State v. Gardner

This is a death penalty case. Appellant was convicted of murder and kidnaping and received a death sentence after the jury found the aggravating circumstances of criminal sexual conduct (CSC), kidnaping, and physical torture. This opinion consolidates the direct appeal and our mandatory review pursuant to S.C.Code Ann. § 16-3-25 (1985). We affirm.

The events leading to these crimes began on the evening of December 30, 1992, when the victim, an intoxicated young woman, got into an automobile with three men she did not know. The men drove to a trailer, where the victim engaged in sex acts with…