People v. Newson

Jerry Newson was convicted of murdering Marjorie Wilson and Robert Savage. The jury found each of the crimes to be of the first degree and, pursuant to the verdicts, sentences of death were imposed. The principal ground relied upon as requiring reversal of the judgments and the order denying a new trial concerns the evidence identifying Newson as the person who committed the homicides.

Savage and Mrs. Wilson were found dead in a drugstore. Each of them had been shot with a .45 caliber automatic pistol. The bullets entered the backs of the heads and emerged from the foreheads. The bullets and…