Ex Parte Bates

This Court granted certiorari to determine whether the Court of Criminal Appeals, 461 So.2d 1 (1983) was correct in holding that a certain witness for the prosecution in this case was not an accomplice.

The defendant, R.J. Bates, was convicted of felony-murder in violation of Code of 1975, § 13A-6-2 (a)(3). The evidence, as summarized in the opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals, indicates that Bates, believing Jasper car dealer Claud Crump kept a large sum of money at his home, planned the robbery of Crump. Bates recruited Steve McCullars, Doris Long, and Lori Culpepper to commit the…