State v. Lawson

Neely, Chief Justice:

Ira L. “Corky” Lawson appeals his statutory rape conviction in the Circuit Court of Lincoln County. Appellant contends that he was denied access to evidence that could have been exculpatory because the court refused to grant a continuance until the victim’s baby was born so that a blood grouping test to determine paternity could be performed. In addition, appellant argues that the circuit court erred by improperly sentencing him to an indeterminate sentence of ten to twenty years in the West Virginia penitentiary since W. Va. Code 61-11-16 [1965] requires a definite…