Swingley v. State

The defendant, James Swingley, was convicted of murder 1 for the November 12, 1996, killing of Brian Insco in Muncie, Indiana. The defendant’s one claim on appeal is that three autopsy photographs were erroneously admitted into evidence thereby infringing his right to a fair trial.

The defendant’s claim focuses on three slides in a ten-slide presentation labeled collectively as State’s Exhibit 13. Record at 594. These slides were projected on a screen during the pathologist’s testimony. The defendant argues that the probative value of the slides was outweighed by their prejudicial effect.…