Dowden v. State

758 S.W.2d 264 (1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Dowden (D) was upset that his brother was arrested for robbing a 7-11. D went to the police station to aid his brother in escaping from jail. D procured a rifle and a pistol, his sister in law, and Clifford Blansett and all three drove to the jail. D and Blansett entered the police station, went to the booking office, and surprised the three officers on duty by pointing an automatic pistol at them and demanding the release of his brother. The officers recovered, and Captain Gray lunged at D, grabbed his hand, and forced him into the hallway with the automatic door closing behind them. The two officers remaining in the office could not see what had happened in the hallway but heard shots fired. One officer drew his pistol, and the other slipped into a side room and loaded a shotgun. A gunfight ensued between D and the two officers. When it subsided, there was moving around, and then another bullet came through the booking window, the door crashed open, and officer Windham fired twice without looking. Windham had shot Officer Gray, and Gray was dead. D was caught and convicted of capital murder despite the fact that one officer had killed the other. D appealed.