Hightower v. State

After a careful, attentive consideration of this case by the court sitting en banc, we have reached the conclusion that under the undisputed facts the state failed to meet the burden of proof resting upon it necessary to a conviction under the second count of the indictment. Here, as in all criminal prosecutions, the presumption of innocence attended these appellants, and, in order to overcome such presumption, the state was under the duty to show, by the evidence (and that alone), their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty. The two latter terms are in effect synonymous.

The…