Pannill v. Commonwealth

Henry Pannill, the accused, was indicted for the murder of his eleven-year-old daughter, tried by a jury and convicted. His punishment was fixed at death in the electric chair. The court approved the verdict of the jury and sentenced the accused to be put to death by electrocution on July 30, 1945. The judgment of the court is the subject of this writ of error.

The accused, a negro thirty-seven years of age, who resided in Pittsylvania county, had been twice married, and was the father of ten children by his first wife. His first wife divorced him and he was given the custody of his children.…