State v. Green

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Foth, C.:

This case concerns the responsibility of a trial court when the state’s prime witness in a murder case recants his trial testimony after a guilty verdict has been returned and sentence has been pronounced.

On December 16, 1970, a jury found Robert E. Green, the defendant-appellant, guilty of first degree murder. After a suicide attempt in the county jail, he was referred to the Lamed state hospital for determination of his mental condition at that time. In due course he was returned to the court with a report that he was capable of…