State v. . Burney

The defendant, Dave Burney, was indicted for the murder of Mordie Kinsey on 25 August, 1938, and entered a plea of "not guilty." The jury rendered verdict, "That the defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree." The court below rendered judgment on the verdict, "Shall cause the said prisoner, Dave Burney, to inhale a sufficient quantity of lethal gas to cause the death of the said prisoner."

The evidence was to the effect that Dave Burney was a tenant on the farm of Clifford Harris in Jones County. The defendant had in his home his wife and the deceased Mordie Kinsey, her daughter,…