Owens v. State of Mississippi
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In this criminal case heard before the Supreme Court of Mississippi, the appellant, Ronald Owens, was convicted by a jury for burglary of a business and was sentenced to serve seven years as a habitual offender. Following the guilty verdict, Owens moved for a Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (J.N.O.V.) or, alternatively, for a new trial; both motions were denied by the trial judge. Owens appealed the denial of a new trial, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court of Mississippi granted Owens's petition for certiorari, focusing on the question of whether the trial judge abused his discretion by denying Owens's motion for a new trial.
The case centered on a burglary that occurred at a closed pharmacy, with security footage showing an individual leaving the premises carrying a dark bag shortly after the pharmacy's alarm was triggered. A subsequent video from a nearby gas station showed Owens with a bag that matched the one seen in the first video. The prosecution also presented evidence of a stock bottle from the pharmacy found in Owens's home following his arrest.
Owens argued that the state presented no evidence linking him to the burglary and that the bag he was seen carrying in the gas station video, which appeared to be red, could not be the same as the black bag seen in the video from the pharmacy. The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the jury's verdict and the trial court's decision, arguing that the jury had enough evidence to rationally conclude that Owens was the individual involved in the burglary. The court held that the verdict was not contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and thus the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying Owens's motion for a new trial.
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