State v. Hill, 501 S.E.2d 122 (S.C. 1998)

Cases | State v. Hill, 501 S.E.2d 122 (S.C. 1998) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to death. On appeal, the defendant contended that the trial court erred in allowing the admission of victim impact evidence, as S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-1550(A) prohibits its admission in a capital case. The court noted that the exclusionary language in question merely limited the victim impact evidence in non-capital cases and did not address the admission of victim impact evidence in capital proceedings. The court further noted that the statute in question had been amended and no longer possessed the exclusionary language. Finally, the court concluded that case law clearly provides for the introduction of victim impact evidence in a death penalty case, though there is no statutory section that does so.