Bagley v. State

Lyle Brown, Justice.

Appellant Emery Berryman Bagley was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. Bagley and a companion hitchhiked a ride out of Memphis, Tennessee, and their benefactor was fatally shot as the three men drove through St. Francis County. Two written confessions of Bagley were introduced at his trial, both of which iinplicated him. The State’s evidence was clearly sufficient to sustain a first degree murder conviction. However, there were errors committed by the trial court which call for reversal. We shall discuss those errors and, because of the probability of…