Cases | Fudge v. State, 20 S.W.3d 315 (Ark. 2000) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He appealed arguing, among other things, that the trial court erred in admitting victim impact evidence because such evidence is irrelevant under Arkansas’ capital sentencing procedure.  The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the conviction and sentence, noting that the General Assembly had unequivocally declared that victim-impact evidence was relevant to a jury’s determination of the appropriateness of the death penalty.  The Court concluded that the defendant provided no reason why it should make a decision contrary to its holding in Engram v. State, 341 Ark. 196, 15 S.W.3d 678 (2000).