State v. Laurel
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After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder on the combined theories of premeditated murder and felony murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building. Defendant was sentenced to life without parole for twenty-five years. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding (1) the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence, as the newly discovered evidence came from witnesses who were without credibility; and (2) the district judge erred in sentencing Defendant to the mandatory minimum imprisonment term for premeditated murder rather than the mandatory imprisonment term consistent for felony murder, as, when a jury cannot agree on whether a defendant is guilty of first-degree murder on a premeditation theory or a felony-murder theory, the defendant can only be given a sentence for felony murder.
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