State v. Tommy Lee Benton

Syllabus

The Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals in State v. Benton, 435 S.C. 250, 865 S.E.2d 919 (Ct. App. 2021). The Court affirms as modified the court of appeals' holding that double jeopardy did not bar Petitioner's retrial after the trial court declared a mistrial during Benton's first trial. The Court affirms the court of appeals' decision that the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting photographs of the victim's body at the crime scene and in admitting certain text and Facebook messages.