Jermaine Neal v. State of Mississippi

Summary

The court affirmed Neal's murder conviction and life sentence, rejecting challenges to the indictment and jury instructions, jury selection, venue, juror conduct, hearsay, ineffective assistance, verdict acceptance, cumulative error, and the sufficiency and weight of the evidence. It held that most claims were procedurally barred and that the remaining claims lacked merit, while concluding that the evidence supported a finding that Neal intentionally killed Cleveland. Justice Kitchens, specially concurring, agreed with the result but cautioned that the indictment came close to omitting the essential allegation that Neal killed the victim.