State v. PriceState v. Price
The chief issue in this appeal is whether defendant successfully presented a defense of insanity.1 For the purposes of
I
In reviewing such claims of insufficiency of evidence in regard to a defense of insanity, this court has applied the test established in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), in accord with the rule announced in Moore v. Duckworth, 443 U.S. 713, 99 S.Ct. 3088, 61 L.Ed.2d 865 (1979). See State v. Liner, 397 So.2d 506 (La.1981); State v. Hathorn, 395 So.2d 783 (La.1981); State v. Claibon, 395 So.2d 770 (La.1981); State v. Roy, 395 So.2d 664 (La.1981). Under the Jackson standard, the test is whether a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could conclude that the crime was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. When this standard is applied to the review of evidence adduced in support of the defense of insanity, which is the defendant‘s burden to prove, the question becomes whether any rational fact finder, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant failed to present a preponderance of proof in support of the defense. That is, a defendant might fail to adduce any proof in support of the defense, or the prosecution might effectively rebut any evidence presented.
Only two witnesses testified in defendant‘s behalf: Mrs. Jones, defendant‘s foster mother, and Dr. Arneson, a psychiatrist. Mrs. Jones, who had raised defendant since his infancy, reported that defendant‘s behavior had become erratic in the months prior to the robbery: he withdrew from his friends and family and remained secluded in his room; he refused to engage in conversation; he lost his appetite; and he took long walks alone. She also testified that defendant had left one job, stating that his nerves were upset, and that he never stayed on other jobs longer than a few days. Dr. Arneson, accepted as an expert witness in the field of psychiatry, had examined defendant on four occasions. She declared that defendant was psychotic, and suffered from manic-depressive episodes. According to Dr. Arneson, this condition causes extreme changes of mood: the person who suffers from such an affliction alternates between periods of deep depression and withdrawal to periods of high excitement and manic behavior. After hearing Mrs. Jones’ testimony, Dr. Arneson concluded that defendant‘s emotional state was probably in the latter extreme when the robbery occurred, and that he was operating under a grandiose delusion. Dr. Arneson affirmatively stated that, considering defendant‘s probable mental condition at the time the
On cross-examination, Dr. Arneson explained:
“I would say when a patient is in a manic episode they exhibit what we call grandiosity, they feel they can get away with or do anything. You know, some say they can fly or jump out the window, that sort of thing. And, I think that Mr. Price was high and he was excited and he felt that he could probably do this and he was having some financial difficulty or something, and he just went ahead, in a very psychotic manner, went ahead to rob this bank.”
As to determining the difference between right and wrong, Dr. Arneson stated that psychotic individuals usually are affected by a “delusion that they can do anything and it is not wrong because they are so powerful and so on. In this sense they don‘t appreciate right from wrong in the ordinary every day way.”
The prosecution presented no expert testimony to contradict the defense of insanity. However, the prosecution did rely upon the factual circumstances of the case to rebut Dr. Arneson‘s conclusions.
Defendant robbed the bank with a kitchen knife, jumping over a counter and taking cash from a teller‘s drawer. In removing one stack of bills, defendant picked up and then replaced a device (known as “bait money“) which, although disguised as money, actually contains a package of dye designed to explode if removed from the bank. The teller testified that defendant told her to be quiet and not to move, and that he did not want to have to hurt anyone. After defendant took the money from the drawer, he again leaped over the counter and reportedly repeated his statement that he did not want to hurt anyone.
Defendant was apprehended a short while later at his home. He had stuffed a paper bag containing the money into a hole in the ceiling. Defendant told the police that the money was his savings.
Despite Dr. Arneson‘s assertion that these facts did not change her opinion of defendant‘s insanity at the time of the offense, the facts did provide the jury with a number of reasons for concluding that defendant was not insane, and that he was aware that what he was doing was “wrong.” It ought to be noted that, in the jurisprudence of this state, there is some confusion as to whether the terms “right” and “wrong,” as used in
In the present case, defendant proved by a preponderance of evidence that he suffered from a mental disease or defect. His criminal conduct was perhaps prompted by his mental condition. However, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the record belies the assertion that defendant was not aware of the criminality of his actions, and that defendant‘s mental status prevented him from being aware that his conduct was forbidden by society both legally and “morally.” At least two points are significant. First, defendant‘s deliberate refusal to take the “bait money” allows the inference that he understood that the money could foil the crime. This inference supports the finding that defendant knew that his actions were outlawed, and was anxious to avoid detection or capture. Second, defendant stated that he did not want to hurt anyone, which signals at least a rudimentary value system on his part, representing a choice between “right” and “wrong.” Given these facts, a
II
Defendant‘s final assignment of error is that his thirty year sentence of imprisonment is excessive. The sentence is within the statutory limits of
Article 1, § 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 forbids excessive punishment. A trial judge must state for the record “the considerations taken into account and the factual basis therefor in imposing sentence.”
Accordingly, it must first be determined whether the trial judge satisfied the requirements of
At the sentencing hearing, the trial judge mentioned three basic factors which he had considered: (1) that defendant‘s conduct threatened both life and property, and was a serious offense; (2) that no showing was made of any provocation; and (3) that defendant posed “a definite threat to society.” In addition, the judge remarked to the defendant: “You had no explanation for your conduct except that you just were not in your right mind.” In expressing these considerations, the trial judge negatived the presence of several mitigating factors enumerated in
These factors should have been weighed before sentence was imposed. Even though
We do not conclude, from the record before us, that the thirty year sentence was in fact excessive or grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime. Compare State v. Williams, 397 So.2d 1287 (La.1981). But where, as here, the trial judge ostensibly ignored or discounted several important mitigating considerations without providing any reasons for doing so, and the sentence imposed is relatively harsh considering the circumstances of the offender‘s mental state, it is preferable to require a reexamination of the sentence.
For the reasons assigned, the defendant‘s conviction is affirmed, but the sentence is vacated, and the case is remanded for resentencing in a manner consistent with this opinion.
MARCUS and BLANCHE, JJ., concur in part and dissent in part and assign reasons.
WATSON, J., concurs in part and dissents in part, for reasons assigned by BLANCHE, J.
MARCUS, Justice (concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in the affirmance of the conviction; however, I dissent from the reversal of the sentence and remand for resentencing.
BLANCHE, Justice (concurring in part, dissenting in part).
I concur in affirming the defendant‘s conviction but dissent from the majority‘s remand of the case to the trial court for resentencing.
The jury found defendant could distinguish right from wrong and was, therefore, fully responsible for the crime which he committed. For a person fully responsible for committing the armed robbery of a bank, this writer believes that thirty years is a moderate sentence when it is considered that the defendant could have been sentenced to ninety-nine years without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
Further, this writer disagrees that the defendant proved a deranged mental condition but, assuming arguendo that one here was proved, it should be considered as an aggravating circumstance rather than one in mitigation. Proof of a mental condition as described by the psychiatrist is the type of mental propensity against which society should be protected.