State v. Crowe

Lewis, Justice:

At a term of the General Sessions Court of Laurens County in August 1970, the appellants, Niles Crowe and Horace Wright, Jr., were convicted of the murder of James E. Spearman, a resident of Laurens County. Crowe received a death sentence; and Wright, upon a recommendation of mercy by the jury, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Both have appealed. The theory of the State’s case against Crowe was that he fired the fatal shot and, as to Wright, that he was present, aiding and abetting in the commission of the crime.

While there was direct evidence of Crowe’s participation in the…