Thornton v. State, 433 S.W.3d 216

Victim Kwame Turner was found shot; his body and car were linked to a house behind which Justin Thornton was developed as a suspect. Blood matching Turner’s DNA and other forensic evidence were found in Thornton’s residence; .45-caliber casings connected to a High Point .45 were recovered.
Thornton was arrested, waived a jury trial (the State agreed not to seek death), and was tried by the circuit court on capital murder and related charges.
The court convicted Thornton of capital murder (premeditated and deliberate intent), possession of a firearm, and abuse of a corpse; a theft charge was reduced. Thornton received life without parole on the capital-murder count and concurrent/consecutive terms on other counts.
Thornton moved for directed verdicts arguing insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation; the trial court denied the motions and found him guilty.
The appellate majority reversed the capital-murder conviction, holding the circumstantial proof did not exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence and that the trial court improperly shifted the burden of proof by relying on an absence of alternative evidence. The majority dismissed the capital-murder charge (leaving open lesser-offense possibilities). The opinion includes a dissent asserting the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the State, was sufficient.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was sufficient to prove premeditation and deliberation for capital murder	State: circumstantial proof (blood, shoe print, .45 casings, blood in house, victim moved in defendant’s car, defendant’s conduct and threats) permits inference of intent	Thornton: evidence is circumstantial and permits other reasonable explanations; State failed to prove conscious, pre-formed intent to kill beyond speculation	Reversed: evidence insufficient to establish premeditated and deliberate intent; trial court engaged in speculation and improperly shifted burden of proof

Williams v. State, 2011 Ark. 432, 385 S.W.3d 157 (definition of premeditated and deliberated murder)
Wallace v. State, 2009 Ark. 90, 302 S.W.3d 580 (circumstantial evidence may support conviction; must exclude other reasonable hypotheses)
Morgan v. State, 2009 Ark. 257, 308 S.W.3d 147 (circumstantial evidence must be consistent with guilt and inconsistent with other reasonable conclusions)
Ward v. State, 298 Ark. 448, 770 S.W.2d 109 (elements required to prove premeditation and deliberation)
Pearcy v. State, 2010 Ark. 454, 375 S.W.3d 622 (premeditation usually inferred from circumstances)
Coggin v. State, 356 Ark. 424, 156 S.W.3d 712 (multiple close-range shots may support premeditation inference)
Acuff v. State, 253 Ark. 85, 484 S.W.2d 698 (remanding where capital conviction cannot be sustained and noting possibility of lesser offenses)