State v. Fowler

THIS
OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS
PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Zachary Marquis
Fowler, Appellant.

Appeal From Greenville County

D. Garrison Hill, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2010-UP-372

Submitted June 1, 2010 – Filed July 21,
2010   

AFFIRMED

Senior Appellate Defender Joseph L.
Savitz, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief
Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant Attorney General J. Anthony Mabry, all of
Columbia; and Solicitor Robert Mills Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Zachary Marquis Fowler was convicted of
murder, armed robbery, assault and battery with the intent to kill (ABWIK),
assault with the intent to kill, possession of a weapon during the commission
of a violent crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm.  Fowler appeals only his
murder conviction and corresponding life imprisonment sentence, arguing the
trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the law of voluntary
manslaughter.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following
authorities:  State v. Cole, 338 S.C. 97, 101, 525 S.E.2d 511, 513
(2000) ("Voluntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being
in sudden heat of passion upon sufficient legal provocation."); State
v. Lowry, 315 S.C. 396, 399, 434 S.E.2d 272, 274 (1993) ("To warrant a
court's eliminating the offense of manslaughter, it should very clearly appear
that there is no evidence whatsoever tending to reduce the crime from murder to
manslaughter."); see also S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-50 (2003) (defining
manslaughter as "the unlawful killing of another without malice, express
or implied"); S.C. Code Ann. § 16-1-90 (Supp. 2009) (stating armed robbery
and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime are
felonies); S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-620 (2003) (classifying ABWIK as a felony); State
v. Avery, 333 S.C. 284, 294, 509 S.E.2d 476, 481 (1999) (holding malice can
be inferred if a person intentionally kills another during the commission of a
felony).

AFFIRMED.

SHORT,
KONDUROS, and GEATHERS,
JJ., concur. 

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.