Williams v. State

294 S.W.3d 674, 2009 WL 1635576
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided September 30, 2009·No. 01-07-00296-CR, 01-07-00297-CR·Published·Cited by 60 cases

Opinion

OPINION ON REHEARING

GEORGE C. HANKS, JR., Justice.

Appellant, Jamie Lynne Mosby Williams, has moved for rehearing of the Court’s opinion of February 12, 2009. After due consideration, the Court denies appellant’s motion. However, the Court sua sponte withdraws its judgment and opinion of February 12, 2009 and issues this opinion and judgment in their stead.

A jury found appellant guilty of capital murder and guilty of serious bodily injury to a child by omission. Punishment for both offenses was assessed at life imprisonment.

On appeal, appellant challenges her conviction for capital murder by arguing that (1) the evidence presented at trial was legally and factually insufficient to support her conviction for that offense, and (2) the trial court erred by not including an instruction to the jury on the lesser-included offense of serious bodily injury to a child. Appellant challenges her conviction for serious bodily injury to a child by omission by arguing that (1) the evidence presented at trial was legally and factually insufficient to support her conviction for that offense and (2) her right to be free from double jeopardy was violated when she was tried for both capital murder and serious bodily injury to a child by omission, because the latter is a lesser included offense of the former. Appellant further challenges both convictions by arguing that the trial court erred in admitting autopsy photographs and in excluding her expert’s testimony during the guilt/innocence stage.

We affirm.

Background

Appellant and her husband, DeMario Williams, lived with appellant’s two-year-old son, Joivonni Viverette, 1 in Missouri City, Texas. On August 6th, 2005, appellant’s neighbor, Christian Harris, saw Joi-vonni playing in appellant’s front yard while appellant and DeMario were preparing to cut the grass. At approximately 10:00 p.m., appellant and DeMario brought Joivonni to Christian’s garage, where Christian and several friends were listening to music. Witnesses testified that Joi-vonni appeared to be unconscious, and at least one witness testified that the child was not breathing. Several people at Christian’s house told appellant that Joi-vonni needed medical attention and offered to call an ambulance or drive them to the *679 hospital. Appellant declined the offer, explaining that they would call the ambulance themselves, and took Joivonni back to their house.

At around eleven o’clock the next morning, paramedic Terry White arrived at appellant’s house after receiving a call that a two-year-old child had suffered cardiac arrest. White testified that when he found Joivonni, the child was not breathing, had no pulse, and exhibited rigor mortis, indicating that he had been dead for at least 12 hours. White also stated that the child was covered in cuts, bruises, and puncture wounds at different stages of healing. White testified that DeMario told him that the child had fallen in the tub and down the stairs, and had been unconscious at one point, but emergency help was not sought because the child appeared to be “okay” after CPR was performed. White believed that abuse was involved and contacted the police.

Police initially questioned appellant and DeMario concerning Joivonni’s injuries. Both reiterated that Joivonni had fallen in the bathtub. However, appellant and De-Mario were interviewed a second time after autopsy results showed that Joivonni had multiple new and old injuries and severe head injuries. After the second set of interviews did not produce a more plausible explanation for the child’s injuries, police contacted the district attorney’s office. A grand jury indicted appellant for capital murder for intentionally and knowingly causing Joivonni’s death by use of a deadly weapon. Appellant was also charged in a separate indictment for serious bodily injury to a child by omission. Police went to appellant’s house with an arrest warrant and eventually found appellant and De-Mario hiding in the attic.

At trial, appellant moved to require the State to elect between the indictments for capital murder and serious bodily injury by omission. She also requested a jury instruction on injury to a child as a lesser-included offense of capital murder. The trial court denied appellant’s requests, and the jury convicted appellant as charged in both indictments. Because the State did not seek the death penalty, punishment for capital murder was automatically assessed at life imprisonment. Punishment for injury to a child was also assessed at life imprisonment.

Double Jeopardy

As part of her appeal of her conviction for serious bodily injury to a child by omission, appellant contends that the trial court violated her constitutional right against double jeopardy by allowing both the indictment for serious bodily injury to a child by omission and the indictment for capital murder to proceed to trial at the same time. Appellant argues that, since serious bodily injury to a child by omission is a lesser-included offense of capital murder, the trial court’s failure to require the State to elect between the two indictments subjected her to multiple punishments for the same conduct in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause. We disagree. 2

The Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution provides that no person shall be subjected to twice having life or limb in jeopardy for the same offense. U.S. Const, amend. V. Gen *680 erally, this clause protects against (1) a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, (2) a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and (3) multiple punishments for the same offense. Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 165, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 2225, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977); Ex parte Herron, 790 S.W.2d 623, 624 (Tex.Crim.App.1990) (op. on reh’g). However, “the Double Jeopardy Clause does not prohibit a legislature from authorizing cumulative punishments under two statutes that proscribe the same conduct[.]” Mauro v. State, 221 S.W.3d 896, 903 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2007, no pet.). Where a legislature specifically authorizes cumulative punishment under two statutes, regardless of whether those two statutes proscribe the same conduct, a prosecutor may seek, and the trial court or jury may impose, cumulative punishment under such statutes in a single trial. Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359, 368-69, 103 S.Ct. 673, 679, 74 L.Ed.2d 535 (1983); Mayhew v. State, 271 S.W.3d 294, 300 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2008, no pet.). “A defendant [only] suffers multiple punishments in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause when he is convicted of more offenses than the legislature intended.” Ervin v. State, 991 S.W.2d 804, 807 (Tex.Crim.App.1999).

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Williams v. State, 294 S.W.3d 674, 2009 WL 1635576 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

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