Allen v. State

First degree murder; sentence: life imprisonment.

On the morning of October 19, 1978, L.C. Barnett was deer hunting in the Bankhead Forest when he discovered the body of Joe E. Fowler, Jr. The victim had been killed by a shotgun blast. The body was located off Cranal Road in Winston County.

The evidence for the State revealed that several days prior to the death of Mr. Fowler, he and the appellant had participated in the theft of some automobiles. Fowler was apprehended during the theft of one of the automobiles. He signed a confession admitting his involvement and implicated the appellant in…