State v. Butler
State v. Butler
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The appellant, Terry W. Butler, was convicted of murder in the second degree by a jury of his peers. The trial court, finding that the appellant was a standard offender, imposed a Range I sentence of confinement for twenty (20) years in the Department of Correction.
The appellant presents five issues for review. He contends that the evidence contained in the record is insufficient, as a matter of law, to support a finding by a rational
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. The sentence is reduced to twelve (12) years.
The appellant was addicted to cocaine. He told a TBI agent that he was “strung out on cocaine real bad” when he committed the crime in question. On the evening of May 24, 1984, he had ingested cocaine “all night.” On the morning of May 25, 1984, at approximately 8:30 a.m., the appellant went to the basement of his residence and ingested more cocaine.
The appellant noticed that “someone was standing approximately five feet” from him. The appellant was not able to determine the identity of the person due to the poor lighting conditions. He was startled and scared. He turned and fired a pistol
According to the appellant, he panicked. He wrapped the victim’s body in a carpet that was in the basement. He left the victim’s body in the basement from Friday until Monday. He then transported the body to the service station where he worked. He placed the body, still wrapped in the carpet, in a storage room. The appellant approached two people to assist him in moving and disposing of the body. Neither person would assist him. Finally, the owner of the service station told him: “[G]et it [the victim’s body] out of here. And you get out of here.” That night the appellant placed the victim’s body in a dumpster behind the service station. He assumed that the body was taken to the land fill. The owner of the service station apparently fired the appellant for hiding the victim’s body at the service station.
At the time he killed the victim, the appellant was married and living with his wife. However, he was having an affair with Myra Cheek. He told Cheek that “he had killed a man over a drug deal ... in some empty house, and had wrapped his body up in [a] carpet, and put it in the storage room at the [s]ervice [s]tation.” Later, she drove to the service station and went to the storage room where the victim’s body was stored to satisfy her curiosity. The smell was “unbearable.” There were a “lot of flies around the door” leading to the storage room. She filled her car with gas and left the station.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation assisted the sheriff in the investigation that commenced after the victim was discovered missing. An agent talked to the appellant during a routine scouring of the neighborhood. In 1985, Cheek gave a statement to a TBI agent. The appellant was interviewed again. On both occasions he stated he did not know why the victim had disappeared.
In 1991, the appellant told his pastor that he had killed the victim. A few months later he told his wife. He subsequently gave a statement to a TBI agent. He also gave a statement to the local sheriff. He was arrested and charged with killing the victim after the latter statement.
I.
A.
When an accused challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, this Court must review the record to determine if the evidence adduced at trial is sufficient “to support the finding by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In determining the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, this Court does not reweigh or reevaluate the evidence.
Questions concerning the credibility of the witnesses, the weight and value to be given the evidence, as well as all factual issues raised by the evidence are resolved by the trier of fact, not this Court.
Since a verdict of guilt removes the presumption of innocence and replaces it with a presumption of guilt, the accused has the burden in this Court of illustrating why the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict returned by the jury.
B.
Before an accused could be convicted of murder in the second degree when the offense in question was committed,
Malice may be either express or implied.
In his statement to the TBI agent, the appellant stated that he carried a pistol with him at all times. In addition, the appellant had ingested cocaine immediately prior to killing the victim. When he saw the image of the victim, he had the pistol in his hand. He turned and fired. He made no effort to determine the identity of the person. Based on these facts, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the appellant was guilty of murder in the second degree beyond a reasonable doubt.
This issue is without merit.
II.
The appellant contends that the trial court’s instruction on the elements of murder in the second degree was erroneous. His primary complaint is that the trial court failed to define the term “willful” as used in the phrase “willful recklessness.”
This issue has been waived. The appellant fails to cite where the facts giving rise to this issue can be found in the record.
When words and terms are in common use and can be understood by people of ordinary intelligence, it is not necessary, in the absence of anything in the charge given by the trial court to obscure their meaning, for the trial court to define or explain the term.
This issue is without merit.
III.
The appellant contends that the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions in refusing to include his special request on voluntary intoxication in the charge given to the jury. He argues:
At the core of the defendant’s challenge [to] his lack of malice is his assertion that he was incapable, because of voluntary intoxication, of premeditation for forming any malice. Whether malice is present is a question for the jury to determine from all the circumstances of the case. Therefore the voluntary intoxication charge should have been given.
The fallacy in this argument is that voluntary intoxication is neither an excuse nor a defense to murder in the second degree.
This issue is without merit.
IV.
