John Oscar Harris

The case involved Larry O'Neal Thompson's conviction for first-degree robbery after he was identified by the store manager as the perpetrator who threatened the victim with what appeared to be a gun while demanding money from a convenience store register. Thompson was sentenced to life imprisonment under Alabama's Habitual Felony Offender Act based on two prior felony convictions. On appeal, he challenged the prosecutor's closing remarks as improper, argued that the elements of first-degree robbery were not proven, and contended that his prior convictions could not be used to enhance his sentence. The court held that the remarks did not create ineradicable prejudice, that the victim's testimony established a prima facie case of robbery, and that the prior convictions qualified as felonies for enhancement purposes under the applicable rules. After remand for an evidentiary hearing, the court also rejected Thompson's claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and affirmed the conviction and sentence.

criminal lawprocedure

Jerry Leonard Cowart was convicted after a consolidated trial of felony possession of marijuana, possession of flurazepam, and possession of a pistol following a prior violent crime conviction, while his co-defendant wife was convicted on the drug charges; sentences included jail time, prison terms up to 35 years, and fines. On appeal, Cowart challenged the trial court's handling of joint counsel (disqualifying the attorney for him but not his wife), the consolidation of the cases, peremptory jury strikes, and aspects of sentencing including the disposition of a lesser marijuana charge. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding that no actual conflict of interest was shown by the remaining joint representation, that consolidation complied with procedural rules and caused no prejudice, and that the other claims lacked merit under applicable standards for effective assistance and trial fairness.

criminal lawprocedureguns

The case involved Charles Bracewell's conviction for the capital offense of robbing and murdering Rex Carnley in 1977, for which he was sentenced to death. Following a remand from the U.S. Supreme Court in light of Hopper v. Evans, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reconsidered whether the preclusion clause in Alabama's death penalty statute, which barred lesser-included offense instructions, prejudiced the defendant's trial. The court applied a two-prong test: finding no evidence at trial supported a lesser included offense, but determining that the defendant had suggested a plausible claim—that he only committed theft after someone else murdered the victim—which was not contradicted by his testimony since he did not testify in the guilt phase. Therefore, the court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involves the appeal of Arthur Lee Giles from his second conviction for capital murder and sentence of death by electrocution for the 1978 killings of Willene and Carl Nelson during a robbery at their home. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals addressed claims including the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute as rewritten after Beck v. Alabama, the denial of a motion for change of venue based on pretrial publicity surveys and voir dire, the trial judge's refusal to recuse after the first trial, and the trial court's application of the wrong burden of proof to aggravating circumstances. The court rejected the constitutional and recusal challenges as previously decided, found the survey and voir dire showed no pervasive prejudice requiring venue change, and independently reviewed the evidence to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel due to repeated stabbings after the victims were shot. The conviction and death sentence were affirmed.

criminal law

The case concerns Aaron Jones's appeal from his second conviction for capital murder under Alabama law for his role in the 1978 killings of Willene and Carl Nelson, who died from gunshot and multiple stab wounds during a nighttime home invasion that also injured their children. After a bifurcated trial, the jury found Jones guilty and recommended the death penalty; the trial court then held a sentencing hearing, determined that aggravating factors—including commission during a robbery and the especially heinous nature of the crime—outweighed any mitigating circumstances, and imposed death by electrocution. On appeal, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence, finding the evidence from surviving eyewitnesses sufficient to identify Jones as a participant and upholding the trial court's weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors. The court also overruled an application for rehearing that raised no new issues.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved Michael Wayne Waddle, who was convicted of murder after a jury trial in Madison County, Alabama, and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, Waddle argued that pretrial identification procedures used by police were impermissibly suggestive, tainting the in-court identifications by two witnesses, and that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. The court affirmed the conviction, holding that the identification issues were not preserved for review because no timely objections were made during the witnesses' testimony, only a later motion to exclude. Additionally, the court found that the identifications established a prima facie case and that any conflicts in the evidence were properly resolved by the jury.

criminal lawprocedure