State v. Smith, 2020 Ohio 573

On Oct. 22, 2017, defendant Tommie W. Smith allegedly pulled a gun on L.O., dragged her to his car and drove her to his house while she clung to the driver’s door.
L.O. and a cousin (Margaret Sharp) testified to the forcible removal and the victim’s refusal to go; no phone or independent physical evidence contradicted their accounts.
Smith was indicted on rape, two counts of kidnapping (one alleging removal to facilitate a felony), two counts of felonious assault, and aggravated burglary, with multiple specifications.
At trial the court dismissed aggravated burglary and one felonious-assault count; before deliberations the court instructed the jury on abduction as a lesser-included offense of kidnapping.
The jury acquitted Smith of rape and kidnapping but convicted him of abduction; the trial court sentenced Smith to 12 months’ imprisonment.
Smith appealed, assigning error to the abduction jury instruction (claiming abuse of discretion and prejudice) and arguing the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by instructing the jury on abduction as a lesser-included offense of kidnapping	The instruction was proper because the evidence could support abduction (knowing removal by force) even if it did not show the purposeful intent required for kidnapping to facilitate a felony	The instruction unduly prejudiced Smith by giving the jury an "out" to convict on a lesser offense despite lack of proof of the charged kidnapping	No abuse of discretion; evidence reasonably supported an abduction instruction and conviction
Whether the abduction conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence	Victim and eyewitness testimony was credible and consistent; the jury properly weighed credibility and could find abduction beyond a reasonable doubt	Testimony was insufficient/uncorroborated; conviction should be reversed	Not against the manifest weight; jury did not "lose its way" and the testimony supported the conviction

State v. Wine, 18 N.E.3d 1207 (Ohio 2014) (trial court has discretion to give lesser-included-offense instructions)
State v. Thomas, 533 N.E.2d 286 (Ohio 1988) (lesser-included instruction required only if evidence could support acquittal on charged offense and conviction on lesser offense)
State v. Maurer, 473 N.E.2d 768 (Ohio 1984) (abduction is a lesser-included offense of kidnapping; distinguishes mental culpability: purposeful vs. knowing)
State v. Wilson, 865 N.E.2d 1264 (Ohio 2007) (explains manifest-weight standard and Thompkins distinction)
State v. Thompkins, 678 N.E.2d 541 (Ohio 1997) (distinguishes sufficiency and manifest weight of the evidence)
Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31 (U.S. 1982) (appellate court acting as a "thirteenth juror" when reviewing manifest-weight claims)