Lawrence v. State

Hunt, Justice.

Charles Lawrence, Sr. was convicted of the malice murder of his common-law wife, Sandra Hooten, and sentenced to life in prison. His appeal raises as error the admission of prior difficulties between him and the victim, the denial of the right to confront a witness who exercised his right to remain silent, the denial of his motions for mistrial and for directed verdict, and the admission of speculative testimony. We reverse.

1. A jury was authorized to find that early on the morning of June 28, 1985, the defendant shot the victim at their quarters in the Skyway Record Shop, which…