State v. Huffman

WEIER, Judge.

Defendant Melvin Huffman after a trial before a jury on a charge of capital murder was found guilty of second degree murder and his punishment was assessed by the jury at forty years imprisonment. The death of the victim occurred on July 30, 1977. After a day engaged principally in drinking at taverns, Huffman and his friend Michael Ford picked up a hitchhiker in the City of St. Louis somewhere about 6:30 p. m. The hitchhiker, later identified as Larry Sansoucie, started talking and said something that irritated Huffman. Upon the failure of Sansoucie to stop, Huffman struck…