Bussell v. Commonwealth

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice.

Charles Wayne Bussell, a black man, appeals from a judgment based on a jury verdict which convicted him of the murder and robbery of an elderly white woman. An all-white jury fixed his sentence at death for the murder and twenty years in prison for the robbery.

The victim disappeared from her home on December 1, 1990. Her body was found at the county fairgrounds on February 23,1991. She had been strangled. Following a four-day trial, the jury found that the murder was committed by Bussell while he was engaged in the commission of first-degree robbery. The penalty phase…