State v. Martin

BARRETT, Commissioner.

Roosevelt Martin, a Negro boy, age 18, and four other Negro boys, Steve John Morris, Calvin Lee Hayes, Torrence Henderson and James Allen Caldwell, were jointly indicted for the forcible rape of Cathy, a white girl, age 18. State v. Harris, 150 Mo. 56, 51 S.W. 481. Upon a separate trial a jury found Roosevelt guilty and fixed his punishment at life imprisonment. In the trial of his case he was represented by hired counsel, a lawyer experienced in the defense of criminal cases. He has been allowed to prosecute this appeal as a poor person, has been furnished a full…