Court Opinion

ID: 9849959
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:50:10.717095+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:29.670793
License: Public Domain

Bussey, Justice
(dissenting) :
Being of the view that there was prejudicial error requiring a new trial, I most respectfully dissent. To better understand the issues a few additional facts need to be stated. The organizational structure of the club known as the “Tribulators” included “prospects” (those persons being considered for membership) ; “probates” (those persons already accepted conditionally as members); and “patchwearers” (those persons already members with full rights). The officers of the club were, of course, “patchwearers”. There was a president and “enforcer”, Richard Lee Richards alias “Juicer”.
All of the defendants charged in this case were “patch-wearers” save Holland, age 19 at the time of the offense, *504who was a “probate” and affiliated with the club some three or four months, and Davis, age 23, a “prospect” for only five days prior to the date of the crime. There is substantial, undisputed testimony in the record to the effect that intra club discipline was so severe that either a “prospect” or a “probate” was subject to immediate danger in the event he failed to follow orders, particularly the orders of the “enforcer”. Neither Holland nor Davis was permitted to attend the meeting of the “patchwearers” when plans were made to go to the club house of the Dixie Dragons and it is inferable that neither of them knew just what the plans were until after they all were present at the Dixie Dragons club house. There is evidence that all defendants, other than Richards, the “enforcer”, were under the orders of Richards and, with respect to Holland and Davis, there is strong evidence to the effect that participation on their part was induced by their fear of disobeying the orders of Richards.
It is clear that Holland participated in the binding and gagging of Thomas Bolin and the other male, but evidence that they were not tightly enough bound and gagged to satisfy Richards who himself tightened the gags, etc. The two women were both gagged and bound, with Davis, under the order of Richards, being the principal participant. Both, however, were intentionally so loosely bound by Davis that they managed to make their escape within minutes after all Tribulators left the scene.
There is evidence reflecting the fact that after the motorcycles had been loaded into the trailer most, if not all of the defendants, other than Richards, urged upon him an immediate departure from the scene. Richards, however, insisted upon returning to the club house and attempted to kill all of the bound people by cutting their throats before he would depart. The two women were not mortally wounded but both men victims died. When Richards departed from the club house he announced to his companions that he had killed all four of them.
*505The medical testimony was to the effect that Bolin had an irregular cut below the right side of the jaw and a very sharp incision type of wound some two and a half inches below the left ear that cut across the external jugular vein on the left side. There were moderately extensive rope burns around the neck and symptoms indicating a significant degree of strangulation and asphyxia. The doctor testified, inter alia, that there was an extensive blood loss and that the wound to the jugular vein was most probably sufficient to cause death. The doctor gave it as his opinion that death was the result of a combination of Bolin’s various injuries and said he thought that asphyxia was probably the most important, but declined to give a positive opinion as to a single cause of death, stating, inter alia, that either of Bolin’s wounds or asphyxia could have caused his death.
While no time intervals are specifically disclosed by the evidence, it is inferable that Bolin had been bound and gagged for quite some time before Richards sought to kill him by cutting his throat. The evidence is clear and undisputed that Bolin was alive until after he was stabbed by Richards. One of the bound girls made her way to a nearby residence within minutes after the Tribulators departed the scene, from whence a call to the police was made, and upon the arrival of the police at the scene, Bolin was dead. When the medical evidence is considered in the light of the other facts disclosed by the evidence, it is clearly inferable that the knife wounds inflicted by Richards were truly the cause of the death of Bolin and that but for such, Bolin would still be alive.
It thus follows that under a correct understanding and application of the so-called felony murder rule, the jury could have found, under the evidence, that the murder of Bolin was committed by Richards alone and that such murder was not committed in the course of the perpetration or carrying out of any common felonious scheme, nor as a natural or probable result thereof. In the event of such a *506finding, the evidence still warranted and required the submission to the jury of the issue of whether or not the defendants, other than Richards, were guilty of assault and battery upon the said Bolin, they having either personally or vicariously participated in binding and gagging him. To the extent that they voluntarily participated, not under such duress as to render participation excusable, malice accompanied the assault and hence the degree thereof would have been assault and battery with intent to kill. I am of the opinion that His Honor erred in failing to submit to the jury the issue of the lesser offense of assault and battery with intent to kill as to all defendants. It is true that counsel’s request to charge mentioned only assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and the request should have been more precise, but such imprecision can and should be waived.
The in favorem vitae rule is now inapplicable solely because of intervening decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Aside therefrom, however, there is abundant precedent for this Court waiving the failure to precisely raise a particular issue where a defendant has been deprived of a substantial right in the course of his trial and his liberty is at stake. State v. Hollman, 232 S. C. 489, 102 S. E. (2d) 873; State v. Owens, 124 S. C. 220, 117 S. E. 536; State v. Parler, 217 S. C. 24, 59 S. E. (2d) 489; State v. Lyles, 211 S. C. 334, 45 S. E. (2d) 181; State v. Stevens, 116 S. C. 210, 107 S. E. 906.
The appellants contend that the trial judge overemphasized, to the prejudice of the appellants, the proposition that one may be criminally responsible for the acts of associates or confederates in the furtherance of or the execution of a common felonious purpose or design; while, on the other hand, inadequately charging the contrary proposition that one is not criminally responsible when such acts of others were not done in the furtherance of the common design nor as the natural or probable result thereof. An analysis of the *507charge convinces the writer that the trial judge, albeit quite unintentionally, erred in this particular, especially in the light of inferences which might reasonably have been drawn from the evidence as to the actual commission of the murder. The entire charge consisted of approximately thirty pages in the record, of which about one-third were devoted to circumstances under which one could be held vicariously and criminally responsible for a homicide committed by another, including a number of specific illustrations. No example or illustration was given of circumstances under which one might not be vicariously liable and in only one instance, in a very few lines, was the jury told definitely that if the killing had “no connection with” the common purpose and did not ensue as a probable result of an attempt to execute it, the slayer alone would be responsible for the homicide. Under the evidence in this case, a cardinal issue to be determined by the jury was whether or not the homicide was or not committed in furtherance of a common felonious scheme and was or not a natural and probable result thereof. Under the circumstances, the appellants were entitled to a full and clear-cut instruction to the effect that if the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the homicide so occurred, the appellants should be acquitted of homicide.
For the foregoing reasons, I would grant all defendants a new trial. The exceptions and the briefs of counsel raise other quite serious questions which, in the view of the writer, are not squarely faced or adequately dealt with in the majority opinion. I shall briefly mention, but not endeavor to decide, some of these questions, since lengthy consideration thereof would be pointless in the absence of a majority of the Court concluding that the appellants are entitled to a new trial.
The Court declined a request to charge the law applicable to accessory after the fact to murder and the law as to manslaughter, the Court being of the view that all appellants were guilty of murder or nothing. As to accessory *508after the fact to murder, there was abundant evidence, in my view, from which the jury could have concluded that one or more of the appellants were guilty of the crime of accessory after the fact to a murder committed solely by Richards. The indictment did not contain a count charging accessory after the fact to murder, and I intimate no opinion as to whether such a charge is embodied within the greater charge of murder, or whether absent such a charge in the indictment a defendant is entitled to waive such and have submitted to the jury the issue of his guilt or innocence of such lesser offense. Assuming a defendant has such right, the evidence required the requested charge.
Counsel for appellants argue with some persuasiveness that appellants were entitled to a charge on the law of manslaughter, the theory being as follows. There is a considerable amount of authority from other jurisdictions for the proposition that, at least under some circumstances, crimes other than homicide committed by one under compulsion and duress are excusable. 22 C. J. S. Criminal Law § 44, p. 135; 21 Am. Jur. (2d) 180, Criminal Law, Sec. 100; Annotation 40 A. L. R. (2d) 908. Counsel concedes that the evidence does not make out a case of voluntary manslaughter within the traditional definition of that crime, but points to evidence tending to prove that one or more of the appellants participated in unlawful conduct, only under duress and coercion with the result that there was no malice on the part of such defendant or defendants, and the homicide, absent malice, could not have constituted murder as to such a defendant even though he was otherwise responsible for the homicide. Even if it. should be concluded, after careful examination, that this contention is without merit, I regard it as of sufficient seriousness to require consideration by the members of this Court.
There can be no doubt that horrendous crimes were coim mitted at the club house of the Dixie Dragons on the particular night, or that one or more of .the perpetrators de*509serve the maximum punishment allowed by law. The record, however,' to say the least, reflects quite varying degrees of moral, if not legal, culpability of the several defendants, and each of them was and is entitled to have fairly and properly determined just which crime or crimes, if any, he is guilty of. In fairness to the trial judge, it should be said that the trial was long, difficult and involved. Had he been afforded the benefit of carefully prepared requests to charge dealing with some of the propositions now argued before us, it is entirely possible that some of the issues on this appeal would not still be involved.
I would reverse and remand for a new trial.