Johnson v. State

The Appellant, Richard E. Johnson, was indicted in Marion County on June 26, 1974, for the first degree murder of one Donald Stout. The evidence at trial showed that the Appellant hired Robert Gurley and Henry R. Cobb on or about January 20, 1968, to kill the decedent. Cobb testified,, in exchange for immunity from prosecution, that the Appellant paid him and Gurley out of proceeds from a life insurance policy owned by Wanda Stout, the decedent’s wife and the Appellant’s girlfriend. By motion of the Appellant, the case was venued to Johnson County on August 15, 1974. The first trial of this…