The State v. Harold Bennon Cartwright, Iii

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, holding that evidence of the defendant’s suicide attempt was admissible because it met a newly articulated three‑factor test linking the attempt to a guilty conscience, and that the trial court properly qualified Dr. Alicia Benedetto as an expert on child sexual abuse dynamics whose testimony did not impermissibly bolster the victims’ credibility. The Court also set forth the procedural framework for future admissibility of suicide‑attempt evidence.