Clark v. Commonwealth, 833 S.W.2d 793 (Ky. 1991)

Cases | Clark v. Commonwealth, 833 S.W.2d 793 (Ky. 1991) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of murder, first degree robbery, fraudulent use of a credit device in the second degree, receiving stolen property, and tampering with physical evidence. The jury sentenced him to death for murder. The prosecutor’s closing argument in the guilt phase was charged with emotional statements engendering sympathy for the victim and his family. On appeal, the defendant claimed that victim impact testimony was not admissible in the guilt phase of trial. The supreme court held that the prosecutor’s emotional and inflammatory appeal to the jury on behalf of the victim’s family undermined the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Any evidentiary value was far outweighed by the inflammatory prejudice created in the minds of the jurors against the defendant.