The appellant contends that he was entitled to the minimum sentence for murder in the second degree. He argues that the trial court was mistaken when it announced that the minimum sentence was fifteen years; and the trial court erroneously applied enhancing factors when imposing sentence.
The offense was committed in 1984 when the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1982 governed sentencing in criminal cases. The appellant was sentenced on March 12, 1993. The 1982 Act had been repealed. It was replaced by the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, which governed sentencing at the time the trial court imposed sentence. The record reflects that the trial court did not follow the mandate of State v. Pearson,
A.
When an accused challenges the length of his sentence, it is the duty of this Court to conduct a de novo review of the record with a presumption that “the determinations made by the court from which the appeal is taken are correct.”
The appellant has the burden of establishing that the sentence imposed by the trial court was erroneous.
B.
As previously stated, this offense occurred in 1984. At that time, the punishment for murder in the second degree was set by statute. The applicable statute, Tenn.Code Ann. § 89-2-212, stated: “Every person convicted of murder in the second degree shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for life or for a period of not less than ten (10) years.”
In calculating a sentence pursuant to the 1982 Act, a life sentence was “presumed to be sixty (60) years.”
Felony offenses committed prior to November 1, 1989, fit into one of five classes created by the 1989 Act.
The mitigating and enhancing factors that are applicable in this case are the same under both the 1982 Act and the 1989 Act. The 1982 Act did not provide for a presumptive minimum sentence while the 1989 Act does contain such a presumptive sentence when no enhancement factors are present.
C.
The trial court found that four enhancement factors were established by the record. The factors included: (1) the appellant had a previous history of criminal behavior,
The trial court properly enhanced the appellant’s sentence because he had a history of criminal behavior. The appellant candidly admitted that he was addicted to cocaine and used the substance frequently prior to the murder.
The trial court properly enhanced the appellant’s sentence because he employed a firearm to kill the victim. Contrary to the position taken by the appellant
The trial court used the fact that the victim was an elderly woman as an enhancement factor. The trial court should not have used this factor to enhance the appellant’s sentence. In this case, the appellant did not take advantage of the victim’s age and physical disability during the commission of the offense.
In State v. Adams,
The state had the burden of establishing the limitations that render the victim “particularly vulnerable.”
This Court is convinced that the victim’s age and physical disability were not a factor in the commission of the offense. If a weight lifter, football player, or any other person, male or female, who possessed adequate strength to resist a crime against the person, had entered the basement on the morning in question, that person’s strength and ability would not have permitted him or her to resist the crime committed by the appellant. He would have killed any person who entered the basement on the morning in question. In short, the person’s strength and ability to resist the commission of an offense would not have been a factor. No person can resist an unexpected firing of a weapon from a distance.
Finally, the trial court held that appellant’s lack of hesitation in committing the
D.
The trial court found that one mitigating factor existed. The trial court expressed the view that the appellant should be given credit for voluntarily confessing his guilt.
This Court finds that there are additional mitigating factors on the face of the record. While the appellant has not raised these factors, this Court has the right to consider any factor established by the record in conducting its de novo review.
The appellant expressed remorse for his conduct.
The appellant is also entitled to consideration for the change that he had made in his life.
E.
There are two enhancement factors and three mitigating factors established by the record. In the context of this case, the sentence computed pursuant to the 1982 Act is the less onerous. Therefore, the appellant’s sentence must be set accordingly.
The weight to be given the enhancement factors and mitigating factors is important. The appellant does not have a history of convictions. The pre-sentence report states that the appellant was “not known to law enforcement officers.” His criminal behavior involved the use of cocaine. There is no indication that the appellant has used or otherwise been involved with cocaine or any other illicit drug for a long period of time. This factor is entitled to consideration although its weight in the context of this ease should be slight.
The appellant’s use of a firearm to commit the offense in question is entitled to much greater weight. The appellant carried the weapon with him at all times. Common sense dictates that the use of illicit narcotics such as cocaine and firearms are a volatile mix. If the appellant had not been using cocaine, it is highly unlikely that he would have killed the victim.
The mitigating factors are also entitled to consideration. The remorse factor is not
This Court is of the opinion that an appropriate sentence under the circumstances is twelve (12) years. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is modified to show that the appellant is sentenced as a standard offender; and the Range I sentence imposed is twelve (12) years confinement in the Department of Correction.
. The appellant admitted that he always carried a pistol. He told the TBI agent: "I always carried a Charter Aims .38, live-shot revolver with me.” He killed the victim with this weapon.
. Tenn.R.App.P. 13(e).
. State v. Dykes, 803 S.W.2d 250, 253 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1990).
. State v. Matthews, 805 S.W.2d 776, 779 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1990).
. Liakas v. State, 199 Tenn. 298, 305, 286 S.W.2d 856, 859, cert. denied, 352 U.S. 845, 77 S.Ct. 39, 1 L.Ed.2d 49 (1956).
. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978).
. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d at 835.
. 493 S.W.2d 474 (Tenn. 1973).
. Grace, 493 S.W.2d at 476.
. State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 913, 914 (Tenn. 1982).
. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d at 914.
. Since the offense was committed prior to the enactment of the Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, the law that existed at the time the offense was committed must be applied in determining whether the evidence adduced at the trial was sufficient to support his conviction for murder in the second degree.
. State v. Pride, 667 S.W.2d 102, 104 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1983), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1984); Foxv. State, 1 Tenn.Crim.App. 308, 316-317, 441 S.W.2d 491, 495-496, (1968), cert. denied (Tenn. 1969).
. State v. Keels, 753 S.W.2d 140, 143 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1988); Humphreys v. State, 531 S.W.2d 127, 132 (Tenn.Crim.App.), cert. denied (Tenn. 1975); Bailey v. State, 479 S.W.2d 829, 833 (Tenn.Crim.App.), cert. denied (Tenn. 1972); Fox v. State, 1 Tenn.Crim.App. at 316-317, 441 S.W.2d at 495-496 (Tenn. 1969). See State v. Martin, 702 S.W.2d 560, 563 (Tenn. 1985).
. Humphreys v. State, 531 S.W.2d at 133; Bailey v. State, 479 S.W.2d at 834; Fox v. State, 1 Tenn.Crim.App. at 316-317, 441 S.W.2d at 495-496.
. Fox v. State, 1 Tenn.Crim.App. at 316-317, 441 S.W.2d at 495-496.
. Fox v. State, 1 Tenn.Crim.App. at 317, 441 S.W.2d at 496.
. State v. Martin, 702 S.W.2d at 563; Sikes v. State, 524 S.W.2d 483, 485 (Tenn. 1975); State v. Pride, 667 S.W.2d at 104; Bailey v. State, 479 S.W.2d at 833; Hornsby v. State, 479 S.W.2d 653, 655 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1971), cert. denied, (Tenn. 1972).
. Tenn.R.App.P. 13(e); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
. Tenn.R.App.P. 27(a)(7) and (g).
. State v. Black, 745 S.W.2d 302, 306 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1987). See State v. Groseclose, 615 S.W.2d 142, 147-148 (Tenn.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 882, 102 S.Ct. 366, 70 L.Ed.2d 193 (1981); State v. Rollins, 605 S.W.2d 828, 831-832 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1980); Robinson v. State, 513 S.W.2d 156, 157-158 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1974).
. 867 S.W.2d 750 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1993).
. Braden, 867 S.W.2d at 760-761.
. Lewis v. State, 202 Tenn. 328, 336-337, 304 S.W.2d 322, 325-326 (1957); Collins v. State, 506 S.W.2d 179, 184 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1973), cert. denied (Tenn. 1974). See Bostick v. State, 210 Tenn. 620, 630, 360 S.W.2d 472, 476 (1962); Harper v. State, 206 Tenn. 509, 516-517, 334 S.W.2d 933, 936 (1960); Pybum v. State, 539 S.W.2d 835, 840 (Tenn.Crim.App.), cert. denied (Tenn. 1976).
. State v. McKinney, 603 S.W.2d 755, 760 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1980).
. 603 S.W.2d 755 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1980).
. McKinney, 603 S.W.2d at 760.
. McKinney, 603 S.W.2d at 760. (cases omitted).
. 858 S.W.2d 879 (Tenn. 1993).
. Pearson, 858 S.W.2d at 884.
. Pearson, 858 S.W.2d at 884.
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d) (1990).
. State v. Ashby, 823 S.W.2d 166, 169 (Tenn. 1991).
. State v. Bonestel, 871 S.W.2d 163, 166 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1993).
. Sentencing Commission Comments to Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-401 (1990); Ashby, 823 S.W.2d at 169; State v. Fletcher, 805 S.W.2d 785, 786 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1991).
. Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 40-35-103(5) and -210(b) (1990).
. Pearson, 858 S.W.2d at 884.
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-2-212 (1982) (repealed 1989).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-109(d)(l) (1982) (repealed 1989).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-109(a) (1982) (repealed 1989).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-110 (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-118 (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-112(a)(1) (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-210(c) (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-402(d) (1987) (repealed 1989).
