In re Walter M. - juvenile conviction for murder affirmed
In In re Walter M., decided December 17th, the S.C. Court of Appeals affirmed a juvenile's conviction for the killing of another child in Georgetown County, finding that there was sufficient evidence to prove malice aforethought where the child "retrieved a deadly weapon from his brother's closet, walked to another room, opened a window, and pointed the gun," and there was testimony that it took "six pounds of pressure to fire the gun and the recoil on the specific firearm in question was 'negligible.'"
The Court states that "the family court could infer malice from a defendant's use of a deadly weapon," holding that the S.C. Supreme Court's recent decision in Belcher was not applicable. I don't see how Belcher is not applicable, and the Court of Appeals does not explain its reasoning other than a footnote which notes that they have read Belcher and do not think it is controlling. The Court in Belcher said that a jury instruction that malice may be inferred from the use of a deadly weapon is not proper "where evidence is presented that would reduce, mitigate, excuse or justify the homicide." According to the Court of Appeals in this case, the juvenile presented testimony that the shooting was accidental - so is the Court of Appeals saying that it believes the state's evidence over the juveniles, or is the Court of Appeals saying that it does not matter because the case was presented to a judge and not a jury (in South Carolina, children are denied the right to a trial by jury)?
The Court of Appeals also holds that the juvenile's argument that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he killed Victim with malice aforethought was not preserved for appeal - noting that, although the Court of Appeals believes that juvenile cases should be exempt from strict rules of issue preservation, the S.C. Supreme Court has never addressed the issue and so the Court of Appeals declines to address it as well.
