Bowers v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas
Appeal from the District Court of Falls. Tried below before the Hon. Eugene Williams. The conviction in this case was for maiming one H. A. Dansby, by biting off a portion of his thumb, and the penalty assessed against the appellant was a term of two years in the penitentiary. H. A. Dansby was the first witness for the State.
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Appeal from the District Court of Falls. Tried below before the Hon. Eugene Williams. The conviction in this case was for maiming one H. A. Dansby, by biting off a portion of his thumb, and the penalty assessed against the appellant was a term of two years in the penitentiary. H. A. Dansby was the first witness for the State. He testified, in substance, that for some time prior to July 4, 1887, he, the witness, the defendant, one T. J. Estes and one R. W. Ledbetter were confined together as prisoners in the same apartment, up stairs, in the jail of Falls county, Texas, at Marlin. A short…
1Opinion of the Court
WiLLSOtr, Judge.
To constitute the offense of maiming, the act must be done both willfully and maliciously. A willful act is one committed with an evil intent, with legal malice, without reasonable ground for believing the act to be lawful, and without legal justification. A malicious act is one committed in a state of mind which shows a heart regardless of social duty and fatally bent on mischief; a wrongful act intentionally done without legal justification or excuse.
In trials for this' offense the legal signification of the words “ willfully” and “maliciously,” must be explained to the…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Lamb v. PeopleIllinois Supreme Court · 1880
- Frank v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1855
- Thompson v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
3Cited by14 opinions
- People v. KauffmanCalifornia Supreme Court · 1907
- People v. KingCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1938
- Powers v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1901
- Dull v. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.Indiana Court of Appeals · 1899
- People v. LorraineCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1928
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