State v. Hughes
State v. Hughes
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1. Isaac Hughes, Sr., appeals from a judgment convicting him of escaping from the Felmers Chaney Correctional Center ("Chaney"). He also appeals from the trial court's order denying his post-conviction motion. Hughes argues that we must reverse the judgment and order because the evidence at trial was insufficient to convict him. Specifically, according to Hughes, there was no evidence that he was in custody at Chaney as a result of being sentenced for a crime, the second of the four elements of escape; this is because Hughes's previous judgment of conviction— pursuant to which Hughes was in custody at Chaney in the first place—was never published for the jury, although it was in fact received into evidence. In other words, Hughes argues that because the jury never actually saw the judgment of conviction, it had no basis to determine that he had been previously sentenced for a crime. Hughes further argues that trial testimony regarding his status as an inmate at Chaney, and
I. Background.
¶ 2. Hughes was charged with escape, contrary to Wis. Stat. § 946.42(3) (2007-08).
[Y]ou will see evidence, perhaps hear it as well, from correctional officers that May 13 was the day that Mr. Hughes supposedly left the Fel[]mers Chaney Center, which he did leave on that day, but. .. there are other elements, not just that he was in custody, and not just that he was in custody after being sentenced to a crime. The State is going to prove that. We're not hiding that he was in custody for a crime he previously committed....
(Punctuation added.)
¶ 4. Instead, trial counsel explained that the elements at issue were whether Hughes had permission to leave Chaney and whether Hughes intended to escape:
[The State] also [has] to prove that he escaped from custody, which means to leave without any lawful permission. Key on those words, without lawful permission or authority. You have to find that he had no permission or authority to leave.
They [also] have to show that he intentionally left that facility [with] the mental purpose to escape from there. That's the other area of doubt. Judge for yourselves, using your common sense. You can't look into Mr. Hughes' mind, but using your own common sense, judge whether you think that Mr. Hughes thought of or had the mental purpose to intentionally escape from Felmers Chaney. And that's what this case is about.
(Punctuation added.)
¶ 5. At trial, three Chaney employees testified, including Captain Eloise McPike. McPike testified that
¶ 6. McPike further testified that after Hughes went missing from Chaney, she ordered an "escape packet" pertaining to Hughes. Specifically, McPike testified: "Once [an] inmate has been gone, leaves our facility without permission, we order an escape packet that I have to put together for the assistant D.A." (Punctuation added.) She further explained that the escape packet includes a judgment of conviction for the missing inmate.
¶ 7. After McPike described the escape packet containing Hughes's judgment of conviction, the prosecutor moved it into evidence without objection. The prosecutor then addressed the trial court, saying, "I would like to publish this to the jury, but we could wait for a later time if that is more convenient." The trial court responded, "All right. It's not going to happen at this time." Although the escape packet containing Hughes's judgment of conviction was received into evidence, it was never published to the jury.
¶ 8. Additionally, another of the State's three witnesses, Sergeant Elizabeth Knaack, who saw Hughes in temporary lockup shortly before he absconded, testified that she never gave Hughes permission to leave Chaney and she never told Hughes that his sentence was over.
II. Analysis.
¶ 10. On appeal, Hughes challenges the sufficiency of the evidence regarding the second element of escape. We cannot reverse a criminal conviction unless the evidence, viewed most favorably to the State and the conviction, " 'is so insufficient in probative value and force that it can be said as a matter of law that no trier of fact, acting reasonably, could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.'" State v. Booker, 2006 WI 79, ¶ 22, 292 Wis. 2d 43, 717 N.W.2d 676 (citation omitted); State v. Poellinger, 153 Wis. 2d 493, 501, 451 N.W.2d 752 (1990). If there is any possibility that the jury could have drawn the appropriate inferences from the trial evidence to find guilt, we may not overturn a verdict—even if we believe that the jury should not have convicted the defendant on the evidence presented. Poellinger, 153 Wis. 2d at 507. We review sufficiency of the evidence claims in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict. Booker, 292 Wis. 2d 43, ¶ 22; Bautista v. State, 53 Wis. 2d 218, 223, 191 N.W.2d 725 (1971). Reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence can support a finding of fact and, if more than one reasonable inference can be drawn from the evidence, we must adopt the inference that supports the verdict. Poellinger, 153 Wis. 2d at 506-07.
¶ 12. We agree with the trial court that, when considered in light of all the other evidence adduced at trial, McPike's testimony sufficiently allowed the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Hughes was serving a sentence for a crime that he was convicted of when he left Chaney without permission. McPike testified that Hughes was an "inmate" at Chaney, a minimum security prison. She also testified that on May 13, 2008, her control sergeant and floor sergeant advised her that Hughes had escaped from the temporary lockup. McPike further testified that after Hughes escaped, she ordered an escape packet, which contained Hughes's judgment of conviction, and Knaack testified that she never told Hughes that his sentence was over. Viewing this testimony in the light most favorable to the verdict, as we are required to do, see Poellinger, 153 Wis. 2d at 506-07, we hold that the knowledge that Hughes was an inmate at a prison whose sentence had not yet expired and that McPike had received a judgment of conviction pertaining to him was sufficient for the jury to conclude that the reason Hughes was at Chaney was because he was serving a sentence, regardless of whether the jury actually saw the judgment of conviction.
¶ 13. Moreover, we find Hughes's arguments on appeal unavailing. First, for the reasons explained
¶ 14. Finally, we note that the State invites us to hold, in keeping with the trial court's denial of Hughes's postconviction motion,
¶ 15. For all of the foregoing reasons, we cannot say that the jury had insufficient evidence upon which to find that Hughes was in custody at Chaney as a "result of being sentenced for a crime," nor can we say that the trial court erred in denying Hughes's postconviction motion. Accordingly, we affirm.
By the Court.—Judgment and order affirmed.
All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2009-10 version unless otherwise noted.
We also note that although Captain McPike may not have testified that Hughes was "sentenced," Sergeant Knaack did testify that she never told Hughes that his "sentence" was over.
The trial court denied Hughes's postconviction motion on two bases: (1) that he waived his right to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence; and (2) even if Hughes did not waive his right to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, the evidence was sufficient to convict him.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.