Roots v. State

The defendant, Kenneth George Roots, was charged in the district court of Woods county with the crime of murder; was tried, convicted, and sentenced to serve life imprisonment in the State Penitentiary, and has appealed.

This is one of the most tragic cases to be presented to this court. The defendant, a 17-year-old high school senior, shot and killed a 21-year-old boy, who was the brother of defendant’s sweetheart, because of a statement made to him by the girl that her brother had raped her. The defendant was an honor student in school, a boy of excellent reputation. His family and the…