Coleman v. State

SIMPSON, Justice.

John “Big Time” Coleman, a Negro, was indicted, tried and convicted of murder in the first degree of one John D. “Screwdriver” Johnson, a white mechanic, and his punishment was fixed at death. The appeal is taken pursuant to the automatic appeal statutes, § 382(1) et seq., Title 15, Code of Ala.1940.

*515“Screwdriver” Johnson was killed on Wednesday, August 30, 1961, while returning to his home in Eutaw, Alabama about 9:15 in the evening. The cause of death was a shotgun wound on the left side of the chest entering the heart. The apparent motive was robbery, as a billfold which…