The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the July 19, 2011, second-degree murder conviction of Newton resident Jay Dee Mack on Wednesday following his appeal alleging the Jasper County District Court made several procedural errors during the course of the trial.
Mack, 44, was sentenced to 50 years in prison in August 2011 for the October 2010 shooting death of his 43-year-old girlfriend Angie Ancer. Mack argued the district court erred in denying his motion for acquittal. The appellate court reviewed the case proceedings and found that the acquittal motion was entered at the end of the State’s argument.
Mack attests prosecutors failed to prove specific intent in the shooting, arguing his blood alcohol content, which registered at .176 four hours after the shooting, “resulted in his inability to form specific intent” required for his original charge of first-degree murder. The appellate judges found the lower court’s decision was sound in its decision.
Mack also challenged the exclusion of testimony regarding Ancer’s character. He alleged that the court’s refusal to admit certain evidence showing a volatile relationship of alleged emotional and physical abuse by the victim was grounds for reversal, specifically a 2008 incident in which Ancer became upset at a graduation party when a lit cigarette caused the couple’s car to be set ablaze.
The higher court cited the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding the district court’s decision, stating that “all persons, independently of their character or reputation, are under the equal protection of the law. A homicide victim’s prior violent or turbulent character or reputation is ordinarily immaterial and furnishes another no excuse to become his or her private executioner. Thus where the accused denies the killing or asserts it was unintentional, evidence of the deceased’s character is inadmissible.”
The court did state that the exception to this rule is cases of self-defense but agreed that the defense failed to prove self-defense in this instance.
Accusations also were brought by Mack arguing the district court’s denial of the jurors’ request to review DVD evidence during deliberation was in error. The higher court ruled that the district court’s decision to was not unreasonable due to the disclaimer at the beginning of trial instructing jurors to pay attention to all evidence “for they would only hear it once.”
Mack’s final contention was with the court’s denial of a change of venue, due to the fact that Ancer was well known by the public because of her employment at Starbucks. The appellate judges found that the district court adequately addressed any prior familiarity potential jurors had with the victim.
Mack remains at Anamosa State Penitentiary to serve out his sentence. He is eligible for parole in 2046 after 70 percent of his term is served.
Mike Mendenhall can be contacted at (641) 792-3121 ext. 422 or via email at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com.