Johnson v. State
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Appeal from Desha Circuit Court; W. B. Sorrells, Judge; 1. Thé verdict is contrary to the evidence. Joe Corporeau was the only eye-witness intrduced by the State. If his statement be true, appellant was justified in killing the deceased. The other eye-witness testified that appellant never fired a shot. 2. The court erred in its instructions given and refused. Some of those given were prejudicial. Others do not correctly state the law. Those refused should have been given.
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Appeal from Desha Circuit Court; W. B. Sorrells, Judge; 1. Thé verdict is contrary to the evidence. Joe Corporeau was the only eye-witness intrduced by the State. If his statement be true, appellant was justified in killing the deceased. The other eye-witness testified that appellant never fired a shot. 2. The court erred in its instructions given and refused. Some of those given were prejudicial. Others do not correctly state the law. Those refused should have been given. From the evidence, Joe Corporeau either killed appellant or was an accomplice and it was error not to give an instruction…
1Opinion of the CourtHart, J.
Aaron Johnson was indicted for the crime of murder in the first degree charged to have been committed by killing R. L. Rutherford. The indictment was returned by the grand jury of Jefferson County where' the alleged crime was committed and the defendant was granted a change of venue to Desha County. He was tried before a jury which returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree, and he was sentenced to death.
From the judgment of conviction defendant Johnson has duly prosecuted an appeal to this court. The facts are substantially as follows:
R. L. Rutherford was a white man who…
2Cases cited9 opinions
- Bruder v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1913
- King v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1915
- Coats v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1911
- Strong v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1908
- Ferguson v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1909
4 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by8 opinions
- Hulsey v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1977
- Neal v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1975
- Smith v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1949
- Scarber v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1956
- Jenkins v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1953
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.