Moten v. State

Jordan, Justice.

The appellant, James Moten, was indicted together with Mrs. Francis Lay and Undell Lay for the murder of Dewindle Gates. Undell Lay plead guilty to the crime but later testified for the defense in the trial which resulted in the conviction of the appellant and Mrs. Lay. The state’s witness Captain Trubee Smith, a detective for the LaGrange Police Department, gave testimony concerning a confession made by the appellant while in custody. In this statement the appellant said "I choked her to the ground and Undell shot her with a .22 pistol in the upper part of her body. I turned…