Leonard v. State

The appellant was indicted for the stabbing death of Theodore Hemphill and convicted of second degree murder. Sentence was fixed at fifteen years' imprisonment.

I

At trial defense counsel attempted to prove the deceased's reputation for violence. The State's objections to questions addressed to this subject were sustained on "the basis of the predicate".

The established rule is that proof of "the victim's bad general reputation for peace and quiet, violence or like trait is admissible only if the evidence before the trial court, at the time such general reputation is offered, tends to show that…