FRANCES O'BERRY, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Frances O'Berry appeals her conviction and 15-year sentence for manslaughter in the shooting death of her boyfriend. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding that while the trial court erred in admitting certain prejudicial evidence, the errors were harmless because the defendant's act of shooting was undisputed and guilt turned only on her culpability.
The court agreed that the trial court erred in admitting the three exhibits into evidence, but held that the errors were harmless and did not injuriously affect the appellant's substantial rights because the defendant's act of shooting was conclusively established at trial, and the only real questions for the jury were whether she believed the weapon was loaded and whether she was culpably negligent.
[1] Bloody exhibits, including photographs and clothing, may be admitted into evidence if they are relevant to an issue in the case, even if they are gruesome.
[2] A trial court errs in admitting evidence that is cumulative and unduly prejudicial.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“No judgment shall be reversed unless the appellate court is of the opinion, after an examination of all the appeal papers, that error was committed that injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant.”
Establishes the harmless error standard applied by the court in affirming the conviction despite the evidentiary error.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceO'Berry shot and killed Vincent Lyon at a bar where she worked. Lyon allegedly gave O'Berry a gun in a jovial mood and urged her to point it at him an…
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HENDRY, Chief Judge.
Appellant, defendant below, appeals her conviction and sentence for the crime of manslaughter. An information was filed against appellant charging her with one count of second degree murder for the shooting death of her boyfriend, one Vincent Lyon, in violation of Section 782.04, Florida Statutes (1975). The shooting occurred at a bar where appellant worked and where the deceased had been drinking just prior to the incident. Allegedly, the deceased, in a jovial mood, gave appellant a gun and urged her to point it at him and pull the trigger. Appellant, who had allegedly believed the gun to be unloaded, took the weapon, pointed it at Lyon and pulled the trigger. The ,gun discharged, sending a fatal bullet into the forehead of the deceased.
During the course of the trial, the State offered as evidence, inter alia, a triad of bloody exhibits. First, the state offered a color photograph of the deceased, covered with blood, showing a gaping hole in his forehead where the bullet had penetrated; second, the deceased’s bloody clothing was offered; and third, a vial of the victim’s blood, taken from the scene of the shooting, was offered. The photograph was allegedly offered to identify the victim and to show the location of the fatal wound, while the vial of blood and blood-stained clothing were offered to rebut the defense theory of self-defense, i. e., only the victim’s blood was present at the scene.
Defense counsel objected to the introduction of the exhibits on the grounds of relevancy, materiality and undue prejudice. The objections were overruled and the exhibits admitted into evidence. At the conclusion of the trial, a jury returned a verdict of guilty as to the lesser included offense of manslaughter and appellant was sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment. This appeal follows.
Appellant has raised two points on appeal, only one of which deserves discussion.
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in admitting the above exhibits into evidence in that the items were neither relevant nor material to any issue involved and were so overly prejudicial so as to deprive appellant of a fair and impartial trial, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The bases of appellant’s contention were that: (1) the color photograph was cumulative in that a prior black and white photograph of the victim had been introduced into evidence which clearly showed both the identity of the victim and the wound suffered and (2) that the vial of blood and blood-stained clothing, introduced to refute the defense of self-defense, was irrelevant to the issue as no such defense was ever raised by appellant at trial.
After carefully reviewing the record, briefs and arguments of counsel we agree with appellant that the court erred in admitting the three exhibits into evidence, however, we disagree with appellant’s conclusion that the introduction of the items deprived her of a fair trial.
Section 924.33, Florida Statutes (1975), provides that:
“No judgment shall be reversed unless the appellate court is of the opinion, after an examination of all the appeal papers, that error was committed that injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant. It shall not be presumed that error injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant.”
At trial, it was conclusively established that appellant shot and killed the victim. The only real questions to be answered by the jury were whether appellant believed the weapon to be loaded at the time of the shooting and, notwithstanding her belief, whether she was culpably negligent in proceeding with the aforementioned course of conduct. As such, we conclude that the errors committed were harmless in nature, as they did not injuriously affect the substantial rights of appellant. Wells v. State, 256 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); see also, Ballard v. State, 323 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975).
Accordingly, appellant’s conviction and sentence are hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
PEARSON, Judge
(concurring specially).
The defendant’s own case was, in fact, an admission of culpable negligence resulting in the death of another. See the principles of law stated in Hulst v. State, 123 Fla. 315, 166 So. 828 (1936); Walter v. State, 157 Fla. 684, 26 So. 2d 821 (1946); and Murray v. State, 328 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). Therefore, there was no issue concerning the guilt of the defendant of the crime for which she was found guilty by the jury.
BARKDULL, Judge, concurs in the majority opinion authored by Judge HENDRY and the special concurring opinion authored by Judge PEARSON.
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Tsavaris v. State, 414 So. 2d 1087 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)…upport a verdict of manslaughter. See Filmon v. State, 336 So. 2d 586 (Fla.1976); Pritchett v. State, 414 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 3d DCA Apr. 6, 1982); Marasa v. State, 394 So. 2d 544 (Fla. 5th DCA), cert. denied, 402 So. 2d 613 (Fla.1981); O’Berry v. State, 348 So. 2d 670 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Appellant also places great reliance on the fact that no sperm were found in the victim’s body, indicating sexual activity with a man who had no sperm, and that a recent examination (six years after Burton’s death) of appellant…
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McMULLEN v. State, 444 So. 2d 1063 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…the stage for the tragedy which ultimately followed (an accidental shooting) even though he may have had [no] intention of killing the decedent.” 191 So. 2d at 71; see also Marasa v. State, 394 So. 2d 544, 547 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); O’Berry v. State, 348 So. 2d 670 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). The conviction appealed is AFFIRMED. LARRY G. SMITH and NIMMONS, JJ., concur.…
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Mercado v. State, 412 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See: Section 924.33, Florida Statutes (1979); compare: O’Berry v. State, 348 So. 2d 670 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Wells v. State, 256 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972).…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Mahlon Hulst v. State, 123 Fla. 315 (Fla. 1936)
- Ballard v. State, 323 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
- Walter v. State, 157 Fla. 684 (Fla. 1946)
- Wells v. State, 256 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Weese v. Weese, 328 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
- Murray v. State, 328 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)