Newman v. State

The appellant, Johnny Jesse Newman, was convicted after a jury trial of the capital offense of murder committed during the course of a burglary, in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(4), Code of Alabama 1975. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He raises 10 issues on appeal; however, because we reverse on this issue, we need only discuss whether the state exercised its peremptory challenges in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79,106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986).

At trial, the court stated that it did not believe that the appellant had proved a prima facie…