Shepperd v. Commonwealth

MONTGOMERY, Chief Justice.

James Shepperd was indicted for the murder of C. M. Jacobs. He was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. His punishment was fixed at twenty years’ confinement in the penitentiary. On appeal, he questions the admissibility of testimony concerning difficulties and quarrels with his wife and other misconduct prior to the killing and the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict. Appellant claimed the killing was done in self-defense.

Appellant and his wife, Mildred, lived in a small settlement near Butler. The house in which they lived belonged to her father,…