the bar the day before the shooting. On the day after the crime, Lewis testified, Sparks had admitted to him that it was he who killed Washington. Lewis was absent from the bar during the time of the shooting occurred and could not shed any additional light on the events.
Sylvester Marshall, a regular patron at the Aquarius, was present on the night in *792 question. He corroborated Essie Rodgers' testimony that one of the State's eyewitnesses had not been at the bar near the time of the shooting. Marshall testified that an argument had occurred in the bar between Kenneth Sparks and Noel and Lennie Washington only a few minutes before the shooting occurred outside. However, he did not go outside until after Washington had been shot. Hestated that he knew Gilmore and had not seen him at the scene of the crime.
The trial judge characterized the admission of guilt by Sparks to Lewis as inadmissible hearsay which could not be introduced at a new trial. However, there was substantial evidence that Sparks had been struggling over a gun with the dead man moments before the fatal shot was fired. Furthermore, evidence that Sparks had also confessed the crime to someone other than Lewis was introduced at the trial without objection by the State. It was established at the hearing that Sparks himself had been killed shortly after making these confessions and would, consequently, be unavailable to testify. Therefore, we hold, under these circumstances, the statements which clearly were against Sparks' penal interest would be