the jury verdict fixing the death penalty. As to the vileness factor, Green argues that, since three of the four gunshot wounds sustained by Mrs. Vaughan were lethal, she died almost instantaneously without any other battery to her. He also relies on the forensic pathologist's testimony that Mrs. Vaughan died within seconds to minutes after she was first shot. Thus, in Green's view, the Commonwealth failed to prove either an aggravated battery to the victim or depravity of mind of the defendant. He also contends that the Commonwealth failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Green would probably commit criminal acts of violence in the future that would constitute a continuing serious threat to society. According to Green, the testimony of Dr. Sautter and Dr. Pasquale established that Green would not be a future danger if confined to prison. Green points to Dr. Sautter's opinion that Green's behavior would be appropriate in a maximum-security situation and to Dr. Pasquale's statement that, in a prison setting, the risk of misbehavior by Green would be low. In asserting that the Commonwealth failed to establish the future dangerousness predicate, Green also relies on the fact that he had no record of convictions for criminal offenses that pre-dated the present offenses involving the Vaughans. Finally, he characterizes the Commonwealth's evidence of unadjudicated prior bad acts as `benign' run-ins with friends, family and employers. With regard to the vileness predicate, the term aggravated battery means a battery which, qualitatively and quantitatively, is more culpable than the minimum necessary to accomplish an act of murder. Smith v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 455, 478, 248 S.E.2d 135, 149 (1978). Contrary to Green's assumption that Mrs. Vaughan died instantly, the forensic pathologist stated that he could not determine in what sequence Green had fired the four gunshots at Mrs. Vaughan. He did opine, however, that the bullet that penetrated two lobes of her right lung caused hemorrhaging in the thoracic cavity, the effect of which he likened to suffocation. A killing inflicted by multiple gunshot wounds. . . when there is an appreciable lapse of time between the first shot and the last, and when death does not result instantaneously from the first constitutes an aggravated battery. Sheppard v. Commonwealth, 250 Va. 379, 392, 464 S.E.2d 131, 139 (1995). Likewise, multiple gunshot wounds, any one of which could have been fatal, constitute an aggravated battery. Walker v. Commonwealth, 258 Va. 54, 71, 515 S.E.2d 565, 575 (1999). We have construed the term depravity of mind to mean a degree of moral turpitude and psychical debasement surpassing that inherent in the definition of ordinary legal malice and premeditation. Smith, 219 Va. at 478, 248 S.E.2d at 149. Green's conduct established depravity of mind when he repeatedly shot Mrs. Vaughan in front of her husband and left them both to die merely so he could rob them. The killing of Mrs. Vaughan was unprovoked and Green showed no mercy for her when he walked back over to where she was lying on the floor and emptied his gun at her. See Walker, 258 Va. at 72, 515 S.E.2d at 575-76. Thus, we conclude that the circuit court did not err in refusing to strike the Commonwealth's evidence or to set aside the jury verdict finding the aggravating vileness factor. As to the future dangerousness predicate, we reach the same conclusion. The circumstances surrounding the murder of Mrs. Vaughan, including the shooting of Mr. Vaughan, are alone sufficient to establish Green's future dangerousness. See Code § 19.2-264.4(C) (future dangerousness can be based on the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense); Kasi v. Commonwealth, 256 Va. 407, 423, 508 S.E.2d 57, 66 (1998). In addition, Cleaton, an acquaintance of Green, testified that Green had threatened to rob and kill him and had shot in Cleaton's direction on one occasion even though Cleaton had specifically asked Green not to do so. Cleaton also stated that he had heard Green threaten to rob a man selling ice cream. Finally, several correctional officers who had supervised Green's incarceration testified about Green's disruptive behavior and his threats to the officers.
Several of Green's assignments of error concern issues that this Court has already decided adversely to the position he now advances. Green has offered no reason why we should depart from our precedents. Thus, we affirm our prior holdings and find no merit in the following assignments of error: 1. The trial court erred in overruling the defendant's motion to declare Virginia's death penalty statutes unconstitutional. Green makes only a generalized argument on this issue. We have rejected numerous specific challenges to the constitutionality of Virginia's death penalty statutes in Beck v. Commonwealth, 253 Va. 373, 387, 484 S.E.2d 898, 907 (1997); Breard, 248 Va. at 74-75, 445 S.E.2d at 675; Mickens v. Commonwealth, 247 Va. 395, 403, 442 S.E.2d 678, 684 (1994); Satcher v. Commonwealth, 244 Va. 220, 227-28, 421 S.E.2d 821, 826 (1992); Watkins v. Commonwealth, 238 Va. 341, 352, 385 S.E.2d 50, 56 (1989); Spencer, 238 Va. at 275, 280-81, 384 S.E.2d 775, 777-78 (1989); and Smith, 219 Va. at 471-79, 248 S.E.2d at 145-49. 2. The trial court erred in overruling the defendant's motion for a bill of particulars. Initially, we note that the circuit court granted Green's motion in part. To the extent that he now argues that he was entitled to a bill of particulars providing a narrowing construction of the vileness predicate and listing all the evidence that the Commonwealth intended to rely upon at sentencing, we have rejected such arguments in Goins v. Commonwealth, 251 Va. 442, 454, 470 S.E.2d 114, 123 (1996); and Strickler, 241 Va. at 490, 404 S.E.2d at 233, respectively. 3. The trial court erred in overruling the defendant's motion to preclude the Commonwealth from using evidence of unadjudicated acts at sentencing. Although the circuit court denied Green's motion, the court stated in its order that it would review each unadjudicated act for its relevance to the issue of future dangerousness and its probative value versus its prejudicial effect. This Court has rejected Green's arguments in Walker, 258 Va. at 64-67, 515 S.E.2d at 571-73; Williams v. Commonwealth, 248 Va. 528, 536, 450 S.E.2d 365, 371 (1994); and Stockton v. Commonwealth, 241 Va. 192, 209, 402 S.E.2d 196, 206 (1991). 4. The trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for additional peremptory challenges. We have rejected this claim in Spencer, 240 Va. at 84, 393 S.E.2d at 613; Buchanan, 238 Va. at 405, 384 S.E.2d at 767; and O'Dell v. Commonwealth, 234 Va. 672, 690, 364 S.E.2d 491, 501 (1988). 5. The trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for that court to conduct a proportionality review. As we have already ruled, nothing in Code § 17.1-313(E) requires a trial court to conduct such a review, Bailey, 259 Va. at 742, 529 S.E.2d at 581, and the circuit court in this case did not abuse its discretion in refusing to do so. See id. 6. The trial court erred by overruling the defendant's motion to introduce evidence regarding conditions of imprisonment for life in rebuttal to the Commonwealth's evidence of the defendant's future dangerousness. We have rejected all Green's arguments on this issue in Bell, 264 Va. at 199, 563 S.E.2d at 713; Burns, 261 Va. at 338-40, 541 S.E.2d at 892-93; Lovitt, 260 Va. at 517, 537 S.E.2d at 879; and Cherrix v. Commonwealth, 257 Va. 292, 309-10, 513 S.E.2d 642, 653-54 (1999). We further note that the circuit court denied Green's motion only to the extent that it exceeds evidence of [Green's] previous adjustment to incarceration.
As with every case involving the imposition of the death penalty, we must determine whether the death sentence in this case was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or other arbitrary factors. Code § 17.1-313(C)(1). Green does not claim that any specific passion or prejudice affected the sentencing decision. Upon reviewing the record, we find no evidence that any such factor was present in this case or influenced either the jury's or the circuit court's sentencing decision. We are also required by the provisions of Code § 17.1-313(C)(2) to determine whether Green's sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant. Because of the statutory directive that we compare this case with similar cases, we have focused on cases in which an individual was murdered during the commission of robbery and the death penalty was imposed upon a finding of both aggravating factors. Our proportionality review includes all capital murder cases presented to this Court for review and is not limited to selected cases. See Burns, 261 Va. at 345, 541 S.E.2d at 896-97. Based on that review, we conclude that Green's sentence of death is not excessive or disproportionate to sentences generally imposed in this Commonwealth for capital murders comparable to Green's murder of Mrs. Vaughan, and we cite the following cases as examples: Akers v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 358, 535 S.E.2d 674 (2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1205, 121 S.Ct. 1221, 149 L.Ed.2d 132 (2001); Stout v. Commonwealth, 237 Va. 126, 376 S.E.2d 288 (1989); Poyner v. Commonwealth, 229 Va. 401, 329 S.E.2d 815 (1985); and Edmonds v. Commonwealth, 229 Va. 303, 329 S.E.2d 807 (1985). In reaching this conclusion, we have considered Green's argument that the death penalty in this case is disproportionate because the Commonwealth failed to show that Mrs. Vaughan endured prolonged suffering before she died and because Green had no criminal convictions prior to this offense. He thus claims that this case involved less aggravation than many other cases in this Commonwealth in which death sentences have been imposed. We do not agree and reiterate that the purpose of our proportionality review is to reach a reasoned judgment regarding what cases justify the imposition of the death penalty. Orbe v. Commonwealth, 258 Va. 390, 405, 519 S.E.2d 808, 817 (1999). We do not insure complete symmetry. Id.