Smith v. State
Mississippi Supreme Court
Feom the circuit court of Lauderdale county. Hon. G. B. Huddleston, Judge. The appellant, Wallace Smith, was convicted of the murder of one J. T. Jemison, was sentenced to be hanged, and appealed to the supreme court. The facts are sufficiently stated in the opinion of the court for an understanding of the case.
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Feom the circuit court of Lauderdale county. Hon. G. B. Huddleston, Judge. The appellant, Wallace Smith, was convicted of the murder of one J. T. Jemison, was sentenced to be hanged, and appealed to the supreme court. The facts are sufficiently stated in the opinion of the court for an understanding of the case. The instructions referred to in the opinion, and the presentation of which is deemed necessary to a clear conception of the opinion, are as follows: Those for the state are: “3. If the j ury believes from the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that, shortly before the difficulty,…
1Opinion of the CourtWhitfield, J.
The fifth instruction for the state is erroneous in two particulars. There is no evidence that Smith made any threats before he procured the gun. It was therefore improper to charge that if the jury believed he "armed himself in pursuance of the threats. ’ ’ Again, the language ‘ ‘ in the event Jemison refused to do what Smith required of him, ’ ’ finds no support in the testimony. The necessary effect of the language is to say to the jury: “If you believe Smith, at the time of the killing, required Jemison to pay the twenty-four dollars gambling debt, or part of it, intending to kill him on…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Cotton v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1872
- Spivey v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1881
- Penn v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1884
- King v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1888
- Hart v. StateSupreme Court of Florida · 1896
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by18 opinions
- Taylor v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1996
- John Sydney Cook, Jr. v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1967
- Shinall v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1967
- Hydrick v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1963
- Freeman v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1967
13 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.