Evans v. State
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death for both murders. The Supreme Court vacated the convictions and sentences of death, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal on the charge of premeditated first-degree murder; (2) the trial court did not err in instruction the jury on burglary as the underlying felony; but (3) numerous errors occurred during the trial, including the following: (i) the trial court erred in permitting a law enforcement officer to opine that a voice heard on a 911 call-back recording belonged to Defendant even though the detective had no prior knowledge of Defendant and no expertise in voice identification, (ii) the State insinuated unsubstantiated and incriminating facts when it cross-examined Defendant, and (iii) the prosecutor gave improper closing arguments. Based on these cumulative errors, Defendant was entitled to a new trial.
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