State v. Taylor

OPINION

JAMES C. BEASLEY, Special Judge.

The defendant, Robert Lee Taylor, was charged with the first degree murder of Joseph A. Howse. He was convicted of this offense by a Haywood County jury and sentenced to life in prison. On this appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and says the trial court should suppress the testimony of James Pickens, Jr., concerning a statement made to him by the defendant. He also complains that the testimony of James Ray Thompson, Jr., who was the victim in a later crime, served only to inflame and prejudice the jury and that incorrect…