State v. Beckett

Erick Beckett appeals, following a jury trial, his conviction for first-degree murder (§ 565.020)1 and armed criminal action (§ 571.015), for which he was sentenced to concurrent terms of life without the possibility of parole and thirty years' imprisonment. Beckett raises one claim on appeal; he argues that the trial court abused its discretion in precluding defense counsel from questioning the venire panel to discern whether they could consider all the evidence once they heard that "two shots" were fired. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.

Background2

On February…