Dinah v. State
Supreme Court of Alabama
Feom the Circuit Court of Lowndes. Tried before the Hon. Nat. Cooe. The indictment in this case, which was found at the October term of said court, 1863, charged that the prisoner, “ a slave of G. B. Murphree, unlawfully and with malice aforethought, with intent to hill and murder Amanda Mur-phree, a white person, did administer to, and cause the said Amanda to eat and swallow, a large quantity of the seed of the Jamestown weed, it being a deadly poison.’* The prisoner was…
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Feom the Circuit Court of Lowndes. Tried before the Hon. Nat. Cooe. The indictment in this case, which was found at the October term of said court, 1863, charged that the prisoner, “ a slave of G. B. Murphree, unlawfully and with malice aforethought, with intent to hill and murder Amanda Mur-phree, a white person, did administer to, and cause the said Amanda to eat and swallow, a large quantity of the seed of the Jamestown weed, it being a deadly poison.’* The prisoner was duly arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and was tried at the April term, 1864; when, as the bill of exceptions shows, the…
1Opinion of the CourtPhelan, J.
Tbe confessions of tbe girl Dinah, made to tbe witness Carr, were ruled out, and properly so, we think, although tbe cbcumstances of tbe case, and tbe nature of tbe confession, lead strongly to tbe bebef that she then made a true confession. But she bad been, previous to her running away, threatened by her mistress with a whipping ; and when Carr met her, be slapped her severely in tbe face, and demanded that she should tell him why she bad run away. He then, so far as we are informed, bad no knowledge of tbe fact that she was suspected of having poisoned her mistress’ child, and, when be…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- State v. ClarissaSupreme Court of Alabama · 1847
- Wyatt v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
3Cited by5 opinions
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- Lang v. StateWisconsin Supreme Court · 1922
- Felder v. StateAlabama Court of Appeals · 1920