La Moore v. United States

Appellant, Eugene LaMoore, Alias Austin Rollan, was indicted under § 4757 of the Compiled Laws of Alaska, 1933, now § 65-4-1 of Alaska Compiled Laws Annotated, 1949. The indictment charged that on or about December 22, 1946, in Division No. 1, Territory of Alaska, appellant, “being of sound memory and discretion, purposely, while engaged in robbing Jim Ellen, murdered the said Jim Ellen by cutting him.” Thus appellant was charged with the crime of murder in the first degree. Appellant was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, was tried and found guilty as charged in the indictment, was sentenced to death and has appealed.

At the trial, twelve witnesses testified, arid six exhibits were admitted in evidence. The evidence showed that in the late evening of December 21 or the early morning of December 22, 1946, at Jim Ellen’s place of business, a grocery and liquor store in Juneau, Alaska, appellant and Austin Nelson robbed Jim Ellen and, in perpetrating the robbery, purposely killed him by cutting his throat and thus causing him to bleed to death.

Appellant was arrested and placed in the Federal jail at Juneau on April 19, 1947. On July 1, 1947, while in jail, he made and signed a…