Hawkins

Appellant entered pleas of guilty to robbery, kidnaping for the purpose of robbery, and murder. The trial court found the robbery to be of the first degree; *624 that in the kidnaping the victim did not suffer bodily harm; and that the murder was of the first degree. Sentences of imprisonment were imposed for the robbery and the kidnaping. The death penalty was imposed for the murder.

But one conclusion can be drawn from the evidence of the circumstances surrounding the killing. The victim was shot and killed in cold blood immediately following a bold, but frustrated, attempt of the appellant to rob the deceased. The several witnesses who saw and described the shooting agreed almost entirely in their testimony. They differed in only one particular—as to the number of shots fired by appellant, and as to whether appellant shot immediately after discovering the deceased was following him, or waited for a few seconds before shooting. The slight variance was immaterial. Appellant did not take the stand, and offered no evidence in his behalf. His story of the affair was related by a police officer to whom he made a statement as to what occurred.

After the evidence was closed, the…