State v. Thompson

OPINION

in which FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J., and E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, and JANICE M. HOLDER, JJ., joined.

The defendant was convicted by a jury for the 1989 first-degree premeditated murder of his wife, the aggravated assault of his wife’s niece, and the arson of his home. 1 Following a bifurcated sentencing hearing, the jury sentenced the defendant to death. 2 After a hearing on the defen dant’s Motion for New Trial, the trial court found that the State had failed to prove the defendant’s sanity beyond a reasonable doubt and modified the jury’s verdict to “not guilty by reason…