In a death penalty case, when asked if he could tell how many stabbing wounds were on the victim, a police officer replied he could not, but volunteered that in 22 years, he had never seen anyone stabbed this many times. The defense objected and the court twice told the jury to disregard the statement. The Supreme Court found no prejudice. The autopsy evidence that the victim had been stabbed almost 50 times was alone sufficient for the jury to conclude the murder was unusually brutal.
Case Summaries