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INDIANAPOLIS -ÊThe Indiana Supreme Court decided to review an appeals court ruling that overturned the murder conviction of Jason Davidson.
A date for the ruling was not specified.
Wednesday afternoon, the court heard arguments from the Indiana Attorney General and attorneys representing Jason Davidson in an appeals case.
According to Matt Rentschler, Whitley County Prosecuting Attorney and special prosecutor in the Davidson case tried in Kosciusko County, the court normally makes decisions based on written arguments from attorneys but can request oral arguments in any case. In this case, members of the court wanted the opportunity to ask questions of both sides of the case before handing down a decision.
The court will decide if the guilty verdict handed down by the jury stands or if a new trial will be ordered.
The Court of Appeals in Indiana informed Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed April 13 the Davidson murder conviction was overturned.
According to documents from the appeals court, the decision was based on the jury instructions given before deliberation began in Davidson's trial for the 2002 murder of Samuel Creekmore. In September 2003, a jury found Davidson guilty of the murder.
The document said Davidson's proposed final jury instruction No. 1 was, "A person commits a crime only if he voluntarily engages in conduct in violation of the statute defining the crime. The term voluntarily means behavior that is produced by an act of choice and is capable of being controlled by a human being who is in a conscious state of mind."
The prosecution objected and the jury instruction chosen was, "A person commits a crime only if he voluntarily engages in conduct in violation of the statute defining the crime. The elements of culpability, or that is the voluntary conduct with which the defendant is accused, is conduct that was engaged in 'knowingly' or 'intentionally.'"
The document also said Davidson's proposed Final Jury Instruction No. 3 was, "To convict the defendant, the state must have proved each of the following elements: The defendant: (1) knowingly or intentionally (2) and voluntarily (3) killed (4) Samuel Creekmore."
Again, the prosecution objected, then approved it to read, "To convict the defendant, the state must have proved each of the following elements: The defendant: (1) knowingly or intentionally (2) killed (3) Samuel Creekmore."
The appeals court decision says the jury instructions given should have included the term "voluntarily."
"In most cases, there is no issue of voluntariness, and the state's burden is carried by proof of commission of the act itself. ... However once evidence in the record raises the issue of voluntariness, the state must prove the defendant acted voluntarily beyond a reasonable doubt," the appeals court said.
Davidson was sentenced to 55 years in prison for Creekmore's murder. Creekmore died of multiple gunshot wounds on May 22, 2002, in the home he shared with Alicia Davidson Creekmore at 1305 Bluebird Drive, Warsaw. Alicia was Davidson's ex-wife.
