Gruzen v. State

Richard B. Adkisson, Chief Justice.

Appellant, John Elliott Gruzen, was convicted of capital felony murder in connection with the kidnapping and death of 12-year-old Dana Mize of Vilonia, Arkansas. Appellant’s original conviction on this charge was reversed in Gruzen v. State, 267 Ark. 380, 591 S.W.2d 342 (1979). On retrial, after the State waived the death penalty, appellant was given the same sentence, life imprisonment without parole. On appeal, we affirm.

The evidence at trial established that appellant, who lived in New Jersey, flew to Little Rock on April 8, 1976. That same day he rented…