State v. Alexander, 119 So. 3d 120

Defendant Derrick Alexander was charged with forcible rape and indecent behavior with a juvenile in Louisiana.
The jury convicted him of the responsive verdict of attempted forcible rape and indecent behavior with a juvenile.
The trial court sentenced him to 20 years for attempted forcible rape and 7 years for indecent behavior, then enhanced to life without parole after a multiple-offender adjudication.
The court vacated the initial sentences and imposed concurrent life terms after finding him a third felon offender.
The offenses occurred on April 25–26, 2009, involving 13-year-old D.M. at M.D.’s house, where M.D. is Alexander’s wife.
Post-verdict, the trial court denied motions for new trial and for judgment of acquittal and granted appellate review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for convictions	Alexander argues the victim’s statements were inconsistent and lacked physical proof.	Alexander contends inconsistencies and lack of physical evidence undermine guilt.	Sufficient evidence supported guilt; victim's account alone could sustain convictions.
Flight instruction propriety	State asserts flight evidence justifies jury instruction on flight.	Alexander contends no flight evidence warranted the instruction.	Flight instruction approved; any error deemed harmless.
Prosecutorial misconduct claim regarding perjury	State allegedly relied on false flight claims to justify instruction.	No contemporaneous objection; potential misconduct not preserved.	Waived; even if argued, no reversible error shown.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency review requires rational juror to find guilt beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La. 1992) (guides sufficiency review framework in Louisiana cases)
State ex rel. Elaire v. Blackburn, 424 So.2d 246 (La. 1982) (concerns responsive verdicts when evidence supports the charged offense)
State v. Cornejo-Garcia, 90 So.3d 458 (La. 5th Cir. 2012) (requires appropriate jury instruction on law applicable to a case)
State v. Smith, 864 So.2d 811 (La. 2003) (flight instruction reviewed for harmless error when supported by record)