Nolan and Guthrie v. State

Appellants were convicted of the crime of arson and have appealed. The barn of Mrs. Mary Massey was destroyed by fire about two-thirty, Sunday morning, April 19, 1942. The next day tracks were found leading from the highway to the barn lot and then back to the highway. Jason Nolan’s shoes were fitted into these tracks, and he admitted that the shoes were his and that he wore them the night of the fire. At-the trial of the case, Nolan’s alleged confession was introduced. "While the appellants were in jail, a dictaphone was secretly installed; and witnesses who listened testified to the secret…