People v. Barker

Defendant Anthony Barker was found guilty of aggravated reckless homicide and reckless homicide after an automobile accident in which a young woman, Ruth Erwin, was killed. Defendant, who had been driving under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, ran a stoplight at a high rate of speed and crashed into Ms. Erwin’s vehicle. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

On appeal, defendant asserts the following: (1) the State’s repeated references to the victim’s family and the victim’s good character resulted in plain error; (2) the trial court erred in…