Engram v. State, 15 S.W.3d 678 (Ark. 2000)

Cases | Engram v. State, 15 S.W.3d 678 (Ark. 2000) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of capital murder and rape. He appealed, arguing, among other things, that the trial court erred in admitting victim-impact evidence, and that victim-impact evidence should be deemed irrelevant under Arkansas’ capital-sentencing scheme. The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed, finding first that the defendant failed to show that adherence to the principle of stare decisis in this case was manifestly unjust or patently wrong. Furthermore, the Court noted that the General Assembly unequivocally declared that victim-impact evidence was relevant to a jury’s determination of the appropriateness of the death penalty. The Court noted that the victim-impact evidence admitted in this case was testimony, like the testimony discussed in Payne v. Tennessee, from family members of the victim, i.e., her parents, who were persons “profoundly impacted by [the victim’s] death.”