United States v. Small

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After a suspicious death in a New Mexico prison cell, police identified Paul Smalls, the victim's cellmate, and two other men as the perpetrators. Their scheme was to smother the victim, and then claim he died of an asthma attack. At trial, the government pointed to "signature quality" evidence that Smalls had threatened his asthmatic ex-wife in a similar fashion five months before the murder. Smalls and the other men were found guilty of the murder. Smalls appealed his conviction, arguing that he received a fundamentally unfair trial because: (1) the district court erred in several of its evidentiary rulings, including allowing the testimony of his ex-wife about his prior statement; (2) the government committed prosecutorial misconduct; (3) the court abused its discretion in denying certain jury instructions; and (4) there was insufficient evidence to sustain his convictions. Finding no reversible errors, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Small" on Justia Law