State Ex Rel. Westfall v. Mason

RENDLEN, Judge.

I

Prohibition, to prevent respondent, the Honorable Donald L. Mason1 Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, from proceeding in the retrial of Robert Bullington for capital murder (the indictment charged numerous offenses) without allowing the prosecution to seek imposition of the death penalty.

Prior to trial in 1978 the State under § 565.006(2), RSMo 1978,2 filed a “Notice of Evidence in Aggravation” announcing its intention to seek the death penalty in the capital murder charge. That trial resulted in a verdict of guilty on all counts including capital murder, October 11,…