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News Scan

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

Victim Impact Evidence Appeal Denied: An AP story reports that the Supreme Court turned down appeals from death row inmates seeking to limit videos and similar material prepared by murder victims' families for juries. The appeal comes from two California cases in which jurors were shown video mixes of the victims' lives. The defendants' claimed that the videos were unfairly prejudicial and violated their right to a fair trial. The Supreme Court has held that juries can hear victim impact testimony in the penalty phase of capital cases, but it has not said whether certain testimony should be barred as prejudicial. The videos consisted of photographs of both victims, including baby pictures and pictures of the victims' graves. The California Supreme Court had upheld the convictions and death sentences in both Kelly v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).