. Term.Code Ann. § 40-35-111(1) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(1) (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-111(4) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(4) (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-111(9) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(9) (1990).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-111(10) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(10) (1990).
. See State v. Randall Keel, 882 S.W.2d 410, 419 (Tenn.Crim.App., 1994), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1994).
. State v. Shelton, 854 S.W.2d 116, 123 (Term.Crim.App. 1992) per. app. denied (Term. 1993); State v. Earl Raines, 882 S.W.2d 376, 385 (Term.Crim.App., 1994), per. app. denied (Term. 1994); State v. Reedar Junior Robbins, Hardin County No. 6, slip op. at 3-4, 1991 WL 40531 (Term. Crim.App., Jackson, March 27, 1991), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1991).
. See State v. Peat, 790 S.W.2d 547, 551 (Term.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Term. 1990) (accused, convicted of murder in the second degree, used a shotgun to kill the victim); State v. Witherspoon, 769 S.W.2d 880, 884 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1988), per. app. denied (Term. 1989) (accused, convicted of assault with intent to commit first degree murder, used a shotgun to shoot the victim).
There are several unreported cases where the use of a firearm was used to enhance a sentence when the accused was convicted of murder in the second degree. See, e.g., State v. Earl Raines, 882 S.W.2d 376 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1994), per. app. denied (Term. 1994); State v. John Michael Armitage, Knox County No. 03-C-01-9203-CR-00071, slip. op. at 17-18, 1993 WL 317463 (Tenn.Crim.App., Knoxville, August 23, 1993), per. app. denied (Term. 1994); State v. Junior Bel-cher, Hamblen County No. 03-C-01-9110-CR-00352, slip. op. at 3, 1992 WL 70936 (Tenn.Crim. App., Knoxville, April 10, 1992); State v. Christopher Coffee, Davidson County No. 01-C-01-9103-CR-00066, slip op. at 4, 1991 WL 201634 (Tenn.Crim.App., Nashville, October 10, 1991); State v. James K. Boykin, Jr., Overton County No. 01-C-01-9106-CC-00174, slip. op. at 3, 1991 WL 194150 (Tenn.Crim.App., Nashville, October 2, 1991); State v. Reedar Junior Robbins, Hardin County No. 6, slip op. at 3-4, 1991 WL 40531 (Tenn.Crim.App., Jackson, March 27, 1991), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1991). In State v. Jerry E. Cook, Monroe County No. 117, slip op. at 2, 1989 WL 91604 (Tenn.Crim.App., Knoxville, August 16, 1989),per. app. denied (Tenn. 1989) (a conviction for murder in the second degree, using a butcher knife to kiE the victim was used to enhance the sentence).
. 864 S.W.2d 31 (Tenn. 1993).
. Adams, 864 S.W.2d at 35.
. Adams, 864 S.W.2d at 35.
. Adams, 864 S.W.2d at 35.
. See, e.g., State v. John Michael Armitage, Knox County No. 03-C-01-9203-CR-0071, slip op. at 15, 1993 WL 317463 (Tenn.Crim.App., Knoxville, August 23, 1992), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1994); State v. Jeffrey Allen Partin, Franklin County No. 01-C-01-9202-CC-00054, slip op. at 7 n. 1, 1992 WL 2YinS (Tenn.Crim.App., Nashville, September 11, 1992); State v. Tony Von Carruthers, Shelby County No. 02-C-01-9102-CR-00019, slip op. at 2, 1991 WL 147946 (Tenn.Crim.App., Jackson, August 7, 1991); State v. Robert Calvin Daniels, Davidson County No. 01-C-01-9007-CR-00169, slip. op. at 7, 1991 WL 51430 (Tenn. Crim.App., Nashville, April 11, 1991), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1991).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-110(13) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-113(13)(1990).
. See State v. Adams, 864 S.W.2d at 34; State v. Pearson, 858 S.W.2d at 884-885.
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-110(13) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-113(13) (1990). See State v. Buttrey, 756 S.W.2d 718, 722 (Tenn.Crim.App.), per. app. denied (Tenn. 1988); State v. Terrance Maurice Moore, Madison County No. 02-C-01-9306-CC-00126, slip. op. at 6, 1994 WL 245481 (Tenn.Crim.App., Jackson, June 8, 1994).
. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-110(13) (1982) (repealed 1989) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-113(13) (1990).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Tennessee v. Terry W. BUTLER
- Cited By
- 392 cases
- Status
- Published