SC court reinstates Charleston man’s life sentence

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s highest court has reinstated a life sentence for a Charleston man convicted of raping and killing a neighbor.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an appeals court should not have ordered a new trial for 31-year-old Jarod Tapp.

Tapp was convicted in 2005 of the rape and murder of Julie Jett. Prosecutors said Tapp attacked the 25-year-old in her apartment.

The state Court of Appeals in 2009 ordered a new trial for Tapp, ruling that a prosecution witness on crime analysis should not have been allowed to testify about a range of things unrelated to the case, like torture and drug-related homicides.

The justices said Wednesday that the trial judge should not have allowed the testimony but that it didn’t directly affect the outcome.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP