Opinion ID: 1688008
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the admission of photographs of the victim's body.

Text: At the trial, certain photographs of the victim's body, showing its condition and location and the wounds which had been inflicted upon it, were admitted into evidence. There was no objection to the admission of the first of these photographs. Objection was made to the introduction of the others and it is argued on appeal that their purpose and effect were to inflame and prejudice the jury and that they were without evidentiary value. The competency, relevancy and materiality of photographs in homicide cases ordinarily are matters to be determined by the trial court within his judicial discretion. In the case before us, the photographs supplied some corroboration of the facts and circumstances related by Hammock in his account of the slaying contained in his confession. They also served the purpose of confirming the identity of the victim and identifying the place where the body was found as the place where Hammock said he had left it after the killing. We are unable to say that the pictures served no substantial or legitimate evidentiary purpose or that they were so inflammatory that their prejudicial effect outweighed their value as evidence. We find no error in the admission of the photographs. Voyles v. State, 362 So.2d 1236 (Miss. 1978); Irving v. State, 228 So.2d 266 (Miss. 1969).