State v. Clayton

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

The Defendant, Perry Clayton, III, appeals a conviction of first degree murder for which he received a life sentence in the state penitentiary. At trial, the Defendant relied upon the defense of insanity. The primary issue on appeal is whether the evidence supports the jury verdict that the Defendant was sane at the time the offense was committed. Both the jury and a majority of the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Clayton’s insanity defense.

The actual facts of the crime itself are undisputed. On July 2,1979, the Defendant observed the 12-year-old victim, Preston…