## Facts

- Albert Calvert (age 79), a one-armed store owner, and his wife Betty Calvert (age 78) operated a small grocery in Kemper County, Mississippi.
- On June 26, 1985, Otis Lee Windham (age 21) arrived at the store for gasoline and argued with Albert about a debt.
- Betty saw Windham gripping Albert’s arm and refusing to let go; a nearby witness heard Betty warn that she would call the sheriff.
- After Betty struck Windham in the face with her hand, Windham retrieved a carpenter’s hammer from his car and struck Betty in the head, rendering her unconscious.
- Windham stated Albert did not hit him; he claimed Albert started back toward the store and Windham grabbed and threw him.
- Betty regained consciousness and saw Albert collapse; the prosecution contended Windham assaulted Albert with the hammer, causing fatal head injuries.
- Windham was indicted for murder, convicted, sentenced to life imprisonment, and granted a new trial after his first appeal; he was again convicted and sentenced to life, leading to this appeal.

## Issues

1. Whether the guilty verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
2. Whether the trial court erred by refusing to apply the Weathersby rule to require acceptance of Windham’s version of events.
3. Whether other asserted trial errors (including instruction and evidentiary complaints) required reversal.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the conviction and life sentence.
- The court held the verdict was not contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
- The court held the Weathersby rule did not control because Windham’s account was materially contradicted by credible eyewitness testimony and surrounding facts.
- The court found no other alleged errors warranted reversal.

## Legal Principles

- A verdict challenged as against the overwhelming weight of the evidence will be upheld when, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, allowing it to stand does not result in an unconscionable injustice.
- Under the Weathersby rule, a defendant’s account of a homicide must be accepted only when it is reasonable and substantially uncontradicted in material respects by credible witnesses or physical facts; if materially contradicted, the rule is inapplicable.
- Credibility determinations and resolution of conflicts in testimony are for the jury when there is evidentiary support for the verdict.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed Windham’s second murder conviction and life sentence because the record contained substantial evidence supporting the jury’s finding that Windham’s assault caused Calvert’s death, and the defendant was not entitled to Weathersby-based relief given material contradictions from eyewitness testimony and the circumstances of the killing.


Windham v. State, 602 So. 2d 798 (Miss. 1992)