Court Opinion

ID: 9771348
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 16:39:34.149509+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:28.717916
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, concurring in part; dissenting in part. The majority opinion is correct in concluding the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction of McNichols. It is incorrect in finding sufficient evidence to support the conviction of Ford. Therefore, I respectfully dissent in part. The statute on accomplice testimony, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-89-111(e)(1) (1987), provides: A conviction cannot be had in any case of felony upon the testimony of an accomplice unless corroborated by other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense. The corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows that the offense was committed and the circumstances thereof. We have amplified the statute by saying: “When the corroboration is weighed, the testimony of the accomplice must be completely disregarded. The independent testimony may be circumstantial, but it must be substantial evidence and must do more than raise a suspicion of guilt.” Combs v. State, 286 Ark. 74, 76, 690 S.W.2d 712, 712-713 (1985), citing Olles v. State, 260 Ark. 571, 542 S.W.2d 755 (1976). Excluding the testimony of McNichols’ nephew, who clearly was an accomplice, the majority opinion notes only testimony placing Ford at the tavern when the liquor was sold, in the car departing from the tavern with McNichols, and in the place where McNichols spent the night. While a witness disputed the alibi testimony given by Ford and Betty Lark, that does not tend to connect Ford with the commission of the offense. In its conclusion, the majority opinion emphasizes that the testimony of Jo Ann Wyllis connects Ford with the crime. She testified that she awoke to find McNichols, McNichols’ nephew, and Ford in her house along with the liquor and cigarettes. I know of no case holding that being in the presence of the fruits of a crime sufficiently tends to connect an accused to the crime’s commission to corroborate the testimony of an accomplice. Such a connection could only result if the circumstances were such that the accused’s presence could have hardly any other explanation, e.g., being in possession of the fruits of a crime, such as a stolen automobile. There is no substantial evidence tending to connect Ford with the crime other than the testimony of an accomplice. Without the testimony of McNichols’ nephew, Ford’s conviction can rest upon nothing other than guilt by association. I would reverse and dismiss Ford’s conviction. Combs v. State, supra.