South Carolina v. King

A jury convicted Raheem King of the attempted murder and armed robbery of a Charleston cab driver and the related charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. The trial judge sentenced King to an aggregate term of thirty-five years' imprisonment for armed robbery and the weapon charge, and a concurrent term of ten years' imprisonment for attempted murder. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed King's convictions for armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, but reversed and remanded King's conviction for attempted murder. The Court of Appeals found the trial court: (1) erred in its jury charge, "[a] specific intent to kill is not an element of attempted murder but it must be a general intent to commit serious bodily harm"; (2) erred in admitting the hearsay testimony of an investigating officer; (3) correctly charged the jury the permissive inference of malice from the use of a deadly weapon; and (4) did not abuse his discretion in allowing the State to publish to the jury a recording of a phone call made by King while he was incarcerated. The South Carolina Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals' decision to affirm King's convictions for armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and to reverse and remand King's conviction for attempted murder. Yet, the Court clarified that the offense of attempted murder, as codified in section 16-3-29 of the South Carolina Code and viewed in its entirety, required a specific intent to kill. Furthermore, the Court concluded that a police officer’s testimony at trial should not have been admitted as it constituted inadmissible hearsay regardless of the fact that it was offered by the State to explain the police investigation. However, like the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court found the admission of this testimony constituted harmless error. In contrast to the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held the trial judge erred in admitting the recording of King's detention center phone call. Nevertheless, the admission of the recording also constituted harmless error. View "South Carolina v. King" on Justia Law