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Foster v. State

The trial court erred in failing to fully charge the jury on the defendant's insanity defense.

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A jury found appellant Calvin Wayne Foster guilty of malice murder, felony murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the shooting death of his estranged wife. The trial court denied Foster’s motion for new trial1 and he appeals. 1. On the morning of the shooting, Foster and the victim argued at Foster’s home. The victim ran to a neighbor’s house for help and was shot on the neighbor’s front porch. Foster was seen driving away from his home soon thereafter. He called the victim’s brother and confessed to the shooting, then called police and asked that they meet with him regarding the events of that morning. After Foster was located and taken into custody, he confessed.

At trial, Foster contended that he was temporarily insane at the time of the crimes. He offered the testimony of forensic psychologist James Stark, who opined on the stand that Foster likely had a “transitory psychotic episode” during the event in question and did not know the difference between right and wrong at the time. On cross-examination, Stark’s July 2006 evaluation of Foster, in which he stated that Foster “probably knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shootings,” was admitted into evidence. The State also offered rebuttal testimony from the forensic psychologist who conducted a court-ordered evaluation in September 2006 and found that Foster was able to determine right from wrong at the time of the crimes. Neither expert believed that Foster was acting on a delusional compulsion.

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