Ramos v. State

1968 OK CR 179, 445 P.2d 807, 1968 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 408
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 2, 1968
DocketA-14545
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1968 OK CR 179 (Ramos v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ramos v. State, 1968 OK CR 179, 445 P.2d 807, 1968 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 408 (Okla. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinions

BUSSEY, Judge.

David Town Ramos, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court of Oklahoma County for the crime of Rape in the First Degree and from the judgment and sentence fixing his punishment at imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of 99 years, he appeals.

Briefly stated, the evidence of the prose-cutrix was that on the evening of December 25, 1966, between the hours of 8:30 and 9:00 p. m., the defendant, a Mexican male, knocked on the door of her apartment and posing as an investigator advised her that he was investigating an armed robbery and desired to examine her apartment. The door to the apartment was latched, but open enough that she could see the defendant who placed his hands in his pocket as if he had a gun and gained admission to the apartment where he held her captive for approximately twenty-six hours prior to leaving her hound and gagged after criminally assaulting her. She testified that several times during this period of time she was raped by the defendant.

The defendant admitted to the arresting officer that he had sexual relations with her, but asserted it was with her consent. The investigating officer who took her statement the next day after this incident, testified on cross-examination that the prosecutrix told him that although several attempts had been made to ravish her, the defendant only accomplished one successful act of sexual intercourse. No evidence was offered on behalf of the defendant but the direction of the cross-examination of defense counsel substantially raised the issue of consent.

The defendant’s first assignment of error is that “the demeanor of the prosecuting attorney was substantially prejudicial to the defendant’s cause and materially affected his defense and right to a fair and impartial trial.” In this regard the defendant cites several insances in the prosecuting [809]*809attorney’s closing argument which he contends damaged his case and did not allow him a fair and impartial trial. In his brief, the defendant cites the following from the casemade at page 579:

“And I’ll say this to you, if you saw an animal that was rabid and mad you could kill it, and you would, wouldn’t you, you would get rid of it, wouldn’t you?”

In Williams v. State, 93 Okl.Cr. 260, 226 P.2d 989, the prosecutor made the following statements to the jury in his closing argument:

“Defendant was under the record the vilest type of character known to humanity.” [He has] “a warped brain, a degenerate mind.” [He] “should be killed just as a person would kill a rattlesnake.”

In Williams v. State, supra, this Court said:

“Courts are very liberal in allowing attorneys to present their views in their arguments to the jury and it is only when they purposely go outside of the record for the purpose of exciting the passion and prejudice of the jury so as to cause them to act in a biased manner will the courts interfere so as to set aside the verdict. As hereinabove stated the language used by the prosecutor was very forceful, but we cannot say that it was wholly unsupported by the record. In fact we think the record completely supports the references made to the accused. His guilt is completely shown. We agree with the prosecutor that an adult who would commit the acts done by the defendant shows that he is, ‘low-down, degenerate, and filthy.’ He richly deserves the punishment which he received.”

We are of the opinion that the record clearly defines the guilt of the defendant and that none of the statements made by the prosecutor in his closing argument as set out in defendant’s brief denied him of his right to a fair and impartial trial.

Finding this assignment of error without merit, we will consider defendant’s second assignment of error that “the trial court erred in its admission into evidence certain demonstrative evidence offered by the state and objected to by defense counsel.” The evidence referred to was Exhibit No. 4 which was a towel which the defendant had used to clean himself after having sexually assaulted the prosecu-trix and then used the towel to gag her. In his brief the defendant states:

“The defendant states that the introduction of this evidence so impassioned the minds of the jurors that under any circumstances the defendant could not have received a fair trial. The psychological effect of a prosecutor holding a semen-crusted towel, waving it before the eyes of a recoiling jury while backdropped by a diminuative, inarticulate Mexican accused of raping a previously virginal girl on Christmas Day in her own apartment is insurmountable by any means of defense. It is calculated unfairness, prejudicial, and repugnant. * * * ”

We observe that in his closing argument, appearing at page 543 of the casemade, counsel for defense had this to say:

“Apparently here is the Exhibit, that you have not had an opportunity to see. There is little, if anything, that you can see. You might be able to see a little bit more of it than I can. There appears to be some kind of stains on three different spots right here. There are two right here. They don’t correspond with this one.
Apparently you can see that all right. I don’t know whether you can or not. I will try to lift it up a little higher where you can see it. It’s here on the front side. Right in here it is.
Then, from the testimony this defendant here cleaned himself with this towel, if it was this towel. Now, let’s look rather closely, let’s see if we can see any type of stain whatsoever that would in any [810]*810[way] indicate that there were traces of blood there on it.
I can see none, maybe some of you can see better than I can looking at it. I can't find any stains at all. * * * ”

It thusly appears that the only towel waving before the jury was done by counsel for the defense and not by the prosecutor; however, we are of the opinion that since the defense interposed was one of consent, it was competent for the State to show that the towel was used to gag the prosecu-trix after having been tied and bound by the defendant a circumstance which, if believed by the jury, would be inconsistent with defendant’s claim of consent. Moreover, the binding and gagging of the prose-cutrix was so closely related to the offense charged as to be a part of the res gestae.

It is next contended that the sentence imposed was so excessive as to shock the conscience of the court. We have repeatedly held that:

“The statutory power granted to the Court of Criminal Appeals to modify a sentence of one convicted of crime and who has appealed will not be exercised unless court can conscientiously say from all the facts and circumstances that the sentence is so excessive as to indicate that the jury acted from partiality or prejudice.” Kelly v. State, Okl.Cr.App., 415 P.2d 187.

See also Cody v. State, Okl.Cr.App., 376 P.2d 625.

It is lastly contended that the trial court erred in refusing to allow counsel for defense to summons the jurors to testify in support of his Motion for a New Trial relative to whether or not there had been any unauthorized communication between them and the bailiff. We believe that the State has sufficiently answered this proposition in its brief wherein it is stated:

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Related

Costilla v. State
1980 OK CR 20 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1980)
Roberts v. State
1977 OK CR 166 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1977)
Lillard v. State
528 S.W.2d 207 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1975)
Brooks v. State
1975 OK CR 50 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1975)
Harris v. State
1974 OK CR 115 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1974)
Watts v. State
1971 OK CR 275 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1971)
Still v. State
1971 OK CR 175 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1971)
Turnbow v. State
1969 OK CR 92 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1969)
Ramos v. State
1968 OK CR 179 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1968 OK CR 179, 445 P.2d 807, 1968 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramos-v-state-oklacrimapp-1968.