Opinion ID: 1796115
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the evidence of attempted rape was sufficient to support the capital murder charge.

Text: ¶ 10. In his first assignment of error, Powers contends that he should have been granted a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, alternatively, a new trial because the evidence did not support the underlying offense of attempted rape, which elevated this case to one of capital murder. The standards of review for a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and motion for a new trial both are soundly embedded in our case-law: A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict implicates the sufficiency of the evidence. Sheffield v. State, 749 So.2d 123, 125 (Miss.1999). The standard of review for the legal sufficiency of the evidence is well-settled: [W]e must, with respect to each element of the offense, consider all of the evidence  not just the evidence which supports the case for the prosecution  in the light most favorable to the verdict. The credible evidence which is consistent with the guilt must be accepted as true. The prosecution must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may reasonably be drawn from the evidence. Matters regarding the weight and credibility to be accorded the evidence are to be resolved by the jury. We may reverse only where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Id. (quoting Gleeton v. State, 716 So.2d 1083, 1087 (Miss.1998)). A motion for a new trial, however, falls within a lower standard of review than does that for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Id. at 127. A motion for a new trial simply challenges the weight of the evidence. Id. This Court has explained that it will reverse the trial court's denial of a motion for a new trial only if, by doing so, the court abused its discretion. Id. (quoting Gleeton v. State, 716 So.2d at 1088). We will not order a new trial unless convinced that the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that, to allow it to stand, would be to sanction an unconscionable injustice. Id. (quoting Groseclose v. State, 440 So.2d 297, 300 (Miss.1983)). This Court has also explained that factual disputes are properly resolved by a jury and do not mandate a new trial. McNeal v. State, 617 So.2d 999, 1009 (Miss.1993). Holloway v. State, 809 So.2d 598, 605-06 (¶¶ 21-22) (Miss.2000). ¶ 11. Powers asserts that as to the underlying offense of attempted rape, the State's case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence. In his written statement, which he later denied at a suppression hearing, Powers admitted that he and Lafferty struggled with the gun and that he shot Lafferty, but specifically denied having sex with Lafferty. In his statement, Powers wrote: And she walk in the hall and call me. When I went back their [sic] she were [sic] talk [sic] crazy still. about she wanted to do something and I told her no. And she got mad and started to play with me. And had one leg in short and she just stayed playing with me and I got ready to go she didn't want me to go and then she said that she hated her friend's girlfriend. Then I told her that she need stop saying thing like that about that girl. Then we struggle [sic] with the gun and the gun when [sic] off and I just shot. This, he asserts, makes the State's case against him one of circumstantial evidence. Powers relies on Jackson v. State, 684 So.2d 1213, 1229-30 (Miss.1996), and Steele v. State, 544 So.2d 802 (Miss.1989), in support of his position. In essence, Powers argues that the jury should have been instructed that not only must the State prove guilt of the attempted rape beyond a reasonable doubt, but also to the exclusion of every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. The State contends that this is not a case of circumstantial evidence in that Powers has admitted significant elements of the crime. Powers admitted shooting Lafferty and leaving her in the condition and state of undress in which her body was found. The next day, he also nervously told a friend that something had happened to Lafferty. Powers also wrote a note to his mother stating that everything I do is wrong. The physical evidence shows that Lafferty was shot five times at close range, including three times to the back of the head. ¶ 12. Powers's argument that the charge of attempted rape is based purely a circumstantial evidence is without merit. A circumstantial evidence case is one in which there is neither an eyewitness nor a confession to the crime. Mangum v. State, 762 So.2d 337, 344 (Miss.2000) (citing Stringfellow v. State, 595 So.2d 1320, 1322 (Miss.1992)); Keys v. State, 478 So.2d 266, 267 (Miss.1985). Circumstantial evidence instructions should only be given in purely circumstantial evidence cases. Tigner v. State, 478 So.2d 293, 295 (Miss.1985). There is no reason on principle why an admission by the defendant on a significant element of the offense should not also operate to render unnecessary the circumstantial evidence instruction. Mack v. State, 481 So.2d 793, 795 (Miss.1985). ¶ 13. Attempted rape requires that the State prove three elements: an intent to commit rape, a direct ineffectual act done towards its commission, and the failure to consummate its commission. Ross v. State, 601 So.2d 872, 874 (Miss. 1992); Pruitt v. State, 528 So.2d 828, 830 (Miss.1988). The physical evidence clearly reveals that there was an attempt and an direct ineffectual act performed toward the commission of rape. Our previous attempts to use words to visually re-create the crime scene as depicted, inter alia, by these color photographs are severely deficient. The sexually explicit position in which Lafferty's body was found, coupled with Powers's admission that he shot her and left her in the position in which she was found, take this case outside the realm of circumstantial evidence. ¶ 14. Powers relies heavily on the cross-examination testimony of Dr. Stephen Hayne, the State's expert, where he testified that the wounds found on Lafferty were consistent with defensive posturing but that he could not testify to a reasonable degree of medical certainty the specific cause of the injuries. Dr. Hayne also testified that the position of the body was sexually explicit and not consistent with consensual sex particularly in light of the fact that she was shot three times in the back of the head. ¶ 15. We cannot overemphasize the importance of the color photographs of the victim at the scene as they relate to the attempted rape charge. Certainly, based upon all the direct evidence, and especially the physical evidence at the crime scene as depicted, inter alia, by the color photographs of the victim, the jury could reasonably find that an attempted rape occurred. Certainly, the presence of the gun owed by Powers in this close physical encounter does not lend any credence to the proposition that Lafferty was enticing Powers to engage in sexual activity. The standard of review demands that we lend great deference to the jury's verdict in finding that Powers's performed an overt act toward the commission of the crime of rape and that he was prevented from committing the crime. ¶ 16. As to the third factor, the Mississippi attempt statute requires that the third element, failure to consummate, result from extraneous causes and not a voluntary cessation. Ross v. State, 601 So.2d at 874 (citing West v. State, 437 So.2d 1212, 1214 (Miss.1983)). By Powers's own admission, there was a struggle over the gun between the two. The shooting and resulting death of the victim is the extraneous cause in this case. ¶ 17. Because the State's case was not based upon circumstantial evidence, the learned trial judge was correct in refusing Powers's proposed circumstantial evidence jury instructions as to the underlying offense of attempted rape. There was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Powers was guilty of attempted rape while in the commission of Lafferty's murder. Therefore, this argument is without merit.