Walls v. State, 986 S.W.2d 397 (Ark. 1999)

Cases | Walls v. State, 986 S.W.2d 397 (Ark. 1999) | 2018

The defendant pled guilty to five counts of rape and entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of rape. The defendant appealed his sentence, arguing, among other things, that the circuit judge erred in allowing and then considering for sentencing purposes evidence that was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed the circuit judge, and remanded for sentencing. The Court noted that while Arkansas sentencing law provides that the sentencing phase of a trial may include relevant victim-impact evidence and statements, the rules of evidence apply to sentencing hearings, in general, and to victim-impact evidence, in particular. The Court concluded that the circuit judge erred in allowing, over the defendant’s objection, testimony during the sentencing phase of the trial, about the defendant’s involvement in the murders of three family members of one of his victims. Although there was no jury involved and the judge assured the defendant that he could separate the relevant evidence from the irrelevant evidence, the judge said, prior to handing down the defendant’s sentence, that he held the defendant “indirectly responsible” for the murders in question, even though the defendant had not been charged or tried in the murders. The Court concluded that such evidence was not relevant victim-impact evidence, and that it was unduly prejudicial.