Lay V. State

A jury found Kevin Lamar Lay guilty of the first degree murder of Richard Carter with use of a deadly weapon. The State sought the death penalty and presented evidence of a single aggravating circumstance, in addition to other sentencing information. The jury found one aggravating circumstance and fixed the penalty at life without possibility of parole. The judge sentenced Lay to two consecutive life terms without possibility of parole: one life term for the murder and one life term as an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. Lay appeals, claiming a number of errors. On June 14, 1991, a twenty-two count indictment was filed against Lay. In that indictment, Lay and two co-defendants were charged with the murder of Carter and with several unrelated crimes that had allegedly been committed over a two-year period including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon, trafficking and possession of a controlled substance, grand larceny, robbery, aiming a firearm at a human being, intimidating a witness