Williams v. State

BOWEN W. SIMMONS, Retired Circuit Judge.

Appellant-defendant, an indigent at nisi prius and here was convicted of robbery and sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment. He entered a plea of not guilty and did not take the witness stand except on a voir dire outside the presence of the jury on a motion to suppress evidence. The motion was denied.

His plea of not guilty cast a burden on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the material allegations of the indictment charging the offense. Such proof embraced the identity of defendant as the one who committed the crime.

Defendant here…