Davis v. State

204 S.W. 652, 83 Tex. Crim. 539, 1918 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 252
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 1918
DocketNo. 4648.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 204 S.W. 652 (Davis 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
Davis v. State, 204 S.W. 652, 83 Tex. Crim. 539, 1918 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 252 (Tex. 1918).

Opinions

PRENDERGAST, Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction of murder with the lowest punishment assessed.

The indictment is attacked because it was found at a special term of the court called by the judge without giving thirty days notice prior to the time the court was held. The validity of such a term and all proceedings had thereat have been so many times and so uniformly sustained by this court, that it is unnecessary to discuss the question again. Mayhew v. State, 69 Texas Crim. Rep., 187; Vasquez v. State, 76 Texas Crim. Rep., 37; Chant v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 345, and cases cited; Gillespie v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 585; Valdez v. State, 71 Texas Crim. Rep., 487; Fisher v. State, 81 Texas Crim. Rep., 568, 197 S. W. Rep., 189.

That appellant killed deceased by stabbing him with a knife is established by the uncontradicted testimony, and not contested by appellant. His sole defense was self-defense.

There were several eyewitnesses to the killing who testified. They varied as to some of the facts as is nearly always the ease.

Appellant and deceased were brothers-in-law, deceased having been married to appellant’s sister for some seventeen years, they having five children, one a boy about ten years old. Appellant and deceased were merchants in the town of Clayton. Their stores some seventy-five or eighty feet apart on the same side of the street with one other store and small vacant spaces between them.

Some two or three years before the killing, some of the witnesses testified, that appellant had accused deceased of misappropriating some of the school fund of the school of which they both and another were trus *541 tees. Deceased at the time resented this accusation to appellant himself. Thereafter they continued to pass and repass and had more or less business between them, but it seems deceased never became cordial towards appellant. The testimony of several witnesses is clearly to the effect that appellant was quite hostile towards deceased and was to the effect that appellant repeatedly made threats against deceased, even to the extent of what could be regarded as a threat to kill him. Bloomer Beeves testified that he was present when deceased told appellant that he, appellant, had accused deceased of misappropriating said school money and that at the time deceased said to appellant that he had misinterpreted the thing from start to finish and that there was not anything to it, that he could take his books and show where every nickel had been spent that had been turned over to him when he -took charge; that appellant replied, “Don’t say I have lied; I will separate your head from your body.” And that at that time he was whittling on a stick with his knife.

Pete Giles testified that about a week or ten days before appellant killed deceased he, with others and appellant, were about an automobile in the town of Longbranch, near Clayton; that deceased passed nearby and spoke to witness and perhaps others, not stopping, however. And that after deceased had passed something was said about him, and appellant said of deceased, “That damned son-of-a-bitch had to leave Clayton, or him, one or the other.” Oscar Beed testified to substantially the same thing of what appellant said at the time, except that he did not hear him use an oath in connection with the remark. The testimony shows an entire absence of any threat by deceased towards appellant at any time.

Late in the evening, just before appellant killed deceased, the ten-year-old son of deceased was out in the street in front of appellant’s store playing in the sand and throwing up sand. Appellant himself swore that it wasn’t specially hurting anything on the inside of the store hut that he didn’t want him throwing it up any more and told him if he didn’t stop throwing it up he would whip him. He says the boy was like some little boys, a little sassy, and said he was not going to stop it, or as some of the other witnesses said, he replied he did not have to stop it. However, the boy did stop it and went to his father’s store, where his mother was, and told her of the occurrence. He did not tell his father but told her. She said that his father then hearing something of it asked her and she told him what the boy had said to her. She said deceased did not at once go to see appellant about it, but after attending to some other matters for a short time did go over to see appellant. All of the eyewitnesses, and so did appellant, in substance, testified that appellant was standing on the outer edge of his store gallery; that deceased walked up and stopped several feet from him and asked him what the hoy had done and what he had said to the boy.

Amos Holt, one of the eyewitnesses, who was right at the parties at the time, testified that deceased “asked Mr. Davis what his hoy was *542 doing (Carmichael’s boy), and Mr. Davis told Mr. Carmichael that the boy was throwing sand up in front of his (Davis’) store; Mr. Carmichael asked. Mr. Davis what he had said to the boy,, and Mr. Davis said that-he had told the boy that if he didn’t quit he would whip him, and he told Mr. Carmichael that he would whip him (Carmichael), too”; that at the time Mr. Carmichael was some four or five feet from Mr. Davis; that Mr. Davis started off of his gallery onto Mr. Carmichael, putting his hand in his pocket as he went; that Mr. Carmichael caught Mr. Davis when they came together. They slung each other around about twice. Mr. Davis “stuck his knife in Mr. Carmichael, and they separated. They went to the ground after Mr. Davis was striking Mr. Carmichael. After they fell to the ground Mr. Carmichael straightened