Johnson v. State

For killing Frank Jernigan by cutting him with a knife, Walter Johnson was convicted of murder in the first degree with a recommendation for mercy and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

The wound, 1% to 2 inches long and 1% to 1% inches deep, extended through the cavity of the stomach, and while much of the intestines protruded, it does not appear that any of them were cut. The wounded man was treated by a surgeon, but death ensued in about a fortnight thereafter.

Much of the brief here is devoted to the theory that death was due to improper surgery, or that the life might have been saved by…