Opinion ID: 1287681
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: On appeal the defendant argues that the State failed to submit sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her actions were not made in self-defense. We have previously held that [a] reviewing court should not reverse a criminal case on the facts which have been passed upon by the jury, unless the court can say that there is reasonable doubt of guilt and that the verdict must have been the result of misapprehension, or passion and prejudice. Syllabus Point 3, State v. Sprigg, 103 W.Va. 404, 137 S.E. 746 (1927). Accord Syllabus Point 1, State v. Easton, 203 W.Va. 631, 510 S.E.2d 465 (1998). We have further held that: The function of an appellate court when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, is sufficient to convince a reasonable person of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Syllabus Point 1, State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657, 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995). With these standards in mind, we turn to the issues presented.