People v. Charles
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of first degree murder and two counts of second degree murder. There were four penalty trials in this case, and the fourth penalty trial jury returned a verdict of death. The trial court denied the automatic application to modify the verdict and sentenced Defendant to death. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted Defendant’s jailhouse letter under the adoptive admission exception to the hearsay rule; (2) prosecutorial misconduct did not require reversal of Defendant’s convictions and sentence; (3) the jury was properly instructed regarding motive, consciousness of guilt, and adoptive admissions; (4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by granting the prosecution’s motion for a fourth penalty trial; (5) any error in the exclusion of testimony from Defendant’s relatives that his family did not wish to have the death penalty imposed on him was harmless; and (6) Defendant’s challenges to the death penalty failed.
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