Edwards v. State

2015 Ark. 377, 472 S.W.3d 479, 2015 Ark. LEXIS 584
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 22, 2015
DocketCR-15-494
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2015 Ark. 377 (Edwards v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. State, 2015 Ark. 377, 472 S.W.3d 479, 2015 Ark. LEXIS 584 (Ark. 2015).

Opinions

JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, Associate Justice

_JjA jury found appellant, Alan Ray Edwards, guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and a firearm enhancement, and he was sentenced to a total of sixty-five years’ imprisonment. The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions. Edwards v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 340, 464 S.W.3d 473. Edwards then petitioned this court for review, and we granted the petition. When we grant a petition for review, we consider the appeal ás‘ though it had been originally filed in this court, See, e.g., Bohannon v. Robinson, 2014 Ark. 458, at 4, 447 S.W.3d 585, 587. On appeal, Edwards argues that the circuit court abused its discretion in excluding expert-witness testimony concerning his lack of capacity to form intent. The decision to admit or exclude evidence is within the sound discretion of the circuit court, and we will not reverse that decision absent a manifest abuse of discretion or absent a showing of prejudice. Bruner v. State, 2013 Ark. 68, at 11-12, 426 S.W.3d 386, 393. We affirm the circuit | {.court.

The shootings occurred at Pop-A-Top Club in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A number of patrons and employees testified at the trial. To summarize, on August 28, 2012, Edwards offered a $200 tip to Eliza Beth McDaniel, a bartender, which she refused. Edwards nevertheless slipped the money into her unattended purse. The next day, Edwards returned to the bar and asked the bartehder if she had received the “surprise.” She unsuccessfully tried to return the money to Edwards. On August 31, 2012, he returned to the bar and asked if she would go out with him. Because- Edwards was married, she declined. Edwards then demanded the money back and threatened to kill her. She returned $62, which was all the money she had on her, and offered to return the remainder.in a few days. Edwards told her that she had better return the rest of the money or he would kill her and everyone in the bar. The bartender reported the incident to the owner and the manager, but rather than reporting it to the police, the owner and the manager decided that Edwards would no longer be allowed in bar.

On September 3, 2012, at 3:00 p.m., Edwards entered the bar and was told by the acting manager, Teresa Williams, that he could not enter the bar until he spoke with the owner. Edwards began arguing, and a customer, Toby Fowlks, told Edwards that he needed to leave. Edwards told Fowlks that he was not scared and that Fowlks could not-“kick” his “ass.” Fowlks chased Edwards out of the bar. Outside, Fowlks struck Edwards in the face, and Edwards left in his vehicle.

Less than ah hour later, Edwards Returned to the bar with a shotgun in his hands, and asked, ‘Where’s that son of a bitch that hit me?” After seeing Fowlks, Edwards said, “Oh, |sthere you are,” and shot Fowlks twice, killing him. Edwards then‘turned to the bartender and said, “Fuck you too.” He shot twice at her but she ducked behind a gaming machine, thus avoiding injury. When Edwards left the bar, other patrons at the bar'followed him, and after a struggle, the patrons were able to disarm Edwards.

Prior to trial, Edwards obtained the services of Dr. Albert Kittrell, an expert in the field of psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. Doctor Kittrell conducted an evaluation of Edwards in which he opined in his report that Edwards suffered from a mental disease — a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified — at the time of the offenses. Doctor Kittrell noted that, at the time of the offenses, “several factors impacted Mr. Edwards’s capacity for purposeful conduct” and that he was “experiencing considerable emotional upheaval.” Doctor Kittrell, however, opined that, even though Edwards was diagnosed with a mental disease and was psychotic at the time of the offenses, Edwards nonetheless did not lack the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and did not lack the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law at the time of the offenses. -In his summary, Dr. Kittrell noted that “Edwards had impairment, in his capacity to have culpable mental state required to establish an element of the offenses charged.”

At an in-camerá hearing on Edwards’s fitness to proceed, with the circuit court presiding, Dr. Kittrell was asked on what he “b'ase[d] the fact that [Edwards] had the impairment of the :.. culpable mental state?” Dr. Kittrell noted the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, meaning that “at some point he had lost contact with reality and when I saw him lie continued to' have ongoing impairment.” Doctor Kittrell noted that pEdwards told him that he hallucinated and heard voices and was suspicious and paranoid. Doctor Kittrell noted that Edwards had not received treatment for these conditions.

On the day of the trial, the State argued that Dr. Kittrell should not be allowed to testify that he did not believe that Edwards “had the ability to do a purposeful mental state.” In response, Edwards’s attorney asserted that Edwards was entitled to a defense and that the jury should determine whether he had a culpable mental state. The court took the motion under advisement, arid during the trial, the court ruled that “Dr. Kittrell cannot testify to his opinion as to whether [Edwards] had the capacity to form a purposeful intent.” The court instructed Dr. Kittrell that he could render an opinion on Edwards’s “ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law” but could not opine “as to his ability to form the requisite mental intent for this crime.”

During his testimony, Dr. Kittrell again opined that Edwards suffered from a mental disease, a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified. He noted that Edwards suffered from auditory hallucinations. The doctor further noted that Edwards was limited in his ability to handle stressful situations. On cross-examination, Dr. Kittrell testified that in his report he had opined that Edwards’s psychotic disorder did not render Edwards unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and did not render him unable to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

On appeal, Edwards asserts that Dr. Kittrell concluded that he lacked the capacity to form intent and that the circuit court erred in excluding that testimony. He argues that under Stewart v. State, 316 Ark. 153, 870 S.W.2d 752 (1994), while Dr. Kittrell could not testify as|Bto whether he actually formed the requisite intent during the commission of the offense, Dr. Kittrell was permitted to testify that he lacked the capacity to form intent. He asserts that the jury could have accepted Dr. Kittrell’s testimony on the presence of a merital disease and lack of capacity to form intent, while rejecting the notion that a person could simultaneously appreciate the criminality of his conduct and conform that conduct to the requirements of the law, and thus find him not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. He concludes that he was prejudiced by the circuit court’s ruling because his .entire, defense was that he lacked the capacity to form intent. He argues that, had the jury heard the testimony, there was a reasonable probability that the jury would have acquitted on the first-degree charges and given him a lesser sentence, or have acquitted on the lesser charges as Well. He further asserts that the circuit court denied him due process by depriving him of his only defense.

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Related

Edwards v. State
2017 Ark. 207 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2017)

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Bluebook (online)
2015 Ark. 377, 472 S.W.3d 479, 2015 Ark. LEXIS 584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-state-ark-2015.