Smith v. State

SULLIVAN, Justice.

Defendant Charles Smith was convicted of murder for shooting his cousin and slitting his throat. He argues that the trial court improperly prevented him from contending that another person was the killer when it excluded evidence that the victim had threatened his wife's family and had used drugs. We affirm his conviction, finding the evidence he sought to present not relevant because it did not suggest the existence of another suspect.

Background

The facts favorable to the judgment indicate that on August 30, 1998, Defendant Charles Smith and his friends Verlie and Bruce…