Welch v. State

Hall, Justice.

Lonnie Welch, Walter Swain and Ralph Harris were jointly indicted, tried and convicted for kidnapping, rape and aggravated sodomy. Each received three consecutive life sentences.

The state’s evidence consisted of the testimony of the victim, alleged oral confessions by two of the defendants, the results of law enforcement investigations, and the results of certain tests conducted by the State Crime Lab on evidence found at the Swain residence and inside Welch’s automobile. The defense relied primarily on the testimony of all three defendants that the sexual acts were consensual,…