Court Opinion

ID: 9525991
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:10:11.027359+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:17:59.794269
License: Public Domain

Opinion Concurring in Result
DeBruler, J.
It was the duty of the jury in this case, upon finding the appellant guilty of carrying a pistol without a license, to fix the punishment. IC 1971, 35-8-2-1, being Burns § 9-1819. The punishment prescribed by statute for this offense is a determinate term of imprisonment of not less than one nor more than ten years, or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars. IC 1971, 35-23-4-14, being Burns § 10-4747.1 In my view, evidence that the appellant lost an eye at the time of the arrest was admissible. It was not admissible on the issue of whether the appellant was guilty or not, but it was admissible and the jury was entitled to hear it, because it would assist the jury in discharging its duty to fix punishment. Kistler v. State (1876), 54 Ind. 400; Blue v. State (1946), 224 Ind. 394, 67 N. E. 2d 377; Wilson v. State (1961), *137247 Ind. 680, 221 N. E. 2d 347. The physical impairment to the appellant as a result of the injury received at the time of arrest should be considered by the authority fixing the term of punishment. It is a detrimental consequence flowing to the appellant from his criminal act. One of the purposes of imprisonment intended to serve is the deterrence of future criminal conduct. While admittedly not the case here, surely evidence of a physical impairment would be admissible if it were of such a nature as to render a defendant incapable of repeating the crime for which he is convicted.
I believe it was error to exclude appellant’s evidence. However, witnesses did testify at trial without objection that the appellant was struck by police at the time of the arrest and that appellant received an eye injury and that shortly after the receipt of the injury, appellant’s eye was surgically removed. The error of the trial court was therefore harmless.
Note.—Reported in 292 N. E. 2d 810.

. Under the proposed Indiana Code of Criminal Procedure the jury-does not fix fines or punishment as it presently does. § 35-6.1-5-1.