State v. Barnes

I

Barnes first contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to sever his trial from Young's. Denial of a severance motion is an abuse of discretion if unsupported by the evidence or controlled by an error of law. State v. Spears , 393 S.C. 466, 475, 713 S.E.2d 324, 328 (Ct. App. 2011).

Codefendants in a murder case are not automatically entitled to separate trials. State v. Kelsey , 331 S.C. 50, 73, 502 S.E.2d 63, 75 (1998). They are entitled to a severance "only when there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of a codefendant or…