Following a jury trial, John Russell Morgan was convicted of kidnapping,1 kidnapping with bodily injury,2 family violence aggravated assault,3 and false imprisonment.4 Morgan appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by 1 refusing to give his requested charge on justification; 2 denying his motions for mistrial after a State’s witness improperly placed Morgan’s character into evidence; and 3 excluding letters from the victim to Morgan while he was in jail awaiting trial. We affirm, for reasons that follow. On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and an appellant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. This Court . . . does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. Any conflicts or inconsistencies in the evidence are for the jury to resolve. As long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State’s case, we must uphold the jury’s verdict.5 So viewed, the record shows that Morgan began dating M.S. in January 2007, and the two began living together shortly thereafter. Morgan physically abused M.S. on multiple occasions while they lived together, choking, hitting, burning, and biting her. Morgan continued to beat M.S. after she became pregnant with his child, and he hit her in the stomach with his fist when she was approximately five months pregnant. When Morgan discovered that M.S. was bleeding from her vagina, he told her “to bleed to death.” M.S.’s doctor diagnosed her with a placental abruption and advised her to refrain from inserting anything in her vagina, warning her that any additional tearing to her placenta could cause fetal death. After the diagnosis, M.S. did not return home to Morgan. Instead, she left town to stay with her aunt for a few days and then went to stay with her twin sister. On August 28, 2007, Morgan called M.S.’s sister’s house and advised in a voice that the sister described as “mad” that he was “on his way over.” He also spoke to M.S., and told her that he was “worried about the baby.” Immediately thereafter, Morgan drove into the driveway, exited the car with what appeared to be a rake or a long stick in his hand, and approached the house. Morgan “banged” on the door, immediately kicked it open, and raised the stick at M.S. He then grabbed M.S. by her hair, dragged her outside, and pushed her into the car, where two other people were waiting.
Morgan drove away, and, as he was driving, he repeatedly punched M.S. in her face. When one of the other passengers —M.S.’s former girlfriend —told him to “stop hitting her, she’s pregnant,” Morgan replied, “It’s just her face, I’m not hitting her stomach.” He then called M.S.’s sister and forced M.S. to tell her that she was “okay.” When he heard the voice of a male police officer who had responded to the sister’s house, Morgan grabbed the cell phone from M.S., terminated the call, and disabled the phone so that the police could not use it to track their location.
