Deaton v. Commonwealth

Opinion of the Court by

Judge Rees

Affirming

The appellant, John J. Deaton, has been convicted of the crime of manslaughter under an indictment charging him with murder, and sentenced to a term of 10 years in the penitentiary. He shot and killed John L. Morgan on May 22, 1930, at Barwick, a station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in Breathitt county, Ky.

Ill feeling between the members of the Morgan and Deaton families had existed for several months prior to the tragedy. Appellant’s home was directly across the Kentucky river from Barwick, and the deceased lived about one-half mile from…