State v. Williams

NEELY, Justice:

John Edward Williams appeals from a jury verdict finding him guilty of the murder of Carlton Harris, and sentencing him to the State Penitentiary for life. Several confessions were used as evidence against appellant at the trial. In State v. Williams, 162 W.Va. 309, 249 S.E.2d 758 (1980), we ruled that a first confession by the appellant was inadmissible, and that the State therefore had the burden of rebutting a presumption that subsequent confessions were the product of the first and were also inadmissible. The State has failed to meet this burden, and we must reverse…