Martin v. State
Mississippi Supreme Court
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Yazoo County. Hon. T. J. Wharton, Judge. John B. Martin was indicted for an attempt to murder one A. H. Heath, by administering, or causing to be administered to him, a dose of strychnine. He was tried and convicted. The evidence was purely circumstantial. Martin was engaged in the butcher business in Yazoo City. No evidence was offered as to the character of the prisoner.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of Yazoo County. Hon. T. J. Wharton, Judge. John B. Martin was indicted for an attempt to murder one A. H. Heath, by administering, or causing to be administered to him, a dose of strychnine. He was tried and convicted. The evidence was purely circumstantial. Martin was engaged in the butcher business in Yazoo City. No evidence was offered as to the character of the prisoner. On the trial, the assistant prosecuting attorney, in the course of his argument, said, “ Martin is a man of bad, desperate, and dangerous character. But I am not afraid to denounce the…
1Opinion of the CourtArnold, J.
The testimony was entirely circumstantial, and the slightest influence may have been deemed sufficient to turn the scales of impartial judgment one way or the other as to the guilt or innocence of the accused. In the argument to the jury, one of the counsel for the prosecution, not the district attorney, said to the jury, “ Martin, the defendant, is a man of bad, dangerous, and desperate character, but I am not afraid to denounce the butcher boy, although I may, on returning to my home, find it in ashes over the heads of my defenseless wife and children.”
This was an assumption or declaration…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Cross v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1881
- Perkins v. GuyMississippi Supreme Court · 1877
- State v. . SmithSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1876
3Cited by33 opinions
- State v. KentNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1896
- Erickson v. WiperNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1916
- Watson v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · 1912
- Vickers v. United StatesCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · 1908
- State v. PeirceSupreme Court of Iowa · 1916
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