COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – Heather Sims’ voluntary manslaughter conviction in her husband’s death has been overturned by South Carolina’s appellate court.
According to court documents, the appeal was filed on December 4, 2018 and the opinion was filed on Wednesday, reversing the conviction.
“In the instant case, the State sought and secured an indictment for murder and predicated its entire case on the theory that Sims killed David with malice,” the document said. “As a result, the record is devoid of any evidence that Sims was under a sudden heat of passion when she shot David. Accordingly, we find the circuit court erred in charging the jury on voluntary manslaughter and we reverse Sims’s conviction.”
The document also said a retrial would fall under the Double Jeopardy clause.
“Further, we find remanding the case for retrial on involuntary manslaughter is precluded by the Double Jeopardy Clause. Therefore, we decline the State’s request to do so.”
The full court document can be read here.
Sims was sentenced to serve 10 years for voluntary manslaughter in November 2015 for the 2013 death of her husband, David Sims, Jr.
