Conn v. State

On 10 July 1977, John Francis Conn, the appellant, was charged with murder. He entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. On 16 December 1977, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, a jury found that the appellant was sane at the time of the commission of the crime and convicted him of murder in the first degree. We shall reverse.

The evidence shows that on 10 July 1977, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Iris Appel was found murdered. Her father saw the appellant running from the scene of the crime. At 8:00 p.m. that same night, the appellant was arrested by two Baltimore…