Bracewell v. State

We granted the Petition for Certiorari to review the opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals, which reversed Defendant's conviction and sentence of death on the ground that the trial Court erred in admitting Defendant's confession into evidence.

The Facts: Defendant, age 17, committed a capital offense August 14, 1977. Alabama's Juvenile Code, increasing the age of "child" from 16 to 18 and requiring presence of a lawyer to render a confession admissible, became effective January 1, 1978.1 She made her confession, without the presence of a lawyer, on January 23, 1978, which was admitted as…