Barbee v. State

124 S.W. 961, 58 Tex. Crim. 129
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 6, 1909
DocketNo. 71.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 124 S.W. 961 (Barbee v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barbee v. State, 124 S.W. 961, 58 Tex. Crim. 129 (Tex. 1909).

Opinions

BBOOKS, Judge.

This is the second appeal of this case. The former opinion will be found in 50 Texas Crim. Rep., 426, 97 S. W. Rep., 1058. Upon this conviction appellant’s punishment was assessed at five years confinement in the penitentiary for murder in the second degree.

We glean from appellant’s brief the following as the uncontradicted evidence upon the trial:

“The uncontroverted evidence upon the trial shows that about noon on the 6th day of March, 1905, on the public square in Sherman, Texas, *131 appellant shot deceased one time with a pistol and killed him; that at the time of the shooting deceased was standing near the rear end of a wagon; that immediately after the shot he fell with his body partly under the hind end of the wagon, and that very soon after he fell he died without speaking or saying anything after he was shot. That the day of the homicide was stray sale day, and that a large number of people were at the time of the homicide in close proximity to the scene of the shooting, conversing, trading horses and standing around. Deceased and appellant had been acquainted for several years, and at one time deceased had worked for appellant on his farm. In the latter part of the summer of 1904, appellant with his family moved from a farm near Howe, Texas, to a farm near Southmayd, Texas. At the time of moving appellant’s crop had not been fully gathered and he left deceased and his son Frank on the farm at Howe to look after and gather the crop. Just before Frank Barbee left the farm at Howe he sent a package of laundry from Howe to Sherman to be laundered, and when he left there to join his parents at Southmayd the laundry had not returned. Frank gave deceased the necessary money to pay for the laundry, requesting deceased to receive it and keep it until he (Frank) should call for it at some time. On Sunday before the homicide on Monday Frank Barbee attended church near Howe and deceased also attended that church. After service Frank told deceased that he would go up home with him and get his laundry and deceased said all right. Deceased, his cousin and brother-in-law left the church together in a buggy and were overtaken near the place where deceased lived by Frank Barbee. When Frank came up to the buggy it was stopped and Jenkins had gotten out. Frank asked deceased if he was going on with him after the laundry; deceased said no; that appellant owed him some money, and he was not going to give Frank his laundry until he got his money. Frank told deceased that he (Frank) didn’t owe deceased anything and that he would have to look to his father for his money; if his father owed him anything he would pay it, and that deceased ought not to hold the laundry for something somebody else owed him. Deceased said that appellant had to pay him that money; that appellant couldn’t beat him out of anything and that Frank couldn’t have the laundry until he got the money unless he rode over his dead body. Deceased said to Frank: ‘You tell the old man if he says he don’t owe me that he is a damned old lying son-of-a-biteh.’ That deceased seemed out of humor and had an open knife in his hands. On that evening, after returning home a short time before night, Frank told appellant the incident of his meeting and conversation with deceased. In July, 1904, while deceased was working at appellant’s house and while the members of the family were away from the house deceased went to appellant’s house and made an insulting- and indecent proposal to appellant’s wife. Appellant’s wife told deceased that she would tell her husband. Deceased told appellant’s wife that if she told her husband and her husband came on to him that he *132 would kill her husband; and after some parleying and insisting on the part of deceased that appellant’s wife say nothing about the matter, deceased left the house and nothing was said about the matter by appellant’s wife at that time to anybody, but deceased told one Henry Eankin of the incident that occurred between him’ and appellant’s wife. On Sunday night before the homicide on Monday appellant’s wife told appellant of the insult that had been offered to her by deceased. On the morning of the homicide deceased asked Joel Collins, a trader, to buy a couple of mules that he (deceased) had for sale. Collins told the deceased that he did not want the mules and suggested that deceased sell them to appellant. Deceased replied that he 'would not sell appellant anything; that he would rather cut his (Barbee’s) paunch out than to sell him the mules. The occasion of the homicide was the first meeting between appellant and deceased on the day of the homicide; at the time of the homicide deceased had in his pocket two pocket knives. Immediately after the shooting appellant stated that deceased was coming at him with a knife.

“The controverted facts are that the State showed that before the homicide appellant inquired for deceased, stating he had a settlement to make with .him, and that appellant had said that he never had been as mad in his life as he was either the evening before or the night before; at the time of the homicide it was claimed by appellant that he approached deceased and asked him why he treated his wife the way he did; that deceased drew a knife and said he would cut appellant’s damned paunch out, and was advancing toward him when appellant shot; and in this connection appellant is corroborated; while it was claimed by the State that at the time the fatal shot was fired that deceased was standing with his hands by his side doing and saying nothing.”

1. Appellant complains the court erred in admitting the evidence of defendant’s wife as shown by bill of exceptions Ho. 1. Mrs. Barbee testified by deposition in chief that on the night before the killing in March, while they were thrashing oats at" defendant’s, deceased had come to the house and she was alone and insulted her, and then testified that she had related in detail to her husband on the night before the killing the acts and conduct of deceased. That the State then offered in evidence the questions and answers in cross-examination of said witness as follows: “Q. What did your husband say in reply when you told him what had happened between you and Lon Jenkins? A. He never said anything that I remember. Q. When you told your husband, the defendant in this case, about you and Lon Jenkins, did he ask you any questions? A. I do not remember any questions he asked.” Appellant objected to this cross-examination on the ground that same was irrelevant and immaterial, and not in cross-examination of any matter testified to by the witness, the wife of the defendant, or of any matter about which she was interrogated on direct examination, The objection being overruled, the questions and answers as *133 above set forth were read to the jury. After all the evidence was closed in the case, the court informed appellant’s counsel that he was going to exclude the testimony above set forth of the witness, Mrs. Barbee, which was admitted over appellant’s objection. Appellant’s counsel contended that the testimony had been read to the jury and for the court to reread it for the purpose of excluding it, was simply to emphasize it and the effect of it could not be thereby withdrawn from the jury, and all the injury to defendant that could be done by the introduction of the evidence had been accomplished, and defendant was entitled to his bill for the admission of it over his objection.

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Bluebook (online)
124 S.W. 961, 58 Tex. Crim. 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barbee-v-state-texcrimapp-1909.