State v. Cross

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Schroeder, J.:

This is an appeal by James Cross, Jr., (defendant-appellant) from a conviction of voluntary manslaughter (K. S. A. 21-3403). The primary point asserted on appeal controlling our decision concerns the admissibility at the trial of a prior conviction pursuant to K. S. A. 60-455.

On April 2, 1973, one Joe Forte was stabbed to death at his home located at 2320 North 9th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. At that time the defendant lived with Forte on a rental basis and did various odd jobs about the household. The information charged that the…