Ross v. State

Charles N. Ross, plaintiff in error, in this opinion referred to as the defendant, was charged with the murder of Ballard Hale, accomplished by means of a dangerous instrument, a pocket knife. At the trial he was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, with his punishment assessed at 5 years in the state penitentiary.

The defendant and the deceased, Ballard Hale, engaged in a fist fight on the streets of Spiro. Hale was unarmed, and the defendant in the course of the affray stabbed him with ■ a pocket knife, inflicting a mortal wound. The defendant sought to justify upon the ground…