Roderick Williams v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court reversed Williams's convictions and remanded for a new trial because the trial court abused its discretion by denying a mistrial after a witness falsely testified that Williams had been convicted of terroristic threatening involving the murder victim. The court held that the testimony was sufficiently prejudicial that the court's instruction to disregard it could not cure the error. The court also held that admitting the son's prior statement to law enforcement for impeachment did not constitute an abuse of discretion, and it declined to reach cumulative error. GUNTER, J., dissenting, joined by WILLS, J., would have affirmed because the instruction was adequate and the defense did not propose a more specific curative instruction.