Chapman v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Appeal from the District Court of Brazoria. Tried below before Hon. Wells Thompson. Appeal from a conviction of manslaughter; penalty three years imprisonment in the penitentiary. Appellant was charged by the indictment with the murder of Abe Harshaw on May 25, 1899, by shooting him with a gun.
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Appeal from the District Court of Brazoria. Tried below before Hon. Wells Thompson. Appeal from a conviction of manslaughter; penalty three years imprisonment in the penitentiary. Appellant was charged by the indictment with the murder of Abe Harshaw on May 25, 1899, by shooting him with a gun. The record is very voluminous, but in Judge Henderson’s dissenting opinion will be found stated very succinctly the cause of the killing (insulting conduct towards defendant’s wife) and the facts immediately attendant upon the killing. The substance of the address of the court to the petit juries when…
1Opinion of the Court
DAVIDSON, Presiding Judge.
This conviction was for manslaughter, the punishment being assessed at three years confinement in the penitentiary.
The trial judge, on Monday of each week, for three successive weeks prior to appellant’s trial, read the petit jury a document which may be termed, for want of a more appropriate name, a general lecture as to their duties as jurors. A short excerpt will be sufficient to indicate the nature of the document, to wit: “There is a defense for murder that is put in evidence in almost every case that is now tried, until the law-abiding citizen has become…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Cline v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1896
- Hill v. StateTexas Supreme Court · 1874
- Bell v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1893
- Upchurch v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1896
- Benavides v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1892
3Cited by12 opinions
- Fountain v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1921
- Commonwealth v. CohenSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1938
- Reed v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1914
- McGaughey v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1914
- Redwine v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1919
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