Green v. State

887 So. 2d 840, 2004 WL 2093916
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided September 21, 2004·No. 2003-KA-00215-COA·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

887 So.2d 840 (2004)

Derrell Antonio GREEN, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2003-KA-00215-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 21, 2004.
Rehearing Denied November 30, 2004.

*842 Patrick Joseph McNamara, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, attorney for appellee.

Before BRIDGES and LEE, P.JJ., CHANDLER and GRIFFIS, JJ.

LEE, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Derrell Antonio Green was convicted of murder under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-19 (Rev.2002), sexual battery under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-95(a) (Rev.2000), kidnaping under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-53 (Rev.2000), and rape under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-65(3)(a) (Rev.2000). It is from these convictions that Green now appeals. Finding his assignments of error to lack merit, this Court affirms the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. During the night of December 11, 2001, Cynthia Green was brutally beaten, stabbed and choked to death.[1] The only witnesses to the murder were Mandy, Cynthia's friend, and Brandy, Cynthia's seven-month-old baby.[2] Around 8 p.m. that night Mandy picked Cynthia up at the home of Valerie Green, Cynthia's sister. Mandy and Cynthia picked up Brandy, Cynthia's baby, and drove to Cynthia's house at 206 Meadow Lane. Cynthia had apparently decided to spend the night with her sister, so the trio entered the house so that Cynthia could pack some clothing. Mandy sat on the couch with Brandy, and Cynthia walked around the apartment. According to Mandy, Cynthia was near the front door when she screamed. Derrell Green had entered the apartment, grabbed Cynthia by the shoulders and shoved her towards the couch. During the altercation Green shoved Cynthia's head through a wall and pummeled her face, striking and choking her. Green repeatedly threatened Mandy's life as he assaulted Cynthia. At one point, Mandy attempted to escape, but Green chased her and caught her in the neighbor's yard, telling her that he had a gun and he would shoot her. After they returned to the house, Green forced Mandy *843 to perform oral sex on him and raped her. After the rape, Green instructed Mandy to clean herself, and he followed her into the bathroom. While they were in the bathroom, Brandy crawled into the bathroom with them, and Mandy grabbed the child, holding the baby close to her chest.

¶ 3. Green then turned his attention to Cynthia, who was lying on the floor. Green began caressing Cynthia, saying, "I loved you. I loved you." Mandy testified that she could hear Cynthia making noises, and she begged Green to get off of Cynthia and leave the house. When Mandy tried to check Cynthia's pulse, Green again threatened to kill Mandy. Green finally let Mandy check Cynthia's pulse, and Mandy told Green that Cynthia was still alive. Mandy begged Green to let her call the paramedics, and to that Green responded, "She just won't die." At that time, Green forced Mandy and Brandy into Mandy's car, and he drove around Vicksburg. Cynthia's cell phone, which was in the vehicle, rang a number of times, and Green instructed Mandy how to answer the telephone, first forcing her to pretend that she was Cynthia, then having Mandy inform the callers that Cynthia was at Wal-Mart. While they were driving, Mandy begged Green to let her call her mom and tell her she loved her. To this Green responded "Mandy, I'm not going to kill you. Shut the f*** up." Darrell made a series of telephone calls from the car, first calling his mother. Darrell returned to the house, and shortly thereafter another car pulled up. Darrell retrieved the telephones from the kitchen and the back of the house, and stuffed the phones in a bag along with Mandy's cell phone and Cynthia's cell phone. Green then told Mandy not to move until 12 o'clock. Then Green told her not to move off the couch until 11 o'clock, telling her, "I know where you stay at. I will f*** you up. I will kill you. I know where you stay at." After Green left, Mandy got off the couch and locked the door. She then checked on Cynthia. While she was checking on Cynthia, there was a knock at the door, and Mandy asked the person to identify himself. When she realized that the person at the door was Tiffany, Green's sister, Mandy opened the door and told Tiffany to stay with Cynthia while she ran next door to call for help. Mandy dialed 911 from a neighbor's house, then called Cynthia's mother and Cynthia's sister. Cynthia was pronounced dead at the scene.

¶ 4. Green was indicted by the Warren County grand jury for murder, sexual battery, kidnaping and rape. Green was appointed two attorneys to aid in his defense. The jury convicted Green on all counts, and Green received a sentence of life for Cynthia's murder, thirty years for the sexual battery, thirty years for the kidnaping, and forty years for the rape. It is from this conviction that Green has timely filed his appeal. On appeal, Green argues the following three assignments of error: (1) whether the trial court erred in allowing the State to make certain comments during its closing arguments; (2) whether the jury verdicts were against the weight of the evidence; and (3) whether the trial court erred in proceeding to trial despite the State's failure to complete DNA testing on a washcloth retrieved from the crime scene.

¶ 5. Finding no merit to these issues on appeal, this Court affirms the judgment of the trial court.

DISCUSSION OF ISSUES

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN ALLOWING THE STATE TO MAKE CERTAIN COMMENTS DURING ITS CLOSING ARGUMENT?

*844 ¶ 6. As a general rule, prosecutors are to be given wide latitude in making their closing arguments. Wiley v. State, 691 So.2d 959, 965 (Miss.1997) (citing Jimpson v. State, 532 So.2d 985, 991 (Miss.1988); Johnson v. State, 477 So.2d 196, 209 (Miss.1985)); Shook v. State, 552 So.2d 841, 851 (Miss.1989). With that latitude in mind, the closing argument must be considered in context, considering the circumstances of the case. Id., citing Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1270 (Miss.1995); Davis v. State, 660 So.2d 1228, 1248 (Miss.1995). Notwithstanding the wide latitude afforded attorneys in closing arguments, "[t]he standard of review that appellate courts must apply to lawyer misconduct during opening statements or closing arguments is whether the natural and probable effect of the improper argument is to create unjust prejudice against the accused so as to result in a decision influenced by the prejudice so created." Sheppard v. State, 777 So.2d 659(¶ 7) (Miss.2000).

¶ 7. Green argues that the prosecutor made improper comments which effectively switched the burden of proof from the State to the defendant. Specifically, the prosecutor said the following during his closing argument:

MR. BULLARD: The Defendant has spent an awful lot of time attacking the State's case in its closing arguments but did you notice that he didn't spend any time on trying to support his client's own story about what happened. He is not even trying to tell you that is what happened because it is not supported by anything. The defendant's story fits in with what I'm trying to tell you happened. here. He can not accept what has happened and he has created an allusion [sic], a story-book tale in his mind and they are not even trying to get you to believe it.
MR

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Green v. State, 887 So. 2d 840, 2004 WL 2093916 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

887 So. 2d 840 (Green v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Brent Ryan v. State of Mississippi
245 So. 3d 491 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
Jimmy T. Brown v. State of Mississippi
226 So. 3d 102 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
Shannon Rayner v. State of Mississippi
186 So. 3d 881 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2015)
James v. State
86 So. 3d 286 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)
Steadham v. State
995 So. 2d 835 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2008)
Miller v. State
982 So. 2d 995 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2008)
Woods v. State
973 So. 2d 1022 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2008)
Magee v. State
966 So. 2d 173 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2007)
Huggins v. State
911 So. 2d 614 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2005)