Garth v. State

¶ 1. Ernest Garth shot and killed Alex Swopshire in the back yard of Garth's home. Consequently, Garth was charged and indicted with murder. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty of murder but convicted Garth of manslaughter. He was sentenced to twenty years in the custody of MDOC with seven years suspended, pending future good behavior. Aggrieved, Garth has appealed and contends that the trial court erred (1) in denying his motion for directed verdict based on the Weathersby rule, as set out in Weathersby v. State,165 Miss. 207, 147 So. 481 (1933), and (2) in allowing certain…