Matthews v. State

The defendant was tried on an indictment charging her with the offense of murder and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act. The court refused to receive the verdict, and stated to the jury that involuntary manslaughter was not involved in the case and instructed them to retire and further consider the case. Subsequently, the jury brought in a verdict of voluntary manslaughter. The defendant filed a motion for a new trial in which she alleged that the second verdict was null and void because the first verdict (involuntary manslaughter) had been received…