Commonwealth v. James

The defendant, Steven James, appeals from his conviction of murder in the first degree by reason of extreme *313atrocity or cruelty.1 He argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict of murder in the first degree based on extreme atrocity or cruelty, that a videotaped confession should have been suppressed, and that the judge made certain errors in the jury instructions pertaining to mental impairment. We affirm the conviction and decline to exercise our power under G. L. c. 278, § 33E, to reduce the verdict to a lesser degree of guilt or order a new trial.

We summarize…