State v. Hamlett

GREENE, Judge.

Bruce Hamlett was charged by information with the crime of murder in the second degree, § 565.021.1. 1 The information, as amended, alleged that Hamlett, on June 20, 1986, in Vernon County, Missouri, with the purpose of causing serious physical injury to James Franklin Stacy, caused Stacy’s death by repeatedly striking and kicking him in the head. After trial by jury, Ham-lett was found guilty of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, § 565.023, and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment as punishment for the crime.

Hamlett appealed, contending the trial court erred…