Watkins v. State

Appellant, Darryl Travis Watkins,1 was indicted for the capital murder of Officer Edward K. Alley, in violation of § 13A-5-31 (a)(5), Code of Alabama (Supp. 1978) (repealed 1981). On February 3, 1983, a jury found appellant guilty as charged in the indictment. The State asked, at the request of Alley's family, that appellant be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without parole. The court instructed the jury accordingly, and the jury returned a recommended sentence of life without parole. Subsequently, the trial court imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of…