Commonwealth v. Kapaia
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The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant's allegations of error were without merit and that there was no reason to reduce the verdict pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E.
On appeal from his conviction, Defendant argued, among other things, that there was insufficient evidence to convict him and that errors in the Commonwealth's opening and closing arguments warranted reversal. The Supreme Judicial Court disagreed and affirmed, holding (1) although portions of the prosecutor's opening statement were improper, the errors did not create a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice; (2) the prosecutor misstated the accuracy of GPS data, but this error did not create a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice; and (3) the prosecutor made a misstatement of evidence during her closing, but the error did not create a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice.
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