Williams v. State
| Docket Number: | 2008-CT-00695-SCT Linked Case(s): 2008-KA-00695-COA ; 2008-KA-00695-COA ; 2008-CT-00695-SCT ; 2008-CT-00695-SCT ; 2008-CT-00695-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-10-2010 Opinion Author: Carlson, P.J. Holding: Reversed and remanded. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Murder - Lesser-nonincluded instruction on assisted suicide Judge(s) Concurring: Dickinson, Lamar, Kitchens and Chandler, JJ. Dissenting Author : Waller, C.J., Dissents With Separate Written Opinion Dissent Joined By : Graves, P.J., Randolph and Pierce, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY Writ of Certiorari: yes Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 09-27-2007 Appealed from: Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge: Andrew K. Howorth Disposition: David Jackson Williams was convicted of murder in the Lafayette County Circuit Court and sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment. District Attorney: BENJAMIN F. CREEKMORE Case Number: LK06-083 |
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| Note: | This opinion reverses and remands a previous opinion by the Court of Appeals. See the COA opinion at: http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO60773.pdf | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | David Jackson Williams |
DAVID G. HILL |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JOHN R. HENRY, JR. |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Murder - Lesser-nonincluded instruction on assisted suicide |
| Summary of the Facts: | David Williams was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The issue is whether the trial court erred by not granting Williams’s request for a lesser-nonincluded instruction on assisted suicide. The trial court refused Williams’s assisted-suicide instruction, reasoning that Williams was allowed an instruction on his theory of the case only if that theory involved a lesser-included offense. However, a defendant is entitled to an instruction on a lesser-nonincluded offense (also known as a lesser offense) under particular circumstances. If a lesser offense, as opposed to a lesser-included offense, arises from the same operative facts and has an evidentiary basis, the defendant is entitled to an instruction for the lesser charge the same as if it were a lesser-included charge. In deciding whether lesser included instructions are to be given, trial courts must be mindful of the disparity in maximum punishments. If disparity in the punishments does exist, the trial judge still cannot give the instructions on the basis of pure speculation. There must exist some evidence regarding the lesser included offense. Pursuant to section 97-3-49, Williams requested a lesser-nonincluded instruction on assisted suicide and not a lesser-included offense. The disparity of maximum punishments between the charged offense and the lesser-nonincluded offense is obvious: the punishment for murder is life imprisonment, and the maximum punishment for assisted suicide is ten years in the state penitentiary. Evidence in the record relevant to the instruction on assisted suicide includes conflicting expert testimony as to whether the victim committed suicide; evidence that the victim and Williams were depressed individuals involved in a romantic relationship and had entered a suicide pact; evidence that Williams had assisted the victim’s plans by helping her liquidate her bank account; evidence that Williams had assisted the victim by purchasing beer to facilitate the enactment of their suicide pact; evidence that the victim and Williams had been at Williams’s apartment in the days before the event, trying to remain undiscovered; evidence that Williams had facilitated the enactment of the suicide pact by providing kitchen knives; and evidence by way of Williams’s statement, which was before the jury, that the victim had stabbed herself. In viewing the totality of the evidence in the light most favorable to Williams, Williams’s statements to law enforcement, which were offered into evidence – combined with the other evidence in the record concerning the interactions between Williams and the victim – indicate that a hypothetical reasonable juror may have believed Williams’s version of events. Therefore, Williams’s conviction for murder and sentence of life imprisonment is reversed and remanded. |
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