Pratt v. State

The appellant, Margaret Melton Pratt, was convicted in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County of murder in the second degree and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. A fifteen year sentence, seven of which were suspended, was imposed on the murder charge along with a concurrent five year sentence for the handgun conviction.

The murder scenario which led to this appeal began on October 22, 1976 when appellant removed a .32 caliber automatic pistol from her husband’s business vault. 1 At that time she was emotionally distressed and planned to use the gun to commit suicide.…