Hawthorne v. State

881 So. 2d 234, 2003 WL 22390032
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedOctober 21, 2003
Docket2002-KA-01142-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 881 So. 2d 234 (Hawthorne v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawthorne v. State, 881 So. 2d 234, 2003 WL 22390032 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

881 So.2d 234 (2003)

Curtis David HAWTHORNE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2002-KA-01142-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

October 21, 2003.
Rehearing Denied February 10, 2004.

*235 Robert W. Davis, Christi R. McCoy, attorneys for appellant.

*236 Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, P.J., BRIDGES, J., and LEE, J.

LEE, J., for the Court.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. On May 16, 2002, a jury in the Circuit Court of Lee County found Curtis David Hawthorne guilty of manslaughter by culpable negligence. Hawthorne was subsequently sentenced to serve fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with seven years suspended, and he was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $325,000. From his conviction, Hawthorne appeals to this Court asserting the following issues: (1) the evidence at trial was insufficient as a matter of law to support the jury's verdict; and (2) the court erred in refusing to grant a mistrial after one of the jurors became ill.

FACTS

¶ 2. In November of 2000, Hawthorne, who is a resident of Virginia, was in Tupelo helping his father refurbish a hotel. During the days immediately preceding the accident, Hawthorne and his father began discussing religion for hours on end. Following these religious discussions, Hawthorne began to have feelings and sensations that he and his father interpreted as religious experiences. In reality, Hawthorne was experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia. Hawthorne began to hear what he believed to be the voice of God or the Devil. He also began to believe that he was in Hell, that the day of judgment was at hand, that the television was sending messages to him from God or the Devil, that he was going back in time, and that the presidential election of 2000 was being held specifically for him. Hawthorne was observed walking around in a trance and praying in the rain. After experiencing these feelings, Hawthorne believed that he had to go home to Virginia in order to deliver a cross to his daughter, cure his wife's cancer, and be home before the world came to an end.

¶ 3. On the morning of November 15, 2000, Hawthorne, still under the impression that he had to get to Virginia, borrowed his father's truck and proceeded down South Gloster Street at a high rate of speed. In his state, Hawthorne believed that he was in God's truck, that no matter what direction he drove he would reach Virginia, and that his truck would pass through any obstacles he might encounter. At the intersection of Green Street and Gloster Street, Hawthorne proceeded through the red light and struck the car driven by Jeffrey McGrew, who died at the scene.

¶ 4. After the accident, Hawthorne proceeded to exit his truck and run south on Gloster Street. Hawthorne was quickly apprehended and taken to the sheriff's department. After attempts at interrogation, during which Hawthorne exhibited erratic behavior, Hawthorne was transported to North Mississippi Medical Center where he was examined by the emergency room physicians and a psychiatrist.

DISCUSSION OF ISSUES

I. WAS THE EVIDENCE AT TRIAL INSUFFICIENT AS A MATTER OF LAW TO SUPPORT THE JURY'S VERDICT?

¶ 5. In his first issue, Hawthorne claims that no reasonable and fair-minded juror could have found him guilty based on the evidence presented by the State. Hawthorne contends that the State did not meet its burden of proof in establishing sanity beyond a reasonable doubt and, *237 therefore, the judge should have granted Hawthorne's motion for a directed verdict. After the jury returned a guilty verdict, Hawthorne filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which was also denied.

¶ 6. We look to our standard of review regarding motions for a directed verdict or a JNOV.

In deciding whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict, the Court should accept as true all credible evidence consistent with the defendant's guilt and the State must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. A reviewing court should only reverse where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty.

George v. State, 812 So.2d 1103(¶ 13) (Miss.Ct.App.2001) (citation omitted). If the trial court denies the motions and that denial is raised as an issue on appeal, this Court is charged to review the evidence by the same standard to determine whether the trial court erred in so ruling. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 781 (Miss.1993).

¶ 7. Mississippi still follows the M'Naghten test for determining a person's sanity at the time of the crime. Russell v. State, 729 So.2d 781, 784 (Miss.1997). Under the M'Naghten test, it must be proved that at the time of committing the act the accused "was laboring under such defect of reason from disease of the mind as (1) not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or (2) if he did know it, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong." Roundtree v. State, 568 So.2d 1173, 1181 (Miss.1990). More succinctly, the test is whether the accused did not know right from wrong at the time of committing the act. Russell, 729 So.2d at 784.

¶ 8. There is a presumption that an accused is sane and, therefore, the burden is initially on the accused to introduce evidence creating a reasonable doubt as to his sanity at the time of the act. Once the accused has overcome this initial burden, it then becomes the burden of the State to present sufficient evidence to prove the accused's sanity beyond a reasonable doubt. Davis v. State, 551 So.2d 165, 173 (Miss.1989). The issue of insanity is for the jury to determine. Yarbrough v. State, 528 So.2d 1130, 1130 (Miss.1988). The jury may accept or reject expert and lay testimony in making its determination. Gill v. State, 488 So.2d 801, 802 (Miss.1986). However, if the jury's determination is not supported by substantial evidence, then this Court will reverse. Gerlach v. State, 466 So.2d 75, 79 (Miss.1985).

¶ 9. According to the record, we find that a reasonable doubt was created as to Hawthorne's sanity at the time of the accident. Hawthorne's father testified about their religious conversations in the days preceding the accident. Although his father testified that he thought Hawthorne knew right from wrong at the time he accepted the Lord, he could not be sure if his son retained this thought. The defense called three physicians who were experts in psychiatry and who had seen Hawthorne at some point after the accident. Dr. Mark Webb, who specializes in general and forensic psychiatry, interviewed Hawthorne a few weeks after the accident. After the interview and the review of Hawthorne's records, Dr. Webb determined that Hawthorne had suffered a brief psychotic episode, generally called a "first break," and that Hawthorne was manic depressive or bipolar. Dr. Webb also determined that Hawthorne did not know right from wrong at the time of the accident *238 nor did he have the capacity to understand the nature and quality of his actions.

¶ 10. Dr. Harrison Evans, a psychiatrist, saw Hawthorne on the day of the accident in the emergency room. Dr. Evans was called by the emergency room physician to evaluate Hawthorne for possible admission to the behavioral health unit. During the examination, Dr.

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Related

Hawthorne v. State
883 So. 2d 86 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2004)
Curtis David Hawthorne v. State of Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2002

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881 So. 2d 234, 2003 WL 22390032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawthorne-v-state-missctapp-2003.