Thomas v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia
Murder. Motion in arrest of judgment. Decided by James M. Clark. Sumter Superior Court. September Term, 1868. Zena Thomas, a negro, was indicted and tried for murder, and the verdict was “we, the jury, find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter.”
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Murder. Motion in arrest of judgment. Decided by James M. Clark. Sumter Superior Court. September Term, 1868. Zena Thomas, a negro, was indicted and tried for murder, and the verdict was “we, the jury, find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter.” A motion was made to arrest the judgment “ upon the ground that said verdict was not according to law, and not justified by the pleadings in said case,” in that it did not define whether the killing “ was in the commission of an unlawful or a lawful act.” The Court refused to arrest the judgment, and this refusal is assigned as error.
1Opinion of the Court
Brown, C. J.'
Was the Court right in refusing to sustain the motion in arrest of judgment in this case? We think not. Involuntary manslaughter is thus defined in the Revised Code, sections 4261, 4263 : “ Involuntary manslaughter shall consist in the killing of a human being without any intention to do so, but in the commission of an unlawful act, or a lawful act which probably might produce such a consequence in an unlawful manner. Provided, always, that when Such involuntary killing shall happen in the commission of an unlawful act, which, in its consequences, naturally tends to destroy the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
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