Walters v. State

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed Raymond Walters's conviction for rape and life-imprisonment sentence. The court held that the victim's testimony and DNA evidence provided sufficient evidence to support the conviction, and it declined to review Walters's competency-to-stand-trial argument because it was not preserved for appeal. The court also found no other reversible error under Supreme Court Rule 4-3(h).

Holdings

1. The evidence was sufficient to support Walters's rape conviction because the victim's testimony, together with the DNA evidence, established the statutory elements of rape and forcible compulsion.
2. Walters's challenge to the competency evidence was not preserved because he did not object to the psychological expert's testimony or the consideration of the examinations at trial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether substantial evidence supported Walters's rape conviction.
2. Whether the trial court erred in considering the State psychological expert's testimony and examinations concerning Walters's competency to stand trial when the expert allegedly lacked proper credentials and was biased.

Disposition

affirmed