Bowie v. State

Hines, Justice.

A jury found Philanders Lamont Bowie guilty of felony murder and cruelty to children in the first degree in connection with the beating death of his girlfriend’s seventeen-month-old daughter, Makayla Valley. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, as amended, Bowie appeals his convictions, claiming that bad character evidence was improperly admitted and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The evidence construed in favor of the verdicts showed the following. On July 6, 2005, Candace Jakes left Makayla in the…