State v. Odom

760 So. 2d 576, 2000 WL 562811
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 10, 2000
Docket33,340-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 760 So. 2d 576 (State v. Odom) 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. Odom, 760 So. 2d 576, 2000 WL 562811 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

760 So.2d 576 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Cecil ODOM, Appellant.

No. 33,340-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

May 10, 2000.

*579 Louisiana Appellate Project by Gwendolyn K. Brown, Baton Rouge, Allan R. Harris, Shreveoprt, James E. Calhoun, Natchitoches, Counsel for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Catherine M. Estopinal, Ross S. Owen, Assistant District Attorneys, Counsel for Appellee.

Before BROWN, PEATROSS, KOSTELKA, JJ.

KOSTELKA, J.

A unanimous jury found Cecil Odom ("Odom") guilty of two counts of first degree murder, La R.S. 14:30. After the jury failed to agree on a sentence, the trial court imposed consecutive life sentences, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence, on each count. Odom appeals his convictions. We affirm.

FACTS

On the morning of July 25, 1997, Odom and his eighteen-year-old adopted daughter, Casey Dempsy Odom ("Casey"), traveled out of town[1] to pick up Casey's grandmother, Opal Marie Anglin ("Anglin"). Casey and her grandmother planned to leave for a North Carolina vacation the following day. The three returned to the Odom home at approximately 1:30 p.m. Thereafter, Odom went to work. Sharon Odom ("Sharon"), Odom's wife of fifteen years, returned from work at approximately 5:30 p.m. Sometime later, Odom called Sharon and asked her to pick up something from him at work when she, Casey and Anglin went out to eat. After doing so, the three returned home at approximately 8:00 p.m. and prepared for bed. Odom returned home from work at approximately 10:15 p.m. Thereafter, Anglin went to bed in Casey's room. At some point, Casey and Odom began to argue; Casey called Odom "stupid." Odom told Casey to go to bed. She complied. When Sharon asked Odom if he was all right, he told her to leave him alone so that he could cool down. Sharon also went to bed.

In his statement to police, Odom claimed to have then sat in his living room recliner thinking of ways to retaliate against Casey for hurting him. He retrieved a butcher knife from the kitchen, but then went to bed because he had not slept for three days. Because Odom's sleep attempts were thwarted by Sharon's snoring, he placed a pillow over her face and stabbed her multiple times. Sharon screamed for Casey, ran out of the bedroom and hid behind the living room couch and attempted to call 911. When she saw Odom go to Casey's room, Sharon ran out of the house and waited by the door. When Odom confronted Anglin in the bedroom she was sharing with Casey, Odom fatally stabbed Anglin numerous times. He then grabbed Casey, throwing her across the room and stabbing her in the throat, severing her carotid artery. Casey fled the room and from outside Sharon saw her fall in the foyer. At some point, Odom removed Casey's shorts and panties. Odom saw Sharon standing outside and yelled for her to come into the house, but she went to a neighbor's house. Odom then stabbed himself in the abdomen and called 911, reporting that he had stabbed himself, his wife, daughter and her grandmother and that an ambulance was needed.

When police arrived, Odom was seated in his recliner with a knife protruding from *580 the right side of his stomach. Casey, then still alive, was transported to a hospital where she later died after surgery. Anglin was pronounced dead at the scene. Police arrested Odom who confessed that he knew what he was doing and had planned to do it.

DISCUSSION

Insanity Defense

Contesting the verdict as insufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, Odom argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of two counts of first degree murder. Specifically, Odom claims that the jury erred in finding that he did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time of the offenses and, therefore, could not have possessed the requisite specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm. Odom does not dispute that he murdered Casey and Anglin.

Specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm is an element of first degree murder. La. R.S. 14:30. Specific intent is a state of mind and need not be proved as a fact; it may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction and the actions of the defendant. State v. Graham, 420 So.2d 1126 (La.1982); State v. Fuller, 414 So.2d 306 (La.1982). Specific intent is that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that an offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act. La. R.S. 14:10(1). The determination of whether the requisite intent is present in a criminal case is for the trier of fact. State v. Huizar, 414 So.2d 741 (La.1982).

In reviewing the correctness of such a determination, the court should review the evidence in the light most favorable to the state and must determine if the evidence is sufficient to convince a reasonable trier of fact of the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

In Louisiana, a legal presumption exists that a defendant is sane at the time of the offense. La. R.S. 15:432. To rebut the presumption of sanity and to avoid criminal responsibility, the defendant has the burden of proving the affirmative defense of insanity by a preponderance of the evidence. La.C.Cr.P. art. 652; State v. Silman, 95-0154 (La.11/27/95), 663 So.2d 27, 32. Criminal responsibility is not negated by the mere existence of a mental disease or defect. To be exempted from criminal responsibility, the defendant must show he suffered a mental disease or defect that prevented him from distinguishing between right and wrong with reference to the conduct in question. La. R.S. 14:14; State v. Silman, supra.

The determination of sanity is a factual matter. State v. Sepulvado, 26,948 (La.App.2d Cir.05/10/95), 655 So.2d 623, writ denied, 95-1437 (La.11/13/95), 662 So.2d 465. All evidence, including expert and lay testimony, along with 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. Lay testimony concerning the defendant's actions, both before and after the crime, may give the fact-finder a rational basis for rejecting unanimous medical opinions that the defendant was legally insane at the time of the offense. State v. Silman, supra.

Expert testimony is relevant to the issue of whether the defendant is insane, but even where experts opine that the defendant is insane, the issue is for the jury to decide. State v. Horne, 28,327 (La.App.2d Cir.08/21/96), 679 So.2d 953, writ denied, 96-2345 (La.02/21/97), 688 So.2d 521; State v. Sepulvado, supra.

On appeal, the relevant inquiry is, whether under the facts and circumstances of the case, any rational fact-finder, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable *581 to the prosecution, could conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time he committed the offense. State v. Silman, supra.

After due consideration of the evidence presented at trial regarding the issue of Odom's insanity defense, we find no error in the jury's determination that he possessed the requisite specific intent to commit the two murders.

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Bluebook (online)
760 So. 2d 576, 2000 WL 562811, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-odom-lactapp-2000.