Smith v. State

On this appeal Frances Ester Smith does not challenge her conviction of murder in the second degree, entered in the Criminal Court of Baltimore on 2 April 1975 upon her plea of guilty thereto. 1 She is unhappy, however, with her punishment. We trace the long and tortuous journey leading to the ultimate sentence imposed.

On 1 February 1973 in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, Mrs. Smith, charged with the homicide of her husband, Johnny James Smith, was found guilty by a jury of murder in the second degree. On 8 May 1973, after a motion for a new trial was heard and denied and a medical report…