Rorie v. State

Ed. F. McFaddin, Justice.

On a plea of guilty, the jury convicted the appellant of murder in the first degree, and assessed the death punishment; and this appeal is an effort to obtain a reduction in the sentence.

The facts are sordid. Appellant had been estranged from his wife, Mrs. Gertrude Rorie. On the night of October 8, 1948, he went.to her home when she was alone with her two small children. When she refused to become reconciled with him, he struck her on the head with a hammer, and either killed her or knocked her unconscious. Then he sprinkled kerosene over the bed where she and her…