Opinion ID: 2332719
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: Humanization of Victim

Text: There was no error in permitting Ed Strohmeier, a close friend of Williamson, to testify about their growing relationship, Williamson's love for her children and grandchildren, and about her hobbies and charity work. A murder victim can be identified as more than a naked statistic, and statements identifying the victims as individual human beings with personalties and activities does not unduly prejudice the defendant or inflame the jury. Just as the jury visually observed the appellant in the courtroom, the jury may receive an adequate word description of the victim as long as the victim is not glorified or enlarged. Bowling, supra, at 302-303; see also Hodge v. Commonwealth, Ky., 17 S.W.3d 824, 847 (2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1018, 121 S.Ct. 581, 148 L.Ed.2d 498 (2000). The evidence was not unduly prejudicial.