Ex Parte Brasher

The defendant, Durwood Brasher, was convicted by a Coffee County jury of sexual abuse in the first degree. A charge of first degree sodomy resulted in a mistrial. Brasher was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment and, subsequently, overruled Brasher's application for rehearing. This court granted Brasher's petition for certiorari.

The trial judge allowed the district attorney to videotape the deposition of the five-year-old victim and to play the videotape before the jury, pursuant to Code 1975, §…