State v. Rice

Herbert "Chief" Rice, Jr., appeals his convictions for two counts of aggravated first degree murder. Rice argues: (1) the trial court abused its discretion by not granting a change of venue; (2) the venire selection was irregular; (3) admission of hearsay statements of his codefendant, Russell McNeil, violated his constitutional right to confrontation; (4) "death qualification" of jurors created a guilt-prone jury during the guilt phase of his trial, thus denying him equal protection; and (5) there was prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. We find none of Rice's arguments…