Beck v. State

Gilbert Franklin Beck was indicted for and convicted of capital murder for the November 8, 1976, killing with a knife of retired veterinarian Roy Malone in rural Etowah County, Alabama. He was sentenced to death. This original conviction and subsequent sentence were affirmed by this court and the Alabama Supreme Court in Beck v. State, 365 So.2d 985 (Ala.Cr.App.), aff'd, 365 So.2d 1006 (Ala. 1978). On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, however, that court in reversing and remanding the case for a new trial, determined that a death sentence could not be imposed after a jury verdict of…