Butler v. State

DICKSON, Justice.

The defendant, Christopher Butler, was convicted in a jury trial of murder and carrying a handgun without a license. He received a sixty-year sentence for murder and a concurrent one-year sentence for the handgun offense. In this direct appeal, the issues presented may be grouped into two areas: 1) failure to prohibit witness from testifying; and 2) insufficient negation of self-defense claim.

At the inception of the discovery process, the State provided defense counsel with a copy of Bobby Dixson’s statement to the police, which defense counsel at trial acknowledged having…