Mathew W. McCallister v. State of Indiana
91 N.E.3d 554
Ind.2018Background
- In Feb 2014 Mathew McCallister and others met at a Fairfield Inn after meth use; Joseph Nelson later left with McCallister’s group and was found dead at an Alcoa plant from a single contact gunshot to the head.
- Jade Stigall (McCallister’s sister) testified she saw McCallister receive a gun and shoot Nelson; she led police to the disposed gun and a burn pile. Ballistics matched the recovered gun to a casing at the scene.
- Shawn Grigsby (who pleaded guilty to conspiracy) testified inconsistently and claimed he was the shooter; other corroborating evidence included hotel surveillance, phone records, and location evidence.
- A jury convicted McCallister of murder and conspiracy; during penalty phase the jury found he committed murder while on parole and unanimously recommended life without parole (LWOP); the court imposed LWOP and a concurrent 40-year term for conspiracy.
- On direct appeal McCallister challenged sufficiency of evidence, admission of surveillance/recorded-conversation/mobile-phone evidence, and sentence proportionality and appropriateness.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for murder/conspiracy | State: Stigall’s eyewitness testimony plus corroborating physical and electronic evidence supports convictions | McCallister: Evidence insufficient; Stigall incredible; conflicting testimony (Grigsby) requires acquittal | Affirmed — evidence (eyewitness + corroboration) was sufficient; incredible-dubiosity rule not met |
| Application of "incredible dubiosity" rule | State: jury properly credited witness testimony; corroboration exists | McCallister: Stigall was sole, unreliable witness with inconsistent statements and drug impairment | Rejected — Stigall not sole witness; testimony not inherently improbable; ample circumstantial corroboration |
| Admission of surveillance and recorded evidence | State: hotel video, jail conversation, and phone data properly authenticated and admissible | McCallister: challenged foundation, chain of custody, speaker identification, and federal wiretap/privilege issues | Affirmed — trial court did not abuse discretion; any alleged errors harmless or waived |
| Proportionality / appropriateness of LWOP sentence | State: on-parole aggravator proven and outweighs mitigators; LWOP permissible | McCallister: LWOP disproportionate given prior offense and mitigators; court failed to weigh mitigators | Affirmed — LWOP constitutional and not inappropriate under Rule 7(B); jury weighed aggravator and mitigators |
Key Cases Cited
- Gibson v. State, 51 N.E.3d 204 (Ind. 2016) (standard for sufficiency review and deference to jury)
- Moore v. State, 27 N.E.3d 749 (Ind. 2015) (elements of the "incredible dubiosity" exception)
- Perkins v. State, 483 N.E.2d 1379 (Ind. 1985) (elements of criminal conspiracy)
- McCarthy v. State, 749 N.E.2d 528 (Ind. 2001) (abuse-of-discretion review for evidentiary rulings)
- Knapp v. State, 9 N.E.3d 1274 (Ind. 2014) (foundation for admitting surveillance/silent-witness evidence)
- Blount v. State, 22 N.E.3d 559 (Ind. 2014) (harmless error standard for evidentiary rulings)
- Covington v. State, 842 N.E.2d 345 (Ind. 2006) (trial court’s role in finding/weighting mitigators)
- Conley v. State, 972 N.E.2d 864 (Ind. 2012) (review standard for weighing aggravators/mitigators)
- Shoun v. State, 67 N.E.3d 635 (Ind. 2017) (affirming LWOP where murder committed while on probation/parole)
- Rice v. State, 6 N.E.3d 940 (Ind. 2014) (defendant’s burden under Appellate Rule 7(B))