People v. Armstrong

On the third day of trial James Willie Armstrong pled guilty to the charge that he murdered Ann Kelush in the perpetration of an armed robbery.

A statute provides that if a person shall be convicted of murder "by confession, the court shall proceed by examination of witnesses to determine the degree of the crime ["whether it be murder of the first or second degree”], and shall render judgment accordingly”. MCLA 750.318; MSA 28.550.

On the next day, the judge announced that the evidence established that Armstrong was guilty of first-degree murder and, accordingly, that,was his determination of…