STEPHENS V. COMMONWEALTH
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In the case before the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the defendant, Gregory Stephens, was convicted of first-degree rape and being a persistent felony offender in the second-degree. The conviction was based on the testimony of the child victim, Amy, and was supported by the testimony of additional witnesses who recounted Amy's prior hearsay statements and vouched for her credibility. Stephens appealed, arguing that the inclusion of these hearsay statements and credibility endorsements rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. The Supreme Court of Kentucky agreed, reversing and remanding the case.
The court found that the evidence against Stephens consisted entirely of Amy's statements. There was no physical evidence, and the only other possible witness, Amy's mother, did not testify. The court held that the prosecution was erroneously allowed to elicit testimony from additional witnesses to bolster Amy's testimony, amounting to palpable error. Furthermore, the court found that multiple witnesses were improperly allowed to vouch for Amy's credibility.
The court also noted that the deputy jailer's testimony about the impact of the rape on Amy during the guilt phase was improperly admitted. The court stated that such victim impact evidence is not permissible during the guilt phase of the trial.
The court concluded that the combined errors of hearsay bolstering, vouching testimony, and victim impact testimony rendered the trial fundamentally unfair and demanded a reversal of the conviction. The case was remanded for a new trial.
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