Toms v. State

MORROW, Presiding Judge.

The offense is murder; punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for a period of twenty-five years.

About two o’clock in the afternoon, Sam Smith and the appellant were gambling. They quarreled and drew knives. The appellant threw a brick and struck Smith, after which Toms fled and Smith pursued with a knife in his hand. They later met and Toms shot Smith with a pistol, inflicting a wound in the abdomen from which he died.

The evidence is conflicting. Toms testified in his own behalf and his evidence raised the issue of self-defense. The State’s witnesses…