Mitchell v. State

David Newbern, Justice.

The appellant, Lonnie Mitchell, was convicted of kidnapping, rape, and battery resulting from a single incident. He received separate life sentences on the kidnapping and rape convictions and thirty years imprisonment on the battery conviction. We must reverse the convictions because of error which occurred in the selection of the jury. We will address some of the other points raised for reversal in case they arise upon retrial.

The victim was a young white female who testified that, while driving her car home from her boyfriend’s apartment at 2:30 a.m. on June 4, 1986,…