Graham v. State

The State failed to present evidence of provocation to support the defendant's voluntary manslaughter charge following the death of her 3-month-old baby.

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Erica Lashae Graham was indicted for four counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and making false statements to the police after her three-month-old baby died while in her care. A jury convicted her of four counts of voluntary manslaughter instead of felony murder and of all the remaining charges. The trial court merged the violent offenses into one voluntary manslaughter conviction and sentenced Graham to serve twenty years in prison, followed by five years in prison on the charge of making false statements. She appeals, contending that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions. For the reasons that follow, we agree that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the voluntary manslaughter convictions and therefore reverse them. We conclude, however, that the evidence was sufficient to affirm the convictions for aggravated assault, aggravated battery, cruelty to children, and making false statements. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate the sentence, and remand for resentencing in accordance with this opinion.1

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence established that on January 6, 2009, police and emergency medical technicians found Graham’s three-month-old baby dead shortly after Graham called 911 at 9:44 p.m. Graham gave conflicting accounts of the events preceding the baby’s death, first telling police that she lived alone with the baby and her other daughter at their apartment, that she had picked up the baby from the baby’s father earlier that evening at a gas station, that she had no contact information for the father, and that she had put the baby to sleep in her playpen when she came home. However, Graham actually lived with the baby’s father, whom she initially misidentified to the police. The father had put the baby to bed around 5:30 p.m. and left the apartment around 7:00 p.m. that evening, leaving Graham alone with the baby and the couple’s two-year-old daughter.

Graham v. State

The State failed to present evidence of provocation to support the defendant's voluntary manslaughter charge following the death of her 3-month-old baby.

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