Ward v. Texas

Petitioner William Ward, a negro, was indicted at the September 1939 term of the District Court of Titus County, Texas, for the murder of Levi Brown, a white man. He was placed on trial at that term but the jury was unable to agree upon a verdict. At the January 1941 term he was again tried and found guilty of murder without malice, the jury assessing his punishment at confinement in the state penitentiary for three years. Upon appeal the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the judgment of the District Court. On the State’s motion for rehearing, the Court reversed itself and affirmed the…