People v. Fletcher

The state petitioned for writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals’ reversal of the defendant’s first-degree murder conviction.1 We granted certiorari and now reverse the Court of Appeals.

The defendant hired his girlfriend’s brother, Carlos Sanders, to kill two persons who intended to provide evidence against the defendant and his girlfriend, Rosemary Sanders, in a federal criminal action. The defendant’s accomplice, Mr. Sanders, as a result of a plea bargain, served as the state’s principal witness against the defendant.

On the night of March 23, 1972, Mr. Sanders kidnapped one of the…