Wilson v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS. Wilson was convicted of the murder of one Thatch, both being white men and not Indians, on May 15, 1895, at the Creek Nation in the Indian country, and sentenced to be hanged.
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ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS. Wilson was convicted of the murder of one Thatch, both being white men and not Indians, on May 15, 1895, at the Creek Nation in the Indian country, and sentenced to be hanged. There was evidence tending to show that Thatch’s body was found in a creek near where Wilson and Thatch had camped together two weeks before, in a state of decomposition indicating that deceased had been dead for that length of time. Wilson'was arrested the day the body was discovered, and had in his possession five horses and a colt,…
1Opinion of the CourtChief Justice Fullee
Possession of the fruits of crime, recently after its commission, justifies the inference that the possession is guilty possession, and, though only prima facie evidence of guilt, may be of controlling weight unless explained by the circumstances or accounted for in some way consistent with innocence. 1 Greenl. Ev. (15th ed.) § 34. In Rickman's case, 2 East P. C. 1035, cited, it was held that on an indictment for arson, proof that property was in the house at the time it was burned, and was soon afterwards found in the possession of the prisoner, raises a probable presumption that he was…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Hopt v. People of Territory of UtahSupreme Court of the United States · 1884
- Sparf v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1895
- Commonwealth v. SturtivantMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
- Hicks v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1893
- Ruloff v. . the PeopleNew York Court of Appeals · 1871
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3Cited by609 opinions
- Miranda v. ArizonaSupreme Court of the United States · 1966
- Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Jackson v. DennoSupreme Court of the United States · 1964
- Culombe v. ConnecticutSupreme Court of the United States · 1961
- Lisenba v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
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