Torrence v. State

Appellant-petitioner, William Torrence, was charged with first degree murder. In a trial by jury, before Special Judge Forrest Bowman, Torrence was convicted of second degree murder. He appealed to this Court, and we affirmed his conviction. Torrence v. State, (1971) 255 Ind. 618, 266 N.E.2d 1.

On December 8, 1972, Torrence filed a petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to Ind. R. P.C. 1. The basis for his petition was an affidavit by Stephen Gatchett, one of the major witnesses against him, in which Gatchett stated that he had lied at Torrence’s trial because he believed the prosecutor…