Brown v. State

SHEPARD, Justice.

Appellant Eddie Joe Brown was accused of brutally beating Betty Strickland and her two young sons, applying lighter fluid to their bodies and their home, and then setting them afire. Brown was convicted of three counts of murder, Ind.Code § 35-42-1-1 (Burns 1985 Repl.), and one count of arson, a class B felony, Ind.Code § 35-43-1-1 (Burns 1985 Repl.). Noting the uncommonly brutal nature of the murders, the trial court sentenced Brown to a total of 200 years in prison: enhanced consecutive terms of sixty years for each murder and twenty years for arson.

In this direct appeal,…