On February 12, 1991, two days prior to the murder, Thompson instructed his girlfriend to purchase a twelve-gauge shotgun and ammunition. 1696, 12 L.Ed.2d 1028 (1964) (per curiam) (conviction reversed because five jurors had been present when the defendant's conviction of a similar charge was announced in open court before the trial); Scott v. Lawrence, 36 F.3d 871 (9th Cir.1994) (in action against prison officials under 42 U.S.C. Join Facebook to connect with Jerry Thompson Thompson and others you may know. . Percy's testimony about the Crandall murder was thus introduced to prove an important element of the State's case-that Thompson had access to the murder weapon before the killings at Hillis Auto Sales. The allegedly corroborative evidence here was irrelevant. Ct. App. 1991) (erroneous admission of extrinsic acts was harmless because there was strong properly admitted evidence of guilt and prosecutor did not "embellish upon the incident"). Pay particular attention to Mr. Percy [W]hen you retire to that Jury Room after evaluating the credibility of Mr. Percy, listening to all the Evidence, you're going to have doubts., When Percy began to testify about the events surrounding the Crandall murder, the defense objected and renewed its contention that this evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible under Rule 404(b). Without that knowledge it is impossible to conclude what, if any, validation of Percy the conviction represents. 1991) ("bootstrapping" testimony related to extrinsic acts is admissible but only to the extent it is relevant to a material fact). On February 14th, 1991, Wesley Crandall, Junior, was murdered in his home in New Castle. The bag Thompson carried contained several guns and Percy's bag contained marijuana and shell casings. In a hearing outside the presence of the jury, the State asserted that proof of the conviction was relevant to show identity and because Percy's credibility had been attacked. The issue is raised sua sponte to emphasize what Brewer and Evans made clear as to how prospective jurors should be instructed on aggravating circumstances in capital cases. Id. 2d 265 (1988). Join Facebook to connect with Jerry Thompson and others you may know. Douglas Percy. 7. We have little difficulty concluding that the fact and manner of Crandall's death, and Thompson's murder conviction, were highly prejudicial to Thompson. Champlain v. State, 681 N.E.2d 696, 702 (Ind.1997). . The convictions must be reversed because a fair trial is required for every defendant, regardless of his apparent guilt or the magnitude of the crimes he may have committed. Ostrowsky, 501 F.2d at 324. Id. The convictions must be reversed because a "fair trial is required for every defendant, regardless of his apparent guilt or the magnitude of the crimes he may have committed." Rule 404(b) is on the books because evidence of prior crimes is presumptively prejudicial. This occurred with the apparent assent of all counsel. Although corroboration of collateral facts is sometimes permissible to show credibility, see, e.g., Ind. To prove that Thompson was the perpetrator, the State presented evidence that he stole the murder weapon, a handgun, in the course of committing a different murder a month earlier. Although Percy's account of the Crandall murder in its particulars was uncontradicted and largely unchallenged, the State offered further detailed evidence about those events. A few months earlier, Percy had been charged with altering a vehicle identification number, a felony. United States v. Burke, 948 F.2d 23 (1st Cir. These criteria mirror Evidence Rules 401, 402, 403, and 404(b). We first examine what went on in the trial court. Thompson was charged and a jury convicted him on all counts. The prosecutor's contention at trial that the Crandall jury verdict constituted validation of Percy is a stretch no court can make. Thompson's access to the gun was an important piece of circumstantial proof increasing the likelihood that he was the killer (or at least not excluding that possibility). Join Facebook to connect with Percy Thompson and others you may know. See, e.g., United States v. Currier, 821 F.2d 52 (1st Cir. See, e.g., Swain v. State, 647 N.E.2d 23 (Ind.Ct.App.1995) (evidence as to defendant's four prior convictions for dealing in cocaine should not have been admitted in prosecution for cocaine possession), trans. One of the aggravating circumstances was Thompson's prior conviction of the murder of Wesley Crandall Jr., discussed in more detail below.See footnote 4 Although it was proper to inform prospective, jurors of the crimes charged, the trial court erred in advising the jury of the death penalty information before the sentencing phase. Brewer v. State, 275 Ind. Most seriously, the information, witness list, and verdict form from the Crandall murder trial were admitted into evidence. People at Inforver; . Unnecessary and inflammatory detail may require reversal. The State maintained that it understood the pretrial ruling on Rule 404(b) to allow evidence of the conviction itself, and that it relied on this interpretation in referring to the conviction in opening arguments. As a result, the, decision to admit evidence of Thompson's access to the gun, and the State's offer of corroborative evidence to support Percy's version of the events in New Castle, was within the trial court's discretion. View the profiles of professionals named "Doug Percy" on LinkedIn. Thompson retrieved a pillow from another room, placed it over Crandall's head, and fired. Percy did not assert his knowledge of that fact or whether Crandall died from the shot. Although Thompson conceded that he was a passenger in the car in which the murder weapon was found three months after the killings, Thompson never offered to stipulate that he had access to the murder weapon before the crimes, or to the specific fact that he stole the weapon from Crandall in February 1991. The State responds that a portrayal of the Crandall murder was not prohibited by Rule 404(b) because it helped prove Thompson's identity as the killer. III. Lannan v. State, 600 N.E.2d 1334 (Ind. Although this testimony was admitted only to show that the gun had been in Thompson's possession before the crimes in this case, the State was allowed to elicit significant details of the prior murder and to establish that Thompson was convicted for it. If the extraneous details, of the killing were inadmissible in Ostrowsky -- a case involving car theft -- the prejudice to Thompson in a second murder prosecution is an a fortiori case. On February 14, 1991, he and Thompson went to Crandall's house to buy marijuana. Far more importantly what somebody has to lose. If Percy's account is credited, he was essentially an accomplice or, at a minimum, a direct observer of Thompson's criminal acts. What particular parts of this mass might be fair rebuttal will, of course, depend on how the two parties elect to shape the presentation of their principal cases. As the defense's opening statement put it: Who does [the State] say was with Mr. Thompson in New Castle? Indeed, the State does not contend that these were signature crimes. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Cf. SHEPARD, C.J., concurs with separate opinion. 4. Id. Indeed, our decisions have cautioned that evidence of prior misconduct offered to bolster a key witness's testimony as to the current charge, although often probative on that point, is also quite prejudicial. Brewer distinguished between aggravating circumstances that are extraneous to the crime currently charged, such as a prior murder conviction, and an aggravating circumstance whose proof turns on the same evidence presented at the guilt phase. The list of other purposes in the Rule is not exhaustive; extrinsic act evidence may be admitted for any purpose not specified in Rule 404(b) unless precluded by the first sentence of Rule 404(b) or any other Rule. As noted, the extraneous Crandall murder evidence was not admissible for this purpose. The trial court ruled that the State would be allowed "to simply explain presence and then cut it off and let's get on." The State emphasized the details of Crandall's killing from the beginning. Cf. The State's fallback position, advanced at oral argument in this Court, is that all evidence related to the Crandall murder was properly admitted because Percy's credibility was under attack. His testimony was an essential element in the chain of evidence pointing to Thompson as the killer. "See footnote 8 These witnesses actually added to Percy's account, rather than merely corroborating it, because Percy testified only that he assumed Thompson had shot Crandall in the head. The defense responded that the conviction was: (1) impermissible bolstering of Percy; (2) irrelevant to proving what happened at Hillis Auto Sales on the day of the murders; and (3) too prejudicial to be outweighed by any probative value. Mr. Thompson was ultimately convicted of the murder of Wesley Crandall in February of 1991. Wooden v. State, 657 N.E.2d 109, 111 (Ind. . Conviction there could have been based on forensic or other evidence wholly independent of Percy's testimony. Pointing to Percy's own testimony that he was not always truthful, the defense urged that Percy was a "liar" who implicated Thompson to avoid prosecution for altering a vehicle identification number and possible culpability for his role in the three killings. Percy Douglas Thompson Percy Douglas Thompson in Australia, Victoria Marriage Index, 1837-1942. Douglas Percy. Arguably this prerequisite is not satisfied here. . For example, in United States v. Ostrowsky, 501 F.2d 318 (7th Cir. And, he took Wesley Crandall's money that was there, and the marihuana. Thompson and Percy had the first two guns with them when they were detained by Illinois police in June 1991.7. Rather, the defense elicited from Percy that he had not been charged with any crime related to those events and that his charge for altering a vehicle identification number was dismissed in exchange for his cooperation in this case. In brief, Percy testified that he and Thompson went to Crandall's house that day to purchase marijuana and that Thompson assaulted and shot Crandall.6 Thompson then stole several of Crandall's guns, one of which Percy identified at trial as the same handgun recovered in the car search in Illinois in June 1991, and ballistics tests confirmed to be the weapon used to kill Hillis and Beeler. Hardin v. State, 611 N.E.2d 123, 129 (Ind.1993). But, the acts that [Thompson] committed up there, as they related to his case are proof of his guilt here; that's the whole reason you were able to hear it. That conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. reach the remaining claims of error.See footnote 12 IV. However, double jeopardy forbids a retrial-even where the defendant requests it as here-if the reviewing court concludes that the evidence is legally insufficient to support the conviction. As of July 1, 2006 Home Page| All rights reserved. 1997) (improper comments about defendant's criminal background did not require reversal because evidence independently supported conviction for burglary); United States v. Burke, 948 F.2d 23, 28 (1st Cir. The defense responded that the conviction was: (1) "impermissible bolstering" of Percy; (2) irrelevant to proving what happened at Hillis Auto Sales on the day of the murders; and (3) too prejudicial to be outweighed by any probative value. As the Eighth Circuit put it in rejecting a Federal Evidence Rule 404(b) challenge: A jury is entitled to know the circumstances and background of a criminal charge. Thompson retrieved a pillow from another room, placed it over Crandall's head, and fired. The convictions and sentence are reversed.
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