Cases | McGehee v. State, 72 S.W.3d 867 (Ark. 2000) | 2018
The defendant was convicted of capital murder and kidnapping. He appealed, arguing, among other things, that his attorney was ineffective in failing to raise the issue of the constitutionality of victim-impact evidence on direct appeal. He argued that the Arkansas victim-impact statute was void for vagueness and gave insufficient guidance to the jury and judge. The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed, concluding that victim-impact evidence was relevant and admissible in this case on the issue of whether the death penalty should be imposed. Because the admission of victim-impact evidence in this case was consistent with prior case law, the Court found that there was no merit to the defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel