Alaska Supreme Court
State of Alaska v. Stacey Allen Graham
July 22, 2022513 P.3d 1046
Summary
The Alaska Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals, vacated Graham's 32-year sentence, and remanded for resentencing. It held that the sentencing court properly used the established second-degree-murder benchmark as a starting point, properly considered the risk-to-three-persons aggravator, and did not abuse its discretion in considering general deterrence and community condemnation. However, the sentencing court abused its discretion by admitting police testimony as victim-impact evidence and by admitting tribute videos without previewing them for relevance, cumulativeness, and unfair prejudice.