State v. Davis

On June 30, 1990, Percy Davis (defendant) and an acquaintance went to a Fat’s Exxon convenience store owned by Calvin Moore. Moore was working at the store with his wife. Davis shot Moore in the chest with a pistol and shot at but missed Moore’s wife. Davis kept his pistol pointed at Moore and removed all the money from the cash register. Davis taunted Moore and threatened to shoot him again if he got up. Davis then fled with the money. Moore died from his injuries, and the State of Louisiana (plaintiff) charged Davis with murder. The state’s evidence included testimony from Moore’s wife and a police detective, as well as an unedited videotape of the shooting and robbery recorded by the store’s video camera. The videotape clearly showed Davis shooting Moore, shooting at Moore’s wife, threatening to shoot Moore again, and taking the money. Davis filed a motion in limine to prevent the state from introducing the videotape, claiming, among other things, that (1) the videotape’s prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value, (2) the videotape was being introduced to inflame the jurors, and (3) the videotape was cumulative of the state’s other testimonial and photographic evidence. The trial court denied Davis’s motion. Davis objected to the videotape again during trial, including when the court let the jurors have the videotape in the jury room during death-penalty deliberations. Davis claimed that this violated the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure’s prohibition on the jury having access to written evidence or testimony during deliberations. The court overruled Davis’s objections. The jury found Davis guilty, and the trial court sentenced him to death. Davis appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court.