| People v Williams |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 06889 [54 AD3d 599] |
| September 16, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Michael Williams, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Peter D. Coddington of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Megan Tallmer, J.), rendered January 2, 2007,convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to aterm of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of theevidence (see People v Danielson, 9NY3d 342, 348-349 [2007]). Defendant engaged in a pattern of physically abusing hisfive-week-old son, which culminated in an incident where he slammed his son onto his cribmattress five times with great force, and then held him in a choke hold. These acts, which createda grave risk of serious physical injury or death to the child, evinced a depraved indifference tohuman life (see Penal Law § 125.25 [4]; People v Bowman, 48 AD3d 178 [2007], lv denied 10NY3d 808 [2008]). Defendant's attempts to revive the child and obtain help may have shown alack of homicidal intent, but they did not undermine the jury's finding that he acted withdepraved indifference at the time he inflicted the fatal injuries.
The court did not violate defendant's right to free exercise of his religion when it prohibitedhim from displaying his Bible in the presence of the jury, an act that would have posed the risk ofevoking sympathy. The compelling interest of guaranteeing a fair trial to both sides justified thecourt's incidental restriction on defendant's religious practices (see La Rocca v [*2]Lane, 37 NY2d 575, 582-584 [1975], cert denied 424US 968 [1976]; People v Bryant, 280 AD2d 403 [2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 826[2001]). Concur—Gonzalez, J.P., Buckley, Moskowitz and DeGrasse, JJ.