State v. BishopState v. Bishop
Defendant appeals from his convictions for murder, contrary to
The evidence produced at trial indicated that on July 15, 1984, twenty-four year old Frank Randolph (Frank) was fatally stabbed during a fight involving numerous participants which erupted outside of the Prospect Village apartments in Trenton. An outdoor birthday party was being given there by Donald Wilson (Wilson) аt his mother‘s home for his four year old daughter. Several members of the victim‘s family were invited
Frank was one of the guests who attended the Wilson party that day. McKinney was hanging around outside of his apartment located in the same complex, with Maurice Bird (Reecie). He called Frank over from across the lawn and after thеy exchanged some heated words, eventually a fight ensued. It then escalated into a general melee involving some 15 to 20 persons from the party and neighborhood.
Anthony Shields (Shields), the victim‘s cousin, saw the fight start and ran to his cousin Willie Randolph (Willie) for help. By the time Willie arrived at the fight scene it had moved from the lawn area into the street. Willie was the only witness to the actual stabbing of the victim by the defendant. He recounted that as he and Shields approached, people began fighting with them thereby keeping them from reaching Frank. Meanwhile other persons were “jumping” and beating Frank as he was on the ground. Willie saw Frank get back оnto his feet and also saw the defendant with a knife, standing within the group that was kicking Frank. He described the incident as follows:
There was people everywhere. There were people beating him, fighting him. And, this guy approached him with the knife, and I was trying to get to the guy before the guy got to him. Any everybody was hollering, he‘s got a knife, but Frank was weak and people had beat him so bad he couldn‘t even hardly stand up. This guy just stuck him.
Willie also testified that he had seen the defendant standing to the side of the fight for about ten to fifteen minutes before he joined in. After the defendant stabbed Frank, Willie spun him around and kicked him in the chest causing him to fall to the ground. The knife fell out of his hand but the defendant retrieved it.
After he was stabbed, Frank fell down along side a parked car. Several of his cousins picked him up and ultimately took him to Mercer County Hospital where he was operated on but he died several hours later.
As a State‘s witness, McKinney recounted the events leading up to the incident differently. While he and Reecie were walking towards a store on an errand for his mother, Joyce McKinney, they were approached by Frank whom he supposedly had not met previously. Frank complained about McKinney‘s actions concerning his brother Harvey and his wife Darlene. As a result McKinney shoved him and Frank responded by punching him in the mouth, knocking McKinney to the ground. McKinney got up and was then struck again from behind by someone else, causing him to fall to the ground again. Reecie then struсk Frank Randolph in the face and they both fell down wrestling. Other people from the party then joined the fight. McKinney was getting kicked in the head and body while he was on the ground. He remembers his uncle, William Bishop, trying to help him up off the ground during the fight. The whole “brawl” lasted only for “minutes.” The defendant‘s sister, testified that she thought that defendant was trying to help Reecie during the fight that took place.
On appeal he asserts,
Point I: The trial court committed reversible error in denying defendant‘s request to instruct the jury on aggravated manslaughter (
N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4(a) ), reckless manslaughter (N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4(b)(1) ), and manslaughter based on provocation and passion (N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4(b)(2) ).Point II: The trial court erred in denying defendant‘s motion for a mistrial when a police detective stated that a mug shot array admitted into evidence had “criminal numbers” affixed to them.
Point III: Defendant‘s sentence is manifestly excessive and unduly punitive.
Defendant was indicted solely for having purposely or knowingly caused the death or serious bodily injury resulting in the victim‘s death. Upon conclusion of the case, defense counsel requested that the jury also be instructed regarding the lesser included offenses of aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter. The State objected and the trial judge declined to give such instructions explaining that the evidence indicated only that “Bishop was going toward the deceased in a fast manner. This witness was behind him. Mr. Bishop ran up to him and stabbed him. That‘s purposeful. That‘s knowing. I don‘t see the recklessness.” He therefore charged only purposeful and knowing murder.
Defendant asserts that the evidence patently indicated a rational basis for the return of verdicts of aggravated manslaughter or manslaughter, thus depriving him оf due process.
Defendant was indicted for murder contrary to
However, a court is not required to сharge a lesser included offense unless there exists a “rational basis” in the
To force the jury to choose on the evidence in the case between first degree murder and acquittal raises the possibility that the defendants might have been convicted of first degree murder though their guilt was of a lesser degree. [49 N.J. at 543].
The United States Supreme Court has also recognized that when a defendant is clearly guilty of some offense and the evidence warrants a conviction of a lesser offense than the one charged, there is a substantial risk that a jury may return a guilty verdict notwithstanding doubt as to proof of the greater offensе, rather than allow the defendant to be acquitted. Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 634, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 2388, 65 L.Ed.2d 392, 401 (1980).
However, as noted such a charge should not be given unless there is a rational basis for a verdict on the included offense. State v. Crisantos (Arriagas), 102 N.J. 265, 275-276 (1986); State v. Saulnier, 63 N.J. 199, 206-207 (1973); State v. Bohannan, 206 N.J. Super. 646, 649 (App.Div. 1986). Otherwise an improper charge invites a jury verdict based on sheer speculation or compromise. State v. Sinclair, supra, 49 N.J. at 540; State v. Selby, 183 N.J. Super. 273, 280 (App.Div. 1981). The decision whether to delivеr such an instruction rests primarily with the trial judge who must determine whether such a manslaughter instruction is appropriate in light of the facts of a particular case. State v. Powell, supra, 84 N.J. at 316. Where the evidence clearly raises an issue justifying a finding it must
In Crisantos,1 the Supreme Court framed this principle thusly, that it is error not to charge the lesser included offense “if on the evidence it would not be idle to have the jury decide” and “it is enough that the evidence [supporting the lesser included offense charge] leaves room for dispute....”
In State v. Powell, we noted that in a majority of jurisdictions, “a scintilla of evidence” is all that is necessary to warrant a manslaughter charge when requested by the defendant. 84 N.J. at 316 n. 12. To the extent that Powell is read as supporting the “scintilla” test, the Code formulation is somewhat more restrictive. Nevertheless, the rational-basis test of the Code imposes a low threshold, as did the pre-Code law, State v. Sinclair, supra, 49 N.J. at 540, for permitting a charge on а lesser-included offense. When the lesser-included offense charge is requested by a defendant, as in this case, the trial court is obligated in view of defendant‘s interest, to examine the record thoroughly to determine if the rational-basis standard has been satisfied. See State v. Powell, supra, 84 N.J. at 318-19; State v. Choice, 98 N.J. 295, 298-299 (1985). [102 N.J. at 278].
Unquestionably the State had the burden to prove that the defendant committed the murder either purposefully or knowingly. Failing in that regard, in light of the evidence adduced the State would then be required to prove that he did so recklessly with extreme indifference to human life. If it did not do so to the jury‘s satisfaction, the homicide might then only amount to simple manslaughter. In such instance a defendant is not required to prove provocation. Rather, again it is the State which must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant did not kill recklessly or as a result of provocation or in the heat of passion. State v. Grunow, 102 N.J. 133, 145 (1986).
The evidence establishes that there is one decisiоn the jury should have to make in this case, and that is whether or not the defendant committed the stabbing in question, or whether he did it purposefully or knowingly. There is no evidence before this jury suggesting recklessness, heat of passion or reasonable provocation. For me to interject it would only be confusing and misleading, and pоssibly be responsible for an improper verdict.
As previously indicated, we do not agree. Here the evidence produced came from witnesses which only viewed parts of the general melee. Eventually 15 or 20 persons, variously aligned with the two factions, joined into the fray, which soon became a “free-for-all.” There was conflicting evidence whether defendant had quietly stood by and watched the fight without becoming involved until he ran off of the porch directly toward the victim and stabbed him for no apparent reason. There was other evidence suggesting that he may have joined the fight because he saw his nephew being beaten by various adversaries and went to his assistance. There was also evidence that defendant‘s decision to join the fight was accompanied by a mental condition described as being “out of control” and that during the fight he attempted to stab at least one other person, either before or after hе had stabbed the victim.
In our view such evidence would lend support for possible verdicts finding him guilty of either aggravated manslaughter or manslaughter as we have defined. In other words, absent more direct evidence of defendant‘s state of mind when he stabbed the victim, the jury might well have concluded that he had acted recklessly by bеcoming engaged in the brawl at all and by utilizing and waving a knife around when no one else in the fight possessed a weapon, especially when one considers
Defendant also asserts that he was entitled to a charge on manslaughter, based on passion and provocation.
In conclusion, we hold that the jury was improperly instructed only on the murder charge. As discussed, the evidence presented here did meet the rational basis test and the trial judge should have instructed the jury regarding the other possible verdicts of manslaughter for which there was proof. Cf. State v. Artis, 57 N.J. 24, 30 (1970).
Thus, we reverse and remand for a new trial and further proceedings consistent with this opinion and the evidence produced at any retrial.