Sanford v. State

Banke, Judge.

Appellant was found guilty in 1968 of rape and was sentenced to be electrocuted. Subsequently, on motion for a new trial, the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. This out-of-time appeal was allowed after appellant’s writ of habeas corpus was filed in the superior court based on lack of assistance of counsel in that no appeal had been filed. Among others, appellant enumerates as error the failure of the trial court to declare a mistrial based on the improper closing argument of the solicitor to the jury. The appellant had, in his unsworn statement to the jury, stated that…