State v. Jones

ORR, Justice.

Defendant, Marcus Douglas Jones, Sr., was indicted on 14 September 1999 for the first-degree murders of his wife Benita 1 Irene Futrell Jones and stepson Marvin Chase Thomas. Defendant was tried capitally, and the jury found him guilty of both murders on the basis of premeditation and deliberation. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for each of the murders, and the trial court entered judgments accordingly.

The State’s evidence at trial tended to show the following:

On the night of 24 July 1999, while in his marital home, defendant…