Buckley v. State
| Docket Number: | 2002-KA-02123-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 06-22-2004 Opinion Author: Southwick, P.J. Holding: Reversed and rendered |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Capital murder - Arson - Defective indictment - Section 97-3-19(2)(e) - Section 97-17-1 - Section 97-17-7 Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Bridges, P.J., Thomas, Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-12-2002 Appealed from: Panola County Circuit Court Judge: Ann H. Lamar Disposition: CAPITAL MURDER: SENTENCED TO LIFE IN THE CUSTODY OF MDOC. District Attorney: Robert Kelly Case Number: CR-2001-58-LP1 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Arbie Jo Buckley a/k/a Arbie Jo Buckley House |
B. LEON JOHNSON |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JEFFREY A. KLINGFUSS |
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| Topic: | Capital murder - Arson - Defective indictment - Section 97-3-19(2)(e) - Section 97-17-1 - Section 97-17-7 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Arbie Jo Buckley was convicted of capital murder with the underlying felony of arson and sentenced to life. She appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Buckley argues that her indictment was fatally flawed since it did not specify the degree of arson with which she was charged. Section 97-3-19(2)(e), the statute cited in the indictment is the one for capital murder. It requires that a person have been killed while the perpetrator was in the act of committing one of several felonies other than a homicide. According to the indictment, the arson that Buckley was committing and during the course of which the victim was killed, was the setting of the victim himself on fire. The issue that this raises is whether intentionally putting a flammable liquid on a person and then causing it to ignite on the person constitutes the crime of arson. Neither section 97-17-1 nor section 97-17-7, arson crime statutes, supports the charging of arson for someone who deliberately and directly sets a person on fire. The elements set out in the indictment against Buckley only charged one felony -- that Buckley killed the victim by setting him on fire. That act is not a capital offense. In order for Buckley to be charged with capital murder, she must be charged with arson by setting the house trailer or sofa on fire and that she killed her husband as a result. Since the indictment does not charge the crime for which Buckley was convicted, the conviction is reversed. The defendant is remanded to the custody of the relevant sheriff to await action of the next grand jury. |
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