Viewing autopsy photographs The response to a witness outburst is also "better left to the discretion of trial judges who are in the best position to assess the intensity of the outburst and its potential effect on jurors." In Florida, the trial court gives parties "wide latitude" in presenting opening and closing statements, and "comments by the prosecutor will merit a mistrial only when they deprive the defendant of a fair and impartial trial, materially contribute to the conviction, are so harmful or fundamentally tainted as to require a new trial, or are so inflammatory they might have influenced the jury to reach a more severe verdict than it would have otherwise rendered." The fact that Dr. Rao took a break during her testimony did not affect the fairness of Smith's trial. Id. Here, Smith claims that the prosecutors comments amounted to improper "golden rule" arguments, which impermissibly persuade jurors to "place themselves in the victim's position during the crime and imagine the victim's suffering." Graphic autopsy photos illustrate woman Gruesome Cherish Perrywinkle Details Revealed In Court | Crime The trial court promptly recessed. May 15, 2007 Updated Aug 12, 2020. He has been arrested a dozen times. Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. She had been hidden underneath a log, grass, and rocks. When Cherishs body was brought to the Medical Examiners Office, Rao says the conducted a sexual assault kit, where a lot of evidence was collected. We pay for your stories! 2d 936 (Fla. 1984) (ruling photographs of blowup of bloody gunshot wound to victim's face admissible to corroborate medical examiner's testimony); Straight v. State , 397 So. Second, the trial court did not commit fundamental error when it allowed the State's comment during summation to which Smith objects. Mother testified Smith wanted Cherish to try on women's heels. He gagged her with such force, her gums and nostrils bled. The young girl was allegedly abducted from a Northside Walmart by Smith, 61, who pretended to be a good Samaritan. Cherish Perrywinkle Obituary We address each claim in turn. at 552-58, I can only concur in the result. 3d 734, 744 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) ; see also Wainwright v. State , 2 So. Police took Smith into custody after they cornered him near where I-95 meets I-10. I shouldve told him no, she had told a 911 operator, but my girls need clothes so bad. The jury deliberated for nineteen minutes before unanimously finding Smith guilty of kidnapping, sexual battery of a person under twelve years old, and first-degree murder. Rao says she also examined Smith at the Police Memorial Building, and he had injuries to his penis which related to trauma and were consistent with the timing of Cherishs death. Those who testified against the alleged murderer included a couple Smith spoke to in the Walmart parking lot, shoppers who saw Smith with Cherish, a former Walmart security guard, the assistant store manager of the Dollar General, and a police officer who pulled Smith over and saw his pants were soaked. On June 21, 2013, Smith met eight-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle, her sisters, and her mother, Rayne, at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville. Id . Berube v. State , 5 So. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. He faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of the murder charge.