Blackburn v. State

Defendant-Appellant James Edwin Blackburn was charged by Grand Jury indictment with first degree murder in the death of Robert O. Lietzen, an Indiana State Trooper. He was found guilty of second degree murder after trial by jury in the Circuit Court of Fayette County and received a sentence of life imprisonment.

The evidence giving rise to his prosecution and this appeal may be summarized as follows: On Sunday morning, March 30, 1969, Michael Sterwerf, a thirteen year old boy, was hunting with a friend in wooded area near Metamora in rural Franklin County, Indiana, when they came upon a man…