Opinion ID: 1706950
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: instructions dg-12, dg-15 and dg-16, more of impeachment and inconsistent statements

Text: ¶ 29. In addition, Bell asked for two instructions, DG-12 and DG-15, advising the jury that they were the sole judges of the credibility of witnesses and advising them that inconsistencies within statements of a witness or between those of different witnesses may cause the jury to discredit a witness's testimony. He also sought and was denied DG-16 which addresses impeachment in an abstract way and instructs the jury that it may disregard impeached testimony. Much of his argument in this area is concerned with the ability to warn the jury of the dangers in relying on the testimony of Frank Coffey. Furthermore, the jury was advised by way of the court's charge, that they were the sole judges of the credibility of the testimony and supporting evidence, by instruction DG-11 that reasonable doubt of guilt may be based on conflicts in the evidence or the credibility of witnesses, and by DG-13 that the testimony of Frank Coffey as that of an accomplice should be viewed with suspicion. The trial judge is under no obligation to grant redundant instructions. Davis v. State, 568 So.2d 277, 280-81 (Miss. 1990). Indeed, to do so can only create confusion and make it more difficult for the jury to understand the charge. When the instructions are read as a whole, as indeed they must be, we find no error in the refusal of these specific requested instructions.