Court Opinion

ID: 9782417
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 18:30:41.975397+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:34:59.260712
License: Public Domain

CHAPEL, Judge,
concurs in part/dissents in part:
¶ 1 I disagree completely with the Court's resolution of the marital privilege claim. This claim was not waived. Counsel for Murphy objected to Patsy Jacobs testifying before she testified and the objection was based upon the marital privilege. Furthermore, contrary to the argument put forth in footnote 4 of the Court's opinion, there was more than clear and convincing evidence of the existence of a common law marriage; there was a stipulation by the State in this very prosecution that there existed a common law marriage. Indeed, the State in its Brief filed with this Court did not even argue against the existence of a common law marriage.
¶ 2 As much as I disagree with the Court's resolution of the marital privilege claim, I would not reverse the conviction on this claim. Rather, I would resolve this claim by upholding the trial court's ruling that the matters about which Patsy Jacobs was to testify were not protected by the privilege.
¶ 3 Although, I would affirm the conviction, I would vacate and modify the sentence to life without parole because the heinous, atrocious, or eruel aggravator should be stricken for insufficient evidence leaving only the continuing threat aggravator. I would not attempt to reweigh the evidence under the circumstances of this case because I do not believe that an appellate court could reasonably conclude that the jury would have imposed the death sentence if it had not considered the heinous, atrocious, or cruel ag-gravator.