Sims v. State
| Docket Number: | 2010-KA-00777-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-KA-00777-COA ; 2010-CT-00777-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-01-2011 Opinion Author: Carlton, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Capital murder - Sufficiency of evidence - Circumstantial evidence of kidnapping Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Myers, Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Maxwell and Russell, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 04-02-2010 Appealed from: Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court Judge: Prentiss Harrell Disposition: CONVICTED OF CAPITAL MURDER AND SENTENCED TO LIFE AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE OR PROBATION District Attorney: Haldon J. Kittrell Case Number: K2007-00400H |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Johnny Ray Sims |
LESLIE S. LEE
ERIN ELIZABETH PRIDGEN
CAROL LEATRICE JONES
DEBORAH J. GAMBRELL |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: LISA LYNN BLOUNT |
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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: | Capital murder - Sufficiency of evidence - Circumstantial evidence of kidnapping |
| Summary of the Facts: | Johnny Sims was convicted of capital murder and sentenced as a habitual offender to life without eligibility for parole or probation. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Sims argues that the evidence lacked legal sufficiency to support the conviction of capital murder. Sims submits that he was indicted for capital murder, not simple murder, due to the State’s claim that Sims killed the victim while in the process of kidnapping her. Sims claims that for the capital murder conviction to stand, the State bore the burden to prove each element of the underlying kidnapping offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Sims argues that the State failed to meet its burden of providing sufficient evidence to prove that Sims kidnapped the victim. Sims also asserts that only circumstantial evidence of kidnapping exists in the present case. However, direct evidence is unnecessary to support a conviction so long as sufficient circumstantial evidence exists to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In the present case, the bruises to the five-year-old victim’s face and neck, the evidence of strangulation, the removal of part of her clothing, and also the tears in her vaginal area all would indicate that force was used at some point in time to make her do something against her will. The State presented sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove the elements of kidnapping such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could have found that Sims inveigled the victim with the intent to cause her to be secretly confined or imprisoned against her will. |
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