Thomas v. State, 257 S.W.3d 92 (Ark. 2007)

Cases | Thomas v. State, 257 S.W.3d 92 (Ark. 2007) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of two counts of capital murder. He appealed, arguing, among other things, that “the victim-impact evidence introduced in his case encouraged the jury to respond emotionally and to arbitrarily base its decision on irrelevant matters.” The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the jury’s verdict, noting that it has repeatedly rejected the notion that victim-impact evidence acts as an aggravating circumstance or that it violates the statutory weighing process set out in capital murder cases. The Court pointed out that properly admitted victim-impact evidence is relevant evidence and assists the jury in imposing punishment based on a determination of society’s injury.