Ortiz v. State

HOLLAND, Justice.

This is the defendant-appellant’s, Juan Ortiz, consolidated direct and automatic appeals from his judgments of conviction and death sentence for the murder of Deborah Clay. A Superior Court jury convicted Ortiz of Murder in the First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and Arson in the Second Degree. Following a penalty hearing, the jury voted eleven to one to recommend a sentence of death. The trial judge sentenced Ortiz to death.

Ortiz has raised six issues on appeal. First, he contends that the failure of the trial judge to inquire into…