Joe Kenneth Polk v. State Texas

Joe Kenneth Polk was convicted of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and sentenced to twenty-two years imprisonment. TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20.04 (Vernon 1989). On appeal he complains: the evidence was insufficient to prove he abducted his victim; the trial court erred in holding his prior conviction for indecent exposure was a crime of moral turpitude which could be used to impeach him; his prior conviction for murder was too remote in time to be probative impeachment evidence; and the jury charge was fundamentally defective because the application paragraph did not contain the Geesa definition of "reasonable doubt." See Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991). We overrule all his points of error because: the victims testimony provided sufficient evidence of a substantial interference with her liberty; indecent exposure is a crime of moral turpitude; the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the murder without malice conviction because its probative value substantially outweighed its prejudicial effect; and Geesa does not require the "reasonable doubt" instruction be included in the application paragraph.