Slaughter v. State
Slaughter v. State
Opinion
Murder; fifty years.
The appellant was indicted under Ala. Code §
On July 29, 1981, at approximately 5:00 P.M., the appellant, who was traveling in a southerly direction, crossed over the northbound lane of South Park Street in Dothan, jumped the curb and struck the victim as she was working in her front yard. The victim's body was thrown across her yard and across a driveway before it landed in a neighbor's yard forty-six feet from the point of impact. The victim died as a result of the extensive injuries she sustained from the collision.
Just prior to the collision appellant's station wagon was seen "fishtailing and ricocheting back and forth from one side to the other." The automobile was traveling "like it was out of control" and was exceeding the speed limit. There was no indication that appellant applied his brakes either before or after impact with the victim. The station wagon came to rest "several houses down" the street.
The appellant was described as being "intoxicated" and "staggering maybe somewhat" at the scene. Two or three empty beer cans were found inside appellant's station wagon as well as an unopened bottle of whiskey. Appellant volunteered to police officers at the scene that he was the driver of the station wagon and that he had "apparently blacked out or fell asleep momentarily and run off the roadway." Appellant further admitted that "he had had three or four drinks" and was sleepy.
A blood sample was taken from appellant with his consent approximately three hours after the incident. A laboratory analysis conducted by the Department of Forensic Sciences revealed that the ethyl alcohol level in appellant's blood at that time was .13 *Page 1367 percent.1 State Toxicologist Laura T. Shevlin testified that if the blood sample had been taken at the time the incident occurred, the ethyl alcohol level in appellant's blood would have been between 0.16 and 0.19 percent.
At approximately 2:20 P.M. on the day following the homicide, appellant made a voluntary statement in which he admitted that he was intoxicated at the time his station wagon struck the victim. Appellant stated that he had been drinking during the course of the day.
After the State rested its case appellant testified in his own behalf that his prior statement regarding the incident was essentially correct. He further stated that he did not eat anything on July 29, that he had last eaten around 3:00 or 4:00 P.M., on July 28. Appellant admitted that he had been arrested at least four other times for "DUI or DWI."
Appellant admitted once again that he had been drinking throughout the day prior to the incident, and that he "knew it was against the law to get in that condition and get out on the road." Appellant concluded that the wreck had occurred because "either I fell asleep or passed out one."
Moreover, even if the alleged error relating to the sufficiency of the evidence had been timely preserved, it is settled that, in appropriate circumstances, a homicide committed by an intoxicated driver of an automobile may be murder. Langford v. State,
Further, appellant's objection to the photograph of the unopened whiskey bottle was sustained by the trial court and it was not admitted into evidence. Therefore, there was no adverse ruling from which to appeal. Speigner v. State,
At the hearing on the motion for new trial appellant presented a witness, Ms. Betty Helms, who testified, in essence, that on the day of the incident she saw a pothole approximately two feet in diameter and six to ten inches deep in the northbound lane of South Park Street about a block or a block and a half from the scene of the accident. The pothole had been in the road for at least two weeks.
Ms. Helms testified that the following morning she noticed "two squad cars . . . guarding the hole." Around 4:00 P.M. that afternoon she observed that the pothole had been repaired. Ms. Helms related her observations concerning the pothole to appellant's counsel after reading about appellant's sentence in the paper. Ms. Helms did not report her knowledge about the pothole until after appellant's conviction because she "did not know who to contact."
From the testimony given by Ms. Helms, it cannot be said, as a matter of law, that the trial court abused its discretion in denying appellant's motion for new trial. The decision to grant or refuse a motion for a new trial rests largely in the discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion. Watson v. State,
The Alabama Supreme Court in Taylor v. State,
"(1) That the evidence is such as will probably change the result if a new trial is granted; (2) that it has been discovered since the trial; (3) that it could not have been discovered before the trial by the exercise of due diligence; (4) that it is material to the issue; and (5) that it is not merely cumulative or impeaching." 97 So.2d at 804. See also, Bland v. State,
390 So.2d 1098 ,1102 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied,390 So.2d 1109 (Ala. 1980).
Notwithstanding appellant's argument that the condition of the roadway was material and that the existence of the pothole and its subsequent repair could not have been discovered prior to trial by the exercise of due diligence, we are not persuaded that this new evidence would probably have changed the result if a new trial had been granted.
There is no hint anywhere in the record that appellant's station wagon hit the pothole prior to the collision. The pothole was in the northbound lane of the street and appellant was traveling in a southerly direction. The pothole was located a block to a block and a half from the point of impact. By appellant's own admission, the fatality occurred either because he "fell asleep or passed out one."
There appearing to be no error prejudicial to appellant's substantial rights, the judgment of the Houston Circuit Court is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David Samuel Slaughter v. State.
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published