State v. Nelson

WELBORN, Commissioner.

Appeal from seven-year sentence, for manslaughter, imposed upon jury verdict finding defendant guilty of that offense under an information charging murder.

At around 3:00 A.M. on July 21, 1968, two policemen cruising the downtown area of Caruthersville, Missouri heard three shots fired. They backed their police car toward where the noise had originated and saw James Leek entering a pickup truck. One of the officers went to the truck and saw that Leek was wounded “because he was bloody all over.” A knife was found near the truck. An ambulance was called and Leek died…