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Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
Josephus Darnell Boone v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2026-06-26
In this case, Josephus Darnell Boone was convicted in Montgomery Circuit Court of capital murder for firing a weapon from a vehicle, intentional murder as a lesser-included offense of killing a witness in a criminal trial, and discharging a firearm into an occupied building, all arising from the 2017 shooting death of Kelvin Cooley outside a courthouse where Cooley had just testified against Boone's brother. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences, which included life without parole for the capital murder. The court reasoned that the State presented sufficient evidence of Boone's guilt based on eyewitness testimony, family animosities tied to prior shootings and drug activity, and Boone's deletion of phone records, while rejecting claims that specific instances of the victim's prior violent acts were admissible under Alabama Rule of Evidence 405(b) as an essential element of a self-defense claim.
criminal law
Marco Antonio Perez v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2026-05-01
The case involved Marco Antonio Perez, who was convicted of capital murder for killing Mobile Police Officer Sean Tuder while the officer was attempting to apprehend him for outstanding warrants. The jury unanimously found the murder was committed to avoid a lawful arrest, an aggravating circumstance, and by an 11-1 vote recommended the death penalty. Perez had raised a pretrial claim of self-defense immunity under Alabama law, which the trial court denied after a hearing, and the case proceeded with the capital charge severed from other counts. On automatic appeal, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed the trial evidence, including video of the shooting, witness testimony, and the penalty-phase presentation of mitigating factors such as Perez's age, ADHD, and remorse. The court affirmed the conviction and death sentence after independently weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and finding the sentence proportionate to similar cases.
criminal law
William Dale Watson v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2026-03-27
William Dale Watson appealed the Limestone Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his 2025 motion challenging his 2017 convictions and sentences for six counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12 and four counts of second-degree sexual abuse. Although the motion was styled as seeking relief under Rule 45 of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Court of Criminal Appeals treated it as a Rule 32 petition for postconviction relief because its substance raised claims cognizable under that rule. The court affirmed the dismissal, holding that the record contained no affirmative indication the circuit court had improperly handled the filing by its label rather than its substance, and that the circuit court was presumed to have followed the law. Watson's claims included alleged plain errors at trial regarding evidence admission, jury instructions, withheld evidence, and lack of personal jurisdiction due to an allegedly forged arraignment waiver.
criminal lawprocedure
William Chad Randolph v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2026-03-27
This case is an appeal by William Chad Randolph challenging his conviction for first-degree rape from the Greene Circuit Court. Following a remand from the Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Randolph, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction. The court directed that the case be sent back to the circuit court for further proceedings in line with the Supreme Court's opinion. The decision was joined by all participating judges.
criminal law
M.C. v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2026-02-06
In M.C. v. State of Alabama, the Lawrence Juvenile Court adjudicated M.C. delinquent for making a terrorist threat in the second degree based on a private digital message exchange in which M.C. told another student to 'shoot her first' regarding a teacher, after the other student suggested shooting up the school. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the adjudication and rendered judgment in M.C.'s favor. The court held that the evidence was insufficient under the statutory definition in § 13A-10-240(2), which requires that the statement cause the person to whom it is communicated to fear for their own safety or the safety of the object of the threat. The court reasoned that the recipient, who had initiated the shooting discussion, could not reasonably be shown to have experienced such fear from M.C.'s response.
criminal law
Lowery Dale Wilson v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · 2025-09-26
Lowery Dale Wilson appealed from the Lauderdale Circuit Court's order revoking his participation in the Lauderdale County Community Corrections program after he pleaded guilty to discharging a gun into an occupied building and was placed in the program as part of his sentence. The circuit court granted the State's motion to impose sentence based on Wilson's refusal to sign program paperwork and submit to drug testing, as well as a subsequent arrest. On appeal, Wilson challenged the lack of a proper revocation order and the absence of a hearing transcript. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the revocation order and remanded the case, reasoning that without a transcript of the hearing and a written statement of the evidence relied upon as required by Rule 27.6(f), Ala. R. Crim. P., the court could not review the correctness of the circuit court's actions, consistent with prior precedent.
criminal lawprocedure