Byrd v. State

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

The question is whether the results of a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) may be admitted to prove that a defendant’s character is inconsistent with committing intentional murder. We hold that they may not.

Byrd was convicted of the murder of Linda Chafin and of battery on her friend Vicki Hobbs. He was sentenced to forty years for the murder and eight years for the battery, to be served concurrently. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding two errors. First, it held that the trial court erred in disallowing defense testimony by Dr. Larry M. Davis, a…