Payne v. State

HARRIS, Judge.

Appellant went to trial with retained counsel on an indictment charging him with murder in the first degree. Upon formal arraignment he pleaded not guilty. The jury found him guilty of murder in the second degree and fixed his punishment at fifteen years imprisonment in the penitentiary. The judgment and sentence were in accordance with the verdict of the jury. After conviction he was declared indigent and furnished a free transcript and one of his trial lawyers was appointed to represent him on appeal.

The killing occurred around midnight on July 22, 1973. The deceased was…