Simpson v. United States

A jury convicted Derrick Simpson of first-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses. On appeal, Simpson contends that the trial judge erred in allowing the prosecutor to make so-called “fear-based” arguments during rebuttal argument. We affirm.

I

Simpson’s claims in this court relate to two prosecution witnesses, each of whom provided testimony at trial inconsistent with his prior statements. The first witness, Harold Hymes-Brown (Hymes), testified that he saw Simpson “pull[ ] out his gun” and fire it at the decedent. On cross-examination, Hymes was impeached with two separate…