Shockley v. State

*493Híndérson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Two brothers, Harold Edward Shockley, aged 23, and Leonard Melvin Shockley, aged 17, were jointly indicted by the Grand Jury of Worcester County lor the murder of Sarah Hearne, a storekeeper. The case was removed to Dorchester County and tried before three judges, without a jury. Both defendants were found guilty of murder in the first degree. Leonard was sentenced to death, and Harold to life imprisonment.

The basic facts are virtually conceded. On the morning of January 16, 1958, a cold, cloudy day, the defendants left their home, where they…