Martez Abram a/k/a Martez Tarrell Abram v. State of Mississippi

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Abram’s convictions for two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder, along with two death sentences and a life sentence. It held that the challenged evidence was properly admitted or, alternatively, harmless; that the murders and arson formed one continuous transaction supporting capital murder; and that the verdicts were supported by sufficient and weighty evidence. The Court also declined to replace Mississippi’s M’Naghten insanity standard with the broader Model Penal Code test and found the death sentences proportionate.