Anthony Wayne Carter v. State of Indiana

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Anthony Wayne Carter’s murder conviction and sentence of life imprisonment without parole. The Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to instruct the jury on reckless homicide and that sufficient evidence supported the statutory torture aggravator.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to give Carter's proposed reckless-homicide instruction because there was no serious evidentiary dispute that Carter intentionally killed Neville.
2. The evidence was sufficient for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Carter tortured Neville and to support the torture aggravator for his LWOP sentence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by declining to give a proposed lesser-included-offense instruction on reckless homicide.
2. Whether sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that Carter committed the statutory torture aggravator supporting a life-without-parole sentence.

Disposition

affirmed