Samuel Lee Miley v. State of Mississippi
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2005-KA-01135-SCT
SAMUEL LEE MILEY
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DATE OF JUDGMENT:
TRIAL JUDGE:
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
NATURE OF THE CASE:
DISPOSITION:
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
06/09/2005
HON. MARCUS D. GORDON
SCOTT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
EDMUND J. PHILLIPS, JR.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: JOHN R. HENRY
MARK DUNCAN
CRIMINAL - FELONY
AFFIRMED - 08/10/2006
BEFORE SMITH, C.J., WALLER, P.J., AND DICKINSON, J.
WALLER, PRESIDING JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1.
A jury in the Circuit Court of Scott County, Mississippi, convicted seventy-six-year-
old Samuel Lee Miley of the statutory rape of his girlfriend’s fifteen-year-old daughter
pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-65(1)(a) (Rev. 2000). Miley was sentenced to five
years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Miley appealed the circuit
court’s judgment after the circuit court denied his motions for a directed verdict and for a
new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and his request for a peremptory
instruction. We affirm the circuit court's judgment.
FACTS
¶2.
Miley lived with his girlfriend who had a fifteen-year-old daughter, K.S. On a
Monday holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr., Day) in 2004, Miley was at home alone with K.S.,
who was home from school. Miley’s girlfriend was at work. According to K.S.’s testimony
at trial, she and Miley were sitting on the couch together when Miley stated, “You don’t take
care of me.” Miley then immediately instructed her to don a white tee shirt. K.S. testified
at trial that she knew from past experience that Miley meant for her to take off all of her
clothing, wear nothing but the white tee shirt, and have sex with him.
¶3.
On the day in question, Miley used a particular brand of lubrication. K.S. told no one
of the incident until Thursday of that same week, when she heard the issue of rape being
discussed on a talk show. She then told her aunt and cousin what had happened. The minor
later apprised her mother of the incident, and the mother believed her daughter because the
brand of lubrication she mentioned was exactly the brand Miley used in his regular sexual
encounters with the mother. The next day, Friday, the Department of Human Services took
custody of the victim.
¶4.
K.S. testified that Miley was the sole disciplinarian in the house and would punish her
regularly, including prohibiting visits to her grandmother for a year when she once
misbehaved in school.
¶5.
Miley did not testify at trial and did not call witnesses to his defense. No medical
evidence of intercourse was offered.
¶6.
Once the State rested, Miley moved for a directed verdict. The circuit court denied
the motion and Miley’s request for a peremptory instruction. The jury found Miley guilty
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of statutory rape, and he was sentenced to five years in the custody of the Mississippi
Department of Corrections. Miley then moved for a new trial or J.N.O.V. After the circuit
court denied this motion, Miley appealed.
DISCUSSION
I.
WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED BY
DENYING MILEY’S MOTION FOR A DIRECTED
VERDICT, MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL/J.N.O.V.
OR THE REQUEST FOR A PEREMPTORY
INSTRUCTION.
Sufficiency of the Evidence
¶7.
In considering whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction in the face of
a motion for directed verdict or for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the critical inquiry
is whether the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that accused committed the act
charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense
existed; and where the evidence fails to meet this test it is insufficient to support a conviction.
However, this inquiry does not require a reviewing court to “ask itself whether it believes
that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Instead, the
relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime
proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Bush v. State, 895 So. 2d 836, 843 (Miss. 2005) (citing
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 315, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979). Should the
facts and inferences considered in a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence “point in
favor of the defendant on any element of the offense with sufficient force that reasonable
men could not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty,” the
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proper remedy is for the appellate court to reverse and render. Bush, 895 So. 2d at 843
(quoting Edwards v. State, 469 So. 2d 68, 70 (Miss. 1985)). However, if a review of the
evidence reveals that it is of such quality and weight that, “having in mind the beyond a
reasonable doubt burden of proof standard, reasonable fair-minded men in the exercise of
impartial judgment might reach different conclusions on every element of the offense,” the
evidence will be deemed to have been sufficient. Bush, 895 So. 2d at 843 (quoting Edwards,
469 So. 2d at 70).
¶8.
Under Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-65 (1)(a) (Rev. 2000), the following elements must
be proven beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the alleged victim must be at least fourteen at the
time of the rape but under sixteen years of age; (2) the accused must be at least seventeen
years of age and more than thirty-six months older than the victim; (3) the victim must not
be the accused’s spouse; and (4) the two must have engaged in sexual intercourse (meaning
“the penis of the male is inserted into the vagina of the female”). Here, the only element
under dispute is the “sexual intercourse” element.
¶9.
Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we find that there
was sufficient evidence to convict Miley of statutory rape. K.S. testified that she was alone
in the house with Miley, that Miley was sitting near her on the couch and stated, “You don’t
take care of me.” Immediately after this statement, Miley told K.S. to put on a white tee
shirt. It is undisputed that she also took off everything else and wore nothing but the white
tee shirt. The victim testified that Miley’s penis did penetrate her vagina, and she gave
explicit detail of the incident (including testifying as to the approximate length of time
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engaged in intercourse and the approximate height above the floor at which her calves were
positioned as they dangled from the bed on which she lay).
¶10.
Miley argues that since K.S. is the only eyewitness to the alleged penetration, and
since the victim was not fond of Miley’s disciplining methods and admitted that she had no
affinity for Miley, her testimony as to sexual intercourse was suspect and therefore
insufficient for conviction. However, the unsupported word of the victim of a sex crime is
sufficient to support a guilty verdict where that testimony is not discredited or contradicted
by other credible evidence. Collier v. State, 711 So. 2d 458, 462 (Miss. 1998) (citing
Christian v. State, 456 So. 2d 729, 734 (Miss. 1984)); Inman v. State, 515 So. 2d 1150, 1152
(Miss. 1987); Doby v. State, 532 So. 2d 584, 591 (Miss. 1988); Ragland v. State, 403 So. 2d
146, 147 (Miss. 1981). See also Williams v. State, 512 So. 2d 666 (Miss. 1987) (where
nudity, in the totality of the circumstances, was an indicator of rape despite the victim’s
inability to communicate anything directly to the court).
¶11.
Here, although Miley attacks the victim’s credibility, her testimony was not
sufficiently discredited to warrant overruling the verdict. Miley reiterated on appeal that “the
possibility exists that . . . [K.S.] conducted a deception to accuse Appellant falsely for [her]
own purpose.” Deception might be a possibility but it is not a probability in this case.
¶12.
There is evidence of difficulties between Miley and the victim not emanating from his
sexual activity with her. However, her prior disagreements with him on other matters are not
strong indications of falsehood about sexual intercourse with Miley, especially when coupled
with the totality of the circumstances, particularly Miley’s sexually suggestive ritual of
instructing the victim to wear a certain type of garment.
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Weight of the Evidence
¶13.
When reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial based on an objection to the
weight of the evidence, we will only disturb a verdict when it is so contrary to the
overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an
unconscionable injustice. Bush, 895 So. 2d at 843 (citing Herring v. State, 691 So. 2d 948,
957 (Miss. 1997)). On a motion for new trial, “the court sits as a thirteenth juror. The
motion, however, is addressed to the discretion of the court, which should be exercised with
caution, and the power to grant a new trial should be invoked only in exceptional cases in
which the evidence preponderates heavily against the verdict.” Bush, 895 So. 2d at 843
(quoting Amiker v. Drugs For Less, Inc., 796 So. 2d 942, 947 (Miss. 2000)). However, the
evidence should be weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict. Bush, 895 So. 2d at
843 (citing Herring, 691 So. 2d at 957). A reversal on the grounds that the verdict was
against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, “unlike a reversal based on insufficient
evidence, does not mean that acquittal was the only proper verdict.” Bush, 895 So. 2d at 843
(quoting McQueen v. State, 423 So. 2d 800, 803 (Miss. 1982)). Rather, as the “thirteenth
juror,” we simply disagree with the jury's resolution of the conflicting testimony. Id. This
difference of opinion does not signify acquittal any more than a disagreement among the
jurors themselves. Id. Instead, the proper remedy is to grant a new trial. Bush, 895 So. 2d
at 843.
¶14.
Sitting as a limited “thirteenth juror” in this case, we cannot view the evidence in the
light most favorable to the verdict and say that an unconscionable injustice resulted from this
jury's rendering of a guilty verdict.
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¶15.
Miley argues that the verdict resulted in an unconscionable injustice. He claims on
appeal that there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed statutory rape
because “[s]eventy-six year old men simply do not have that drive, except in very
extraordinary circumstances.” However, Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-65(1)(a) & (6) (Rev. 2000)
do not require proof of sexual drive for conviction of statutory rape; mere penetration,
regardless of libido, suffices.
¶16.
In determining the minimum proof necessary to prove penetration, we turn to Lang v.
State, 230 Miss. 147, 87 So. 2d 265 (1956), where this Court found that proof of penetration
may be established by circumstantial evidence. Id. at 158-60, 87 So. 2d at 268-69; see also
Gray v. State, 728 So. 2d 36, 61 (Miss. 1998) (affirming Lang’s stance on proof of
penetration). In Lang, the twenty-year-old victim was raped by an intruder in her house.
Although there was no medical testimony and the victim never said on record the exact, or
similar, words that she was raped, the Court affirmed Lang’s conviction, holding that (1) a
reasonable jury could have deduced through the graphic detail of the victim’s story that she
was testifying that the accused raped her; (2) the victim identified the accused in court by
sight and by an odor distinct to the accused; (3) the police found evidence to corroborate the
victim’s story that she attempted to disinfect herself afterwards; (4) the victim’s wallet,
which was taken by the perpetrator or his accomplice, was found near Lang’s place of
employment; and (5) Lang had no credible alibi. Lang, 230 Miss. at 152-57, 87 So. 2d at
266-68.
¶17.
In Wilson v. State, 606 So. 2d 598 (Miss. 1992), this Court reaffirmed Lang and noted
that “[a]ctual medical evidence of penetration . . . is not necessary. . . . In the case at hand
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[as opposed to the testimony in Lang,] . . . the prosecutrix did specifically testify that her
private parts had been penetrated. . . . The testimony of the prosecutrix as to penetration is
sufficient [to prove penetration].” Id. at 599. Wilson involved a thirteen-year-old girl who
had been repeatedly raped by her stepfather. At trial, there was no medical testimony as to
penetration. Wilson was convicted of capital rape [Miss. Code Ann. § 97-1-7 (attempted and
incomplete rape of one less than fourteen years of age by one older than eighteen years of
age)]. We found the following evidence sufficient to sustain Wilson’s conviction: the
victim’s testimony of penetration and the testimony of Wilson’s wife that Wilson confessed
to her that he had sexual relations with the thirteen year old and that she witnessed Wilson
performing sex on the child in the specific incident that later led to trial. While Wilson did
give a full confession upon arrest and then later appealed on insufficient evidence, we did not
take these facts into consideration when Wilson appealed.
¶18.
In the present case, the evidence consists of (1) testimony from the victim that the
accused’s penis penetrated her vagina, (2) a history of odd instructions from the accused to
the victim to participate in sexual activities (i.e. lying nude except for a white tee shirt), and
(3) testimony from the victim’s mother as to the similarities of the elements of the rape and
the mother’s regular sexual encounters with the accused.
¶19.
The case against Lang contained far less evidence than that presented here. The
record shows that the prosecution established all of the elements of statutory rape under Miss.
Code Ann. § 97-3-65 (1)(a) (Rev. 2000).
unconscionable injustice.
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Thus, the verdict did not result in an
¶20.
For these reasons, we find that the circuit court did not err in denying Miley’s motion
for a new trial or J.N.O.V, his request for peremptory instruction, or his motion for directed
verdict.
II.
¶21.
WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN
ADMITTING EVIDENCE OF PRIOR ACTS OF
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN MILEY AND THE
VICTIM.
Under Rule 403 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, even relevant evidence may be
excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice,
confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste
of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Rule 404(b) of the Mississippi
Rules of Evidence dictates that evidence of prior “crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible
to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It
may, however, be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent,
preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.” (Emphasis
added). See also Carter v. State, 450 So. 2d 67, 69 (Miss. 1984).
¶22.
Under Rule 105 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, when evidence against a party
is admissible for one purpose but not for another purpose, the trial court must limit the scope
of the evidence and instruct the jury accordingly.
¶23.
The evidence of whether Miley had ever before asked K.S. to don a white tee shirt and
whether he had ever before had sexual relations with her was inadmissible to directly prove
the crime for which he was indicted. However, the circuit court found that the evidence was
more probative than prejudicial, would be helpful to the jury in defining the issues (issues
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such as why the girl would take off all of her clothes though not specifically instructed to do
so), and was therefore admissible on the condition that the State not delve into the details of
the alleged prior incidents. The circuit court also gave the jury a limiting instruction as to
how this evidence should be used.
¶24.
The circuit court’s ruling met the requirements of Rules 105, 403 and 404(b). There
is no abuse of discretion on this issue; and therefore, there is no reason to overrule the circuit
court’s discretionary decision to admit this evidence of prior acts. Brooks v. State, 242 So.
2d 865, 869 (Miss. 1971) (reaffirming the tenets of Rule 404(b) and stating that in statutory
rape cases evidence of prior sexual acts between the accused and the victim is admissible).
See also Hicks v. State, 441 So. 2d 1359, 1360 (Miss. 1983); Speagle v. State, 390 So. 2d
990, 992 (Miss. 1980); Kolb v. State, 129 Miss. 834, 835, 93 So. 358, 360 (1922) (stating the
relation of the male and female prior to the alleged act may be shown in evidence for the
purpose of showing opportunity and otherwise corroborating the testimony of guilt at the
time of the act).
CONCLUSION
¶25.
For these reasons, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
¶26. CONVICTION OF STATUTORY RAPE AND SENTENCE OF FIVE (5)
YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, AFFIRMED.
SMITH, C.J., COBB, P.J., DIAZ, CARLSON, DICKINSON AND RANDOLPH,
JJ., CONCUR. EASLEY AND GRAVES, JJ., CONCUR IN RESULT ONLY.
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