State v. Johnston

MITCHELL, Justice.

The defendants were each tried upon proper indictments charging them with murder. The jury found both defendants guilty of murder in the first degree. At the conclusion of a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for the defendant Joe Cephus Johnston, Jr., and a sentence of life imprisonment for the defendant Morris Wayne Johnson. The trial court imposed the respective sentences pursuant to the jury’s recommendation.

The defendants contend that the trial court committed reversible error by denying each defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge…