State v. Maggitt

HENLEY, Judge.

Guss Maggitt (defendant), charged with first degree murder, was found guilty by a jury of second degree murder and, the jury being unable to agree on his punishment, the court assessed punishment and sentenced him to imprisonment for 40 years. He appealed from that judgment to the court of appeals, St. Louis district. That court reversed and remanded in an opinion which tacitly recognized that its decision failed to follow decisions binding on it.1 On application of the state we ordered the case transferred to this court, because of the obvious conflict with prior controlling…