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Sigman v. State

The defendant could not show prejudice from defense counsel's failure to request charges on reckless conduct and simple battery as lesser included offenses of the predicate charges to the three felony murder counts, because the jury rejected the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter, based on reckless conduct or simple battery.

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A jury found Stacey Sigman not guilty of malice murder, but guilty of felony murder three counts, cruelty to children, aggravated battery and aggravated assault. The trial court entered judgment of conviction and sentenced Sigman to life imprisonment for one of the felony murder counts. The other felony murder verdicts were vacated by operation of law, and the trial court merged the remaining counts into the felony murder conviction. Sigman appeals after the denial of a motion for new trial. 1. Construed most strongly in support of the verdicts, the evidence shows that Sigman violently shook Nathan Williams, his two-month-old son. The shaking caused traumatic injury to the infant’s brain and spinal cord, and resulted in the child’s death. The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find Sigman guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

2. Sigman claims that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to request jury charges on lesser included offenses of simple battery and reckless conduct for the cruelty to children, aggravated battery and aggravated assault counts of the indictment. Sigman argues that in the absence of such lesser included offense charges for those crimes, upon which the felony murder counts were predicated, the jury was precluded from considering involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of the felony murder counts.

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