State v. Parris

Summary

The court held that the prosecutors repeatedly misstated the law governing the defendant's extreme emotional disturbance defense during closing and rebuttal arguments. Because the impropriety distorted the jury's consideration of the defendant's subjective beliefs, the source of the disturbance, and the reasonableness inquiry, and was not adequately cured, the court concluded that the defendant was denied a fair trial and ordered a new trial on the murder charge. The court nevertheless upheld the admission of the defendant's unredacted police interview because the slurs were relevant to his emotional state and their probative value was not outweighed by unfair prejudice.