Walker v. State
Arkansas Supreme Court
309 Ark. 23, 827 S.W.2d 637 (1992)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
On June 25, 1990, 14-year-old Robert Christian Walker (defendant) was at a local pond in Jacksonville, Arkansas, with Bubba Rains and Aaron Lyman. Walker asked Lyman to borrow his .22-caliber rifle. When Lyman handed Walker the rifle, Walker aimed at Edward Cooper, a Black man fishing nearby. Walker declared he would shoot “a nigger” and fired at Cooper, hitting and killing Cooper. The state (plaintiff) charged Walker with first-degree murder in Pulaski Circuit Court. Prior to trial, Walker filed a motion to transfer the charge to juvenile court, and the trial court denied the motion, a decision later affirmed on an interlocutory appeal. The jury was instructed on murder in the first and second degree, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. The jury convicted Walker of the lesser included offense of manslaughter, and the trial court sentenced Walker to 10 years’ imprisonment. After the jury delivered its verdict, Walker filed a motion to transfer the case to juvenile court for sentencing, and the trial court denied the motion. Walker appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, arguing that only the juvenile court had jurisdiction to convict and punish a defendant of his age.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Newbern, J.)
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