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Evidence Keyed to Park
Holmes v. South Carolina
Citation:
547 U.S. 319, 126 S.Ct. 1727, 164 L.Ed.2d 503Facts
On December 31, 1989, 86-year-old Mary Stewart was beaten, raped, and robbed in her home. She later died of complications stemming from her injuries. Petitioner was convicted by a South Carolina jury of murder and was sentenced to death. Upon state post-conviction review, petitioner was granted a new trial. At the second trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the forensic evidence of petitioner. As a major part of his defense, petitioner attempted to undermine the State’s forensic evidence by suggesting that it had been contaminated and that certain law enforcement officers had engaged in a plot to frame him. Petitioner also sought to introduce proof that another man, Jimmy McCaw White, had attacked Stewart. the trial court excluded petitioner’s third-party guilt evidence.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
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