State v. Powell

728 S.W.2d 622, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3781
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 17, 1987
DocketNo. 51167
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 728 S.W.2d 622 (State v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Powell, 728 S.W.2d 622, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3781 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

DOWD, Judge.

Defendant, Hubert Eugene Powell, appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict which found him guilty of murder in the first degree under § 565.020, RSMo 1986, for the death of his son, Hubert Clayton Powell. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. We affirm.

The jury could reasonably have found the following. On the evening of June 21, 1985 defendant, his son and his five-year-old grandson drove into the nearby town of Foley to buy cigarettes and to drink a few beers at the Foley Lounge. Upon returning to his trailer home, Clayton Powell remained outside and continued to drink beer. Defendant, who had gone inside the trailer home with his grandson, sent his grandson outside on an errand. As the grandson walked outside, Clayton Powell threatened “to whup” the boy. The threats ignited an argument between defendant and his son. As the argument continued, defendant retrieved and loaded his shotgun and placed it beside him inside the trailer. Clayton Powell then entered the trailer home where defendant fatally shot him in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The deputy sheriff arrived at the Powell residence in response to a call from defendant’s wife concerning an “unknown disturbance.” Upon his arrival, he found the victim lying in a pool of blood with a chest wound, and he saw the defendant seated at the table with his shotgun behind him. He also observed a knife lying beside the victim’s body. Subsequently, defendant voluntarily admitted that he shot his son and the deputy then arrested him.

In custody, defendant made several statements to the police regarding the sequence of events immediately before the shooting. In his first statement, defendant claimed that his son approached him with a knife in his hand. In his second statement, defendant maintained that his son carried a knife. Defendant later admitted however, that after the shooting, defendant directed his grandson to place a knife beside Clayton Powell’s body. In his final statement, defendant conceded that his son had never possessed a knife. Defendant also claimed that two weeks prior to the shooting his son had beaten him and that he was “scared” of his son. He stated the threats to the grandchild made his “blood ran hot” and made him reach for the gun without thinking.

During trial, an autopsy report on Clayton Powell revealed a blood alcohol content of .347 by weight per volume. (Section 577.037, RSMo 1986, allows a presumption of intoxication where there is .100 of one percent by weight of alcohol in a person’s blood). The expert witness who prepared the report testified that a blood alcohol level of .347 would severely impair Clayton Powell’s vision and motor skills, “rendering him incapable of initiating any effective assault.”

[624]*624At the close of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of first degree murder and sentenced defendant to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

Appellant contends that the trial court erred in: (l)(a) refusing his instruction on second degree murder which contained a provision necessitating the jury to find an absence of sudden passion; and (b) refusing his instruction on voluntary manslaughter; (2) denying his motion to suppress statements made during an unlawful arrest; and (3) not transferring the case to the Missouri Supreme Court pursuant to Rule 32.07(e)(4).

Appellant contends in his first point the trial court erred in refusing to submit a second degree murder instruction that required the jury to find an absence of sudden passion. In its instruction to the jury, the trial court submitted MAI-CR2d No. 13.02, the instruction on conventional murder in the first degree. As required by MAI-CR2d No. 13.02, the instruction contained the definition of deliberation as “a cool reflection upon the matter for any length of time, no matter how brief.” The trial court also gave a conventional second degree instruction to the jury which included a self defense paragraph. The trial court however, refused to submit defendant’s offered second degree instruction which included an optional paragraph. The optional paragraph states: “Third, that the defendant did not do so under the influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause.” The Notes on Use following MAI-CR2d No. 13.04 state: “If there is evidence supporting sudden passion arising from adequate cause, paragraph third must be given.” Defendant initially contends that sufficient evidence, based on his statements, exists to warrant inclusion of the third paragraph in the second degree murder instruction.

MAI-CR2d governs the submission of instructions on homicide offenses. Rule 28.02(c). The prejudicial effect of giving or failing to give an instruction in accordance with MAI-CR2d is to be judicially determined. Rule 28.02(e); State v. White, 622 S.W.2d 939, 943 (Mo. banc 1981). Such errors are presumptively prejudicial unless the contrary clearly appears. Id. To determine the existence of prejudicial error, the court must review all instructions as a whole. State v. Sallee, 436 S.W.2d 246, 252 (Mo.1969).

The trial court instructed the jury on first and second degree murder. Deliberation distinguishes first degree murder from second degree murder. State v. Endres, 698 S.W.2d 591, 594 (Mo.App.1985). The instruction on conventional second degree murder, MAI-CR2d No. 13.04, begins “if you do not find the Defendant guilty of murder in the first degree, you must consider whether he is guilty of murder in the second degree.” This directive requires the jury to fail to convict of the higher offense before a consideration of a lower grade of the offense. State v. Hacker, 214 S.W.2d 413, 416 (Mo.1948).

The jury found appellant guilty of murder in the first degree. This verdict necessitates a finding of deliberation. En-dres, supra. Upon finding evidence of deliberation, the jury would not have considered second degree murder regardless of whether the instruction contained a sudden passion provision. Therefore, the failure of the trial court to give a second degree murder instruction with the sudden passion provision was not prejudicial error.

Appellant also contends the trial court erred in failing to submit his requested voluntary manslaughter instruction. Defendant relies on State v. Ayers, 470 S.W.2d 534 (Mo. banc 1971); and State v. Patterson, 484 S.W.2d 278 (Mo.1972), to support his contention.

In Ayers, the appellant was charged with second degree murder but convicted of manslaughter. The appellant contended the instruction on manslaughter was error and that the appellant was guilty of second degree murder or not guilty at all. Ayers, supra at 537. The court disagreed and held that the existence of premeditation and malice was an issue within the province of the jury, and the court must instruct on both offenses. Appellant’s reliance on Ayers however, is misplaced. In Ayers, the [625]*625jury convicted appellant of manslaughter, the lesser charged offense. In the present case, the jury convicted of first degree murder and rejected the lesser offense of second degree murder. Ayers does not support appellant’s contention.

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Bluebook (online)
728 S.W.2d 622, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-powell-moctapp-1987.