State v. Graham

COPELAND, Justice.

The State assigns as error the Court of Appeals’ holding that the defendant’s voluntary acknowledgment of his wrongdoing at an early stage of the criminal process entitled defendant to the benefit of that statutory mitigating circumstance and thus to a new sentencing hearing. We agree with the Court of Appeals’ holding, but feel we must clarify the term “the criminal process” and its time of commencement.

The evidence clearly revealed that the defendant, when first questioned prior to his arrest, denied any involvement in the break-ins. But immediately after his arrest…