Smith v. State

Lumpkin, Justice.

The accused was convicted of the crime of rape, and to the overruling of his motion for a new trial he excepted. The grounds of the motion were, that the verdict was contrary to law and evidence, that the court erred in admitting a self-criminating admission, designated in the motion as a confession, made by the accused to the sheriff in response to an admonition by the latter as stated in the first head-note, and that the court erred in permitting the “confession” to be proved without first requiring the State to show it was freely and voluntarily made. It seems difficult to…