People v. McBride

Opinion by

Judge CONNELLY.

Defendant, Thomas W. McBride, was convicted after a jury trial of attempted first degree murder and first degree assault. The trial court imposed concurrent prison terms of forty-eight years for the attempted murder and thirty-two years for the assault. We hold the prosecution's closing arguments were so flagrantly improper as to constitute plain error that should have prompted corrective action by the trial court even absent timely objection. Because the evidence on the assault count was overwhelming, and because one of the improper arguments could only have affected…