Brown v. State

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

Appellant Patricia Ann Brown was convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the beating death of Eugene Clark. On appeal, Brown contends that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective. Though we conclude that Brown was erroneously sentenced, we otherwise affirm.1

We begin by examining the evidence adduced during Brown’s trial, reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdicts. Brown and her friend, Gussie Moore, met the victim, Eugene Clark, at a Sumter County bar. Clark was flush with cash from his tax refund, which he was flashing around…