Lawson v. State

One felony murder conviction reversed, since there was only one assault and it must be assumed from the guilty verdict for voluntary manslaughter that the jury found the underlying aggravated assault to be the product of provocation and passion.

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Leo Mack Lawson was convicted by a jury of two counts of felony murder and various other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Ricky Hall.1 For the reasons which follow, we affirm the judgments of conviction, except for that of felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, and we remand for re-sentencing. Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Ricky Hall and his wife Rhonda lived in a mobile home along with defendant Leo Mack Lawson. The Halls had a stormy relationship and separated intermittently, but at the time of the crime, Ricky had moved back into the residence. This angered Lawson, who had previously approached Rhonda about having a relationship. On the day in question, Lawson wielded a baseball bat and hit Ricky in the legs and back, threatening to kill him if he did not leave the residence. Ricky retreated to his car and drove away, but he returned to the residence several minutes later. As Ricky was approaching the front door, Lawson produced a .22 rifle and fired a single fatal gunshot into Ricky’s abdomen. Lawson admitted to the police that he had been in an altercation with Ricky; that Ricky left the residence but returned shortly thereafter; that upon seeing Ricky approach, Lawson grabbed a rifle from under his bed because he “wasn’t going to put up with Ricky’s crap any more”; and that he shot Ricky as Ricky entered the front door. Forensic evidence established that Ricky had been shot from a distance of 20 to 25 feet.

1. The evidence is sufficient to permit a rational trier of fact to find Lawson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of voluntary manslaughter, felony murder predicated on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault two counts, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon2, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony murder. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

Lawson v. State

One felony murder conviction reversed, since there was only one assault and it must be assumed from the guilty verdict for voluntary manslaughter that the jury found the underlying aggravated assault to be the product of provocation and passion.

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