P. v. Santa Maria
Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of the first degree murder of his wife. At the trial, he admitted that he killed her, but maintained that the crime was manslaughter, because he had an outburst of rage due to provocative words appellant said during an argument. Appellant has no prior criminal record. Appellant was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life. On appeal, he contends: (1) There was insufficient evidence that he had the requisite mental state for first degree murder. (2) The trial court erred in its rulings about an untranscribed portion of his statement to the police. (3) The trial court should not have permitted the police detective who interrogated appellant to give a paraphrased summary of what he said.
The facts of this case are tragic. Court conclude, however, that appellant had a fair trial, free of prejudicial error. Court therefore affirm his conviction.
Comments on P. v. Santa Maria