Jason Lee Sowers v. State of Indiana

• Because I believe that the improper communication between the bailiff and the jury foreperson did not amount to fundamental error, I respectfully dissent. In addition, because I believe that Sowers cannot challenge the allegedly inconsistent verdicts on appeal and also that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the jury’s determination that Sowers was guilty but mentally ill of Counts II and III, I would vote to affirm Sowers’s convictions. However, I would vote to remand the matter to the trial court and instruct the trial court to amend the sentencing order to treat the habitual offender…