State v. Willis

by
Defendant was convicted of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of felony murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping. Defendant was sentenced to death on each conviction. The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Defendant’s two convictions of first degree murder. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding (1) the trial court did not violate Defendant’s right against self-incrimination or Defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by admitting into evidence certain incriminating statements Defendant made to his ex-wife; (2) the searches of Defendant’s home and storage unit did not violate the Fourth Amendment; (3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to exclude certain photographs of the victims and in denying Defendant’s ex parte motions for a crime scene expert and a false confession expert; (4) the sentences of death were not imposed in an arbitrary fashion and were neither excessive of disproportionate; and (5) the evidence supported the jury’s findings as to each first degree murder conviction. View "State v. Willis" on Justia Law