Mitchell v. State

A part of the evidence introduced by the defendant was by showings for six absent witnesses. The testimony of these witnesses constituted a large part of the defendant’s evidence tending to prove an alibi, which was his sole defense. The crime charged was of a most aggravating nature, calculated to impress the jury with the importance of a conviction, if the defendant was the guilty agent; and, while this fact should not unduly weigh in the deliberations of a jury considering a criminal ease, it sometimes happens that the heinousness of an offense, too often, seems to demand a victim, which…