(DOWNLOAD) "State Missouri v. Fred Leonard Crider" by Supreme Court of Missouri * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: State Missouri v. Fred Leonard Crider
- Author : Supreme Court of Missouri
- Release Date : January 09, 1967
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 59 KB
Description
Defendant was charged with armed robbery with one previous felony conviction, convicted by the jury, sentenced by the court to thirty years' imprisonment, and appeals. Defendant is represented here by appointed counsel, who has briefed and argued the case. Defendant admitted the prior conviction, etc., in the hearing before the court on this aspect of the charge and no contention is made that the state failed to make a case for the jury on the armed robbery charge. There is evidence in the record from which the jury could find that defendant was one of two men who held up a farmer, in his bedroom, at night, at the point of a shotgun which they jabbed into his stomach, and made off with $27 and his watch, automobile, and car title. Defendant claims error first in that he was not allowed twenty peremptory challenges (we take this to mean twelve, since the case was not tried in a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, Sec. 546.180-2(1) 1) inasmuch as death could result from the conviction, Sec. 560.135. However, the state, prior to voir dire, expressly waived the death penalty, as it may legally do and hence, defendant could only have received a sentence of from five years to life imprisonment, State v. Redding, (Mo. Sup.) 357 S.W.2d 103, and State v. Garrett, (Mo. Sup.) 282 S.W.2d 441. Defendant was therefore entitled only to eight peremptory challenges and a qualified panel of twenty-four jurors was sufficient, Sec. 546.180-1(2). Defendant contends the prosecuting attorney should not be allowed to waive the death penalty and thus limit to that extent the power of the court to determine the punishment under the habitual criminal statute, Sec. 556.280, but cites no authority in support of this proposition and we fail to see how defendant could have been prejudiced by elimination of a possible death sentence. We accordingly overrule defendant's first contention.