State v. Smith

BENHAM, Justice.

Appellee Robert Lenoris Smith was indicted by a Decatur County grand jury for felony murder and other offenses arising out of the shooting death of Octavius Powell. Smith filed a number of pre-trial motions, including a motion to suppress evidence of an oral admission, written statements, and video recordings of any statement made to law enforcement officers while in custody. After conducting a Jackson-Denno1 hearing, the trial court entered an order suppressing the admission of such evidence, finding

that the State failed to prove by a preponderance of the credible evidence…