Ashley v. State

In this appeal from a death sentence following convictions for Murder in the First Degree and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, we consider whether a spectator’s outburst, which was made in the presence of the jury immediately after the defense’s closing argument in the guilt phase necessitated the granting of the defendant’s motion for a mistrial. The spectator’s outburst in this case was as follows: “Don’t think he’s not guilty, he stabbed me in the back 14 times. Don’t think he’s not guilty. He’s nothing but a coward. Stabbed me in the back.”

We hold that,…