Minnifield v. State
Minnifield v. State
Opinion
Willie Minnifield was indicted for and convicted of sodomy in the first degree, pursuant to §
The evidence is undisputed that on April 19, 1980, an act of sodomy, as defined in §§
The police officers located the boy by flashlight and testified that when he was discovered he was lying, nude from the waist down, beside the appellant. The appellant was not wearing any pants at the time.
An examination of the appellant's clothing revealed a mixture of blood and fecal matter on his undershorts, the bottom of his sweater, his undershirt and the front of his pants.
The appellant entered a plea of not guilty and testified that, although he remembered entering the abandoned house at approximately 7:30 p.m. to "sleep-off" the effect of some alcohol and drugs that he had consumed, he did not know where the boy came from and he did not touch the boy. He stated that he was on probation and parole at the time, and chose to sleep in the abandoned house rather than risk an arrest for public drunkeness. He testified that he had consumed six or seven beers, two "fifths" of wine and a half pint of gin during the day prior to entering the abandoned house at 7:30 p.m.
The only prejudice claimed by the appellant due to this trial delay is his incarceration between the arrest and trial. However, according to his own testimony, the appellant was on probation and parole at the time of his arrest in the instant case. For aught that appears in the record, his incarceration prior to his trial for the instant offense resulted from a revocation of his parole or probation or both.
In any event, we have reviewed the facts and circumstances of the delay in this case in light of the standards established inBarker v. Wingo,
"1. It is for you to determine the extent of the defendant's intoxication, and whether it operated to prevent his forming the intent necessary to constitute the crime."2. Whenever the actual existence of any particular purpose, motive, or intent is a necessary element to constitute a particular type or degree of crime, the jury may take into consideration the fact that the accused was intoxicated at the time, in determining the purpose, motive, or intent with which he committed the act. Any intoxication, not necessarily total, may be considered on the question of intent.
"3. The term `intoxication' means a condition resulting from the drinking of alcoholic beverages which impair a person's normal faculties — either of perception or will or judgment — so that he or she no longer has the capacity to know the nature of the act he is committing, or the capacity to form an intent to commit such an act."
Jury instructions, even those stating accurate legal principles, are properly refused if they are confusing or misleading or fail to relate such legal principles to the facts of the case at bar. See, Brown v. State,
Appellant's requested instruction on "intoxication" is generally faulty because it is incomplete, confusing and misleading. It contains more than one principle of law. It defines "intoxication" in a manner which is somewhat inconsistent with the definition of "intoxication" set forth in §
Furthermore, even if an "intoxication" instruction was justified by the evidence, the trial court will not be placed in error for failing to so charge because a proper instruction was not here requested by the appellant. Green v. State,
Moreover, there was evidence that the State's attorney did not even have a copy of the report. In any event, the appellant was not denied a copy of the report, because this is a public record which he could have obtained from the Auburn Laboratory Headquarters. (R. 93).
There being no error in this record, this case is due to be and is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur. BOWEN, P.J., in result only.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Willie Minnifield v. State of Alabama.
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published