Taylor v. Commonwealth

On February 10, 1959, Morgan Taylor, defendant, was by a jury found guilty of murder in the first degree of his wife, Rena Taylor, and of murder in the second degree of his sister-in-law, Lakie Babb. By agreement he was tried on both indictments in the same proceeding. In accordance with the verdicts, the trial court sentenced defendant to confinement in the State penitentiary for 20 years on each indictment. The order provided that the terms were to run consecutively. This delayed appeal resulted from a habeas corpus proceeding.

The facts concerning the tragedy are not in dispute. At…