State v. Poore, 226 W. Va. 727

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed Richard Alan Poore's first-degree murder conviction and life sentence without mercy. The court held that improper prosecutorial comments constituted plain error and that the circuit court plainly erred by failing to conduct a hearing concerning the more than 25-year pre-indictment delay. The court also directed that any retrial address the admissibility and required findings for prior-acts evidence under West Virginia Rule of Evidence 404(b).

Holdings

1. The prosecutor's extensive comments concerning the decedent's obituary, funeral, gravesite, and the defendant's abusive character constituted clear error and were sufficiently prejudicial to satisfy the plain-error standard and require reversal of the murder conviction.
2. The circuit court committed plain error by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the substantial pre-indictment delay violated Poore's due process rights.
3. Although the Court did not decide the admissibility of the Rule 404(b) evidence because it reversed on other grounds, it directed that any retrial include a full hearing and the findings required by State v. McGinnis.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the prosecutor's opening statement and closing argument contained unpreserved improper comments that constituted plain error requiring reversal.
2. Whether the circuit court committed plain error by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing concerning whether the more-than-twenty-five-year pre-indictment delay violated Poore's due process rights.
3. What procedures the circuit court must follow on retrial in determining the admissibility of Rule 404(b) evidence.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded