Tompkins v. Commonwealth
Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Case 15 — ¡Prosecution Against GArth Thompkins fob Murder.— APPEAL FROM HOPKINS CIRCUIT COURT. Defendant Convicted of Murder and Appeals. This appeal is from a judgment inflicting the death penalty in a murder case. 1. The court admitted incompetent evidence. Laura Brame testified that she and the appellant had been married, and over the objection of appellant, she was allowed to testify that she and appellant had been divorced.
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Case 15 — ¡Prosecution Against GArth Thompkins fob Murder.— APPEAL FROM HOPKINS CIRCUIT COURT. Defendant Convicted of Murder and Appeals. This appeal is from a judgment inflicting the death penalty in a murder case. 1. The court admitted incompetent evidence. Laura Brame testified that she and the appellant had been married, and over the objection of appellant, she was allowed to testify that she and appellant had been divorced. We submit that said evidence and all the balance of her testimony was incompetent. It is proper to prove marriage by oral evidence, but not a judgment of a court.…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion op the court by
JUDGE O’REAR
Reversing.
Appellant was convicted and sentenced to death under and indictment charging him with murdering Jim Brame.
The widow of deceased, Jim Brame, was one of the principal witnesses against the appellant. She had formerly been appellant’s wife. She testified that she had, however, been divorced from him, and then had married Jim Brame. Appellant objected to the admission of parol evidence of the divorce on the ground that there was necessarily a record of the judgment of divorce, and that, being the best evidence, must be produced. This is the general…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Combs v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1895
- Smith v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1896
- Williams v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1885
- Rowsey v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1903
3Cited by18 opinions
- Childers v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1914
- Welch v. All PersonsMontana Supreme Court · 1927
- Slone v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1929
- Taylor v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1936
- Harvey v. CommonwealthCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1937
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