State v. Eason

WHICHARD, Justice.

In a capital trial, the jury found defendant guilty of the first-degree murder of Kirk Upchurch. He was also found guilty of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Following the guilt phase of the murder trial, the State offered no additional evidence at sentencing, and the trial court determined that the State’s guilt-phase evidence was insufficient to warrant submission of any capital sentencing aggravating circumstances to the jury. It accordingly sentenced defendant to life imprisonment on the murder charge. It sentenced…