Ex Parte State of Alabama

The facts of this case are fully set out in the opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Connolly v. State, 500 So.2d 57 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985). The following summary of those facts suffices for our review of the case.

Rodney Connolly and Jack Herriman II were charged in the strangulation murder of Kathy Jo Sands, Connolly's ex-girlfriend. According to evidence presented at trial, Herriman strangled Sands at the suggestion of Connolly, who was not present at the time of the killing. After Herriman telephoned Connolly to say that he "had done it," Connolly met him at Sands's apartment and the two…