State v. Butler

197 So. 3d 179, 2016 WL 3002002, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1009
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 25, 2016
DocketNo. 50,582-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 197 So. 3d 179 (State v. Butler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Butler, 197 So. 3d 179, 2016 WL 3002002, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1009 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CARAWAY, J.

h Joseph Butler was convicted in a bench trial of manslaughter and subsequently adjudicated a second felony offender. He was sentenced to 28 years at hard labor. Butler.appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm the conviction and amend the sentence to reinstate the imposition of sentence without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence.

Facts

In the late afternoon hours of December 21, 2012, Shreveport police were dispatched to the Shreveport home of Carolyn Butler. When police entered the home, they found the lifeless body of Butler’s boyfriend, Larry Patterson,' in the bedroom of Butler’s 36-year-old son, Joseph. Patterson had been shot twice,- including a fatal shot to the head. Carolyn Butler had witnessed Patterson and'Joseph exchange angry words and saw them both’ head to Joséph’s bedroom. She heard gunshots and left the home. As she was trying to get into her car, she saw Joseph trying to open a package of noodle sauce.

Carolyn drove down the street to a school where she called her other son, who [182]*182was a Shreveport police ofScer. Within a short time after the discovery of Patterson’s body, Joseph Butler turned himself in to police. Butler had what lab tests later confirmed to be Patterson’s blood on his clothing. Police located a handgun on the roof of the garage at Carolyn Butler’s home and six cartridge casings in Joseph Butler’s room.

On February 20, 2013, Butler was charged by bill of indictment with the second degree murder of Patterson. On August 28, 2013, Butler filed a ^motion requesting the appointment of a sanity commission to determine both his competency to stand trial and his sanity at the time of the alleged offense. The trial court granted the motion and appointed Drs. Marc Colon and George Seiden to evaluate Butler. On November 5, 2013, a sanity hearing was held. The physicians’ reports were provided to the trial court without argument. Based on the reports, the trial court found Butler competent to stand trial.

On February 13, 2014, Butler amended his initial plea of not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity. He waived his right to a jury trial and a bench trial commenced on July 1, 2014. On July 8, 2014, following the presentation of evidence and closing arguments, the trial court found Butler guilty of manslaughter and ordered the preparation of a presentence investigation report (PSI).

On July 23, 2014, Butler requested a judgment of acquittal by reason of insanity alleging that the evidence adduced at trial proved that he was unable to determine right from wrong at the time of the shooting as evidenced by his irrational behavior at the time of the offense.1 Although Butler admitted to throwing the gun on the roof of his mother’s garage after the shooting, he noted that he did not wipe it clean or remove any of the shell casings from the scene of the crime. Butler walked around with blood on his clothing after killing Patterson and was due for an injection of | .¡Risperdal five days after the shooting. After argument, the trial court denied the motion on August 12, 2014.

On September 24, 2014, the state filed an habitual offender bill of information charging Butler as a second felony offender. In particular, the bill alleged that the defendant had been convicted of theft of goods, second or subsequent offense, on May 31, 2011. On May 27, 2015, the trial court adjudicated Butler a second felony offender and ultimately sentenced him to 28 years at hard labor without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. The trial court further ordered that Butler be offered all mental health treatment available while incarcerated.

On June 23, 2015, Butler filed a motion to reconsider his sentence asserting that it should not have been imposed without the benefit of probation or suspension of sentence due to the age of the victim. On July 13, 2015, the trial court granted Butler’s motion and amended his sentence to remove the probation and suspension of sentence restrictions. Butler then appealed his conviction and sentence.

Discussion

On appeal, Butler raises four assignments of error. In his first two arguments he urges that the trial, court erred in finding him guilty of manslaughter because he was insane at the time of the offense. Butler concedes that he shot Patterson, but claims that the evidence adduced at trial proves that he did not know right [183]*183from wrong at the time. In support of his position, Butler points out that the argument that led to Patterson’s death was trivial. He argues that both Drs. Seiden and Colon agreed that Butler Usuffers from schizophrenia and that Dr. Seiden noted Butler’s history of psychotic disorder. Further, Butler argues that the fact he gave Dr. Seiden a different version of facts from what the evidence showed at trial, indicated he had very little memory of the events leading to Patterson’s death. Finally, Butler points to the testimony of his family members as anecdotal evidence of his mental illness. Butler also urges error in his second felony offender adjudication and the excessiveness of his sentence.

Sufficiency of the Evidence/Sanity

Louisiana law presumes a defendant is sane and responsible for his or her actions. La. R.S. 15:432. A defendant who wishes to rebut the presumption must prove the affirmative defense of insanity by a preponderance of the evidence that, because of a mental disease or mental defect, he was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong with reference to the conduct in question. La.C.Cr.P. art. 652; La. R.S. 14:14; State v. Holder, 50,-171 (La.App.2d Cir.12/9/15), 181 So.3d 918. All evidence, including both expert and lay testimony, along with defendant’s conduct and actions before and after the crime, may be considered in determining whether the defendant has met his burden of proof on an insanity defense. Holder, supra.

In reviewing a claim of insufficiency of evidence in regard to a defense of insanity, this court applies the test. set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The appellate court, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, determines whether any rational trier of fact could have found [¡¡that the defendant had not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that she was insane at the time of the offense. State v. Armstrong, 94-2950 (La.4/8/96), 671 So.2d 307; State v. Peters, 94-0283 (La.10/17/94), 643 So.2d 1222; State v. Sepulvado, 26,948 (La.App.2d Cir.5/10/95), 655 So.2d 623, writ denied, 95-1437 (La.11/13/95), 662 So.2d 465.

The determination of sanity is a factual matter reserved to the jury or other fact finder. Expert testimony is relevant to the issue of whether a defendant is insane, but even where experts opine that the defendant is insane, the issue is for the jury to decide. Sepulvado, supra. Th'e fact finder’s decision should not be overturned unless no rational juror could have found the defendant failed to prove his insanity at the time of the offense. State v. Sharp, 418 So.2d 1344 (La.1982); Holder, supra.

All evidence, including expert and lay testimony, besides the defendant’s conduct and actions, should be reserved for the fact finder to establish whether the defendant has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time of the offense.

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

Related

State v. David Arthur Smith
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
197 So. 3d 179, 2016 WL 3002002, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1009, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-butler-lactapp-2016.