Williams v. State

736 So. 2d 1134, 1998 WL 737963, 1998 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 241
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided October 23, 1998·No. CR-97-0363·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

BROWN, Judge.

The appellants, Lawrence Paultice Williams (“Williams”), and Mark Antonio Thompkins (“Thompkins”), were jointly tried for the murder of William Glen Richardson. Both Williams and Thompkins were convicted of reckless murder, a violation of § 13A-6-2(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975, and were sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment.

ISSUES COMMON TO BOTH WILLIAMS AND THOMPKINS

I.

Williams and Thompkins contend that the trial court erred in granting the state’s motion to consolidate their cases, arguing that consolidation was unfairly prejudicial because, they say, their defenses were mutually exclusive and antagonistic.

This case stemmed from an incident that took place in a cul-de-sac surrounded by an apartment complex. As many as 50 persons were gathered at an outdoor party, including Williams and Thompkins. Williams and Thompkins got into an argument that culminated in an exchange of gunfire between them. During the exchange one innocent bystander, William [1137]*1137Glen Richardson, was killed and another bystander was wounded. The state medical examiner determined that Richardson died from multiple gunshot wounds; however, he was unable to ascertain whether Williams’s gun or Thompkins’s gun had fired the fatal shots.

Rule 13.3(c), Ala.R.Crim.P., states:

“(c) Consolidation. If offenses or defendants are charged in separate indictments, informations, or complaints, the court on its own initiative or on motion of either party may order that the charges be tried together or that the defendants be joined for the purposes of trial if the offenses or the defendants, as the case may be, could have been joined in a single indictment, information, or complaint. Proceedings thereafter shall be the same as if the prosecution initially were under a single indictment, information, or complaint. However, the court shall not order that the offenses or the defendants, as the case may be, be tried together without first providing the defendant or defendants and the prosecutor an opportunity to be heard.” “A trial court’s decision to consolidate is entitled to deference on appeal and will not be overturned absent a showing of an abuse of discretion. Curry v. State, 601 So.2d 157, 160 (Ala.Cr.App.1992); Gladden v. State, 551 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Cr.App.1989). In order to show that the trial court abused its discretion in consolidating the cases for trial, the appellant must show that consolidation resulted in an unfair trial and that the appellant ‘ “suffered compelling prejudice against which the trial court was unable to afford protection.” ’ Curry, 601 So.2d at 160 (quoting United States v. Webster, 734 F.2d 1048, 1052 (5th Cir.) cert. denied sub nom., Hoskins v. United States, 469 U.S. 1073, 105 S.Ct. 565, 83 L.Ed.2d 506 (1984)). The test for determining whether a trial court erred in consolidating two or more criminal cases is whether the defenses presented by one defendant were so ‘antagonistic that [the defenses] are “irreconcilable and mutually exclusive” and “the jury, in order to believe one defendant, must necessarily disbelieve the other defendant’s defenses.’” Hill v. State, 481 So.2d 419, 424 (Ala.Cr.App.1985).”

Neither Williams nor Thompkins argues that the trial court’s consolidation violated the provisions of subsections (a)1 or (b)2 of Rule 13.3. Rather, the appellants argue that consolidation was unfairly prejudicial because, they say, their defenses were mutually exclusive and antagonistic.

Gibbs v. State, 695 So.2d 649, 652-53 (Ala.Cr.App.1996). See also Jones v. State, 672 So.2d 1366, 1370 (Ala.Cr.App.1995) (wherein this court, quoting from Greathouse v. State, 624 So.2d 202, 205 (Ala.Cr.App.1992), stated that “[t]he burden is on defendants to show that an antagonistic defense would present a conflict ‘so prejudi-[1138]*1138eial that defenses are irreconcilable, and the jury will unjustifiably infer that this conflict alone demonstrates that both are guilty.’ ”). However, even if the appellants show that their defenses were antagonistic, “mutually antagonistic defenses are not prejudicial per se.” Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 538, 113 S.Ct. 933, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993); United States v. Talley, 108 F.3d 277, 280 (11th Cir.1997). Moreover, hostility among defendants or the desire of one defendant to exculpate himself by inculpating the other are both insufficient grounds to require that cases be severed. Hill v. State, 481 So.2d 419, 424 (Ala.Cr.App.1985). See also Jones, 672 So.2d at 1370 (the trial court is not necessarily required to sever cases, even if the defendants try to cast blame on each other). Accordingly, the appellants’ grounds, without more, were insufficient to require the court to deny the state’s motion to consolidate.

The appellants failed to show that they suffered any compelling prejudice resulting from the assertion of antagonistic or mutually exclusive defenses. Their convictions for reckless murder negated any claim of self-defense, thus precluding any defense based on each accusing the other of firing the first shot. See Lacy v. State, 629 So.2d 688, 689 (Ala.Cr.App.1993) (a claim of self-defense serves as an admission that one’s conduct is intentional; a person cannot recklessly or negligently defend himself). Moreover, defendants are not entitled to severance “merely because they may have a better chance of acquittal in separate trials.” Zafiro, 506 U.S. at 540, 113 S.Ct. 933. Consequently, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the state’s motion to consolidate the cases for trial.

II.

Williams and Thompkins claim that the trial court erred in denying their motions for a judgment of acquittal with respect to the charges of reckless murder. The indictments read as follows:

“Lawrence Paultice Williams [or Mark Antonio Thompkins] whose name is to the Grand Jury otherwise unknown than as stated, did, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, recklessly engage in conduct which created a grave risk of death to other persons, and thereby cause the death of William Glen Richardson, to-wit: by shooting him with a gun, in violation of § 13A-6-2 of the Code of Alabama, against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama.”

(C. 6-7; 43-44.) The appellants claim that the state did not prove causation. Specifically, they assert that the state failed to prove which of the two fired the fatal shots. Williams stated, in making his motion for a judgment of acquittal:

“Mr. White [Williams’s attorney]: Yes, sir. At this point in time, Judge, on behalf of Lawrence Paultice Williams, I would move for a judgment of acquittal on the grounds that the State has failed to prove a prima facie case and the state has also failed to prove the corpus de-licti.”

(R. 241-42.) The basis for this issue is the following excerpt from the record:

“The Court: Mr. DA’s, I got a real problem with Count I [intentional murder] in these indictments.
“Mr.

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Williams v. State, 736 So. 2d 1134, 1998 WL 737963, 1998 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 241 (Ala. Ct. App. 1998).

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