Brown v. State

348 So. 2d 534, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1284
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided July 26, 1977·No. 6 Div. 313·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

HARRIS, Judge.

Appellant was indicted and tried for murder in the first degree. The jury found him guilty of murder in the second degree and fixed his punishment at 15 years in the penitentiary. Throughout the trial proceedings appellant was represented by counsel of his choice. After sentence was imposed, the appellant gave notice of appeal and trial counsel represents him on this appeal.

There was no motion to exclude the State’s evidence. Appellant requested the affirmative charge which was refused. A motion for a new trial was made and, after a hearing, this motion was overruled and denied.

The evidence in this case is in hopeless conflict. The evidence adduced by the State tended to show an unprovoked murder without any extenuating or mitigating circumstances. The evidence presented on behalf of appellant tended to show that shortly before the homicide the deceased had been evicted from appellant’s home because of his continuous use of profanity after being warned to stop cursing and that upon leaving he made a threat to “get” both appellant and his wife. It is claimed that the deceased returned to appellant’s home a short time later and unlatched the gate to his yard and pushed it open. At this time appellant fired one shot which struck the deceased in the upper left chest which caused almost instant death. It is undisputed that the deceased had no weapons of any kind at the time he was shot and killed outside the gate to appellant’s home.

Mr. Jack R. Parker, Deputy Coroner of Jefferson County, whose qualifications were admitted by defense counsel, testified that he was at the Cooper Green Hospital on March 1,1976; that he received a call at 3:04 p. m. to go to Pratt City, and he arrived at 3:24 p. m. He went to an alley between 616 and 624 on Avenue T and observed a black male lying on his back just off the alley. The man was dead at the time the coroner arrived. The deceased was identified as Jerry Johnson, Jr. He stated that the cause of death was due to a shotgun wound which penetrated into the chest and the area of the lungs.

He further testified that there were no weapons on or around the body when he arrived at the scene of the shooting. He was present when the body was undressed at the funeral home and no weapons were found.

George Terry testified that on March 1, 1976, he lived at 618 Avenue T in Pratt City and was employed by the City of Birmingham; that appellant also lived on Avenue T next to his house but there was an alley between their homes. He said the deceased was his brother-in-law and lived next door to him. He stated that the deceased came to his house around 7 o’clock on the morning of March 1,1976, and they drank a cup of coffee. He testified that they then walked over to appellant’s house between 9 and 10 o’clock and that appellant’s wife was there when they first arrived but she left and did not return until 12:30 or 1 o’clock. Terry further testified that he, appellant and the deceased started drinking and they drank until about 3 o’clock. He stated there was no difficulty between appellant and the deceased and the deceased had not been cursing or using any profanity; that around 3 o’clock appellant suddenly told the [536]*536deceased to leave his house. There was a fence around appellant’s home and there was a gate with a latch on it directly in front of the door to appellant’s home. He said the deceased walked out of the appellant’s home and opened the gate and started walking on the sidewalk in the direction of the alley separating Terry’s and appellant’s homes. He stated that appellant followed the deceased to the gate with an opened knife in his hand; that while the deceased was walking away from appellant’s home he was talking to himself but Terry could not understand what he was saying. He testified that at this time appellant closed his knife, latched the gate and went back in his house. He said he and appellant’s wife were standing on the porch and as the deceased got almost to the alley, he shouted to him to go on home; that the deceased stopped and turned around and at about that time appellant appeared in the doorway and shot the deceased. He said that after the deceased was shot he pulled up his shirt and said, “That man shot me,’’ and he took about 12 to 15 steps and fell in Terry’s side yard.

On cross-examination Terry testified that the deceased was coming back down the sidewalk and was five feet from appellant’s gate when he got shot. He stated that the deceased was not using loud profanity in appellant’s house and that appellant did not tell him to stop using profanity because of the neighbors and to stop cursing in front of his wife. He said the deceased was drinking but he “wasn’t all that drunk.” He denied that appellant took the deceased by the arm and carried him out of the house, but he did tell the deceased “to go on away from my house.” He denied that the deceased made the statement, “I will be back and I will get you,” or that he pointed to appellant’s wife and said, “I will get you also.” He did admit that the deceased went away mumbling to himself but he could not understand what he was saying. He denied that the deceased came back to appellant’s gate and started into the yard and that appellant told him to stop and not come any further; and that he kept coming and that appellant then shot him. He further testified that the deceased was on the sidewalk about five feet from appellant’s gate when he was shot.

Three other State witnesses testified that they saw the deceased before he was shot and he was standing in front of appellant’s house but that he was on the sidewalk outside of appellant’s gate. At no time did they see the deceased open the gate and walk toward appellant’s front porch; that after appellant shot the deceased he staggered over to the yard of George Terry’s and fell. That he was dead when the Coroner arrived at the scene where the deceased was lying. None of these witnesses saw the deceased with a weapon before or after he was shot.

Police Officer T. T. Trammell and Officer Spears investigated the homicide. According to Trammell he observed a black male lying in the alley next to appellant’s house and he was dead at the time; that he and Officer Spears went to appellant’s house and appellant was sitting on his front porch. He testified that Officer Spears went inside the house and got the shotgun from a back bedroom. The shotgun was turned over to an Evidence Technician. He did not see any weapon in the immediate area of the deceased.

Ms. Charlene Kirkland testified that she was a Police Technician with the Birmingham Police Department and that she arrived at the death scene at two minutes to 3 o’clock on the afternoon of March 1, 1976. She stated that she got the gun off the porch of appellant’s house and she found two shells in the shotgun and they were live rounds. One was in the chamber and one was in the place that followed it. She said she found one shell that had been fired near the sidewalk on the yard side of the fence.

Six character witnesses, five of them white, testified they had known appellant for a number of years and had never known him to be in any trouble; they stated he had a good reputation in the neighborhood and that he was known as a quiet and peaceful man. They testified they would believe him in a case in which he was involved.

[537]*537Appellant’s wife, Katie Brown, testified that she left her house on the morning of March 1, 1976, and did not return until about 1:30 that afternoon. She stated that no one was at her house that morning when she left and that her husband walked to the bus stop with her.

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Brown v. State, 348 So. 2d 534, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1284 (Ala. Ct. App. 1977).

348 So. 2d 534 (Brown v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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