Crawford v. State

The defendant-appellant, Crawford, was tried in the Criminal Court of Baltimore before the court, sitting without a jury, on a charge of murder, was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment. His defense was that he was defending himself and his home against an attack by the decedent Bobbie Ferrell, who was seeking to force his way into the appellant’s home to beat and rob him. He admitted having fired the fatal shot, but claimed that he intended only to shoot the intruder in the hand and that shooting him in the head was accidental.. The trial judge believed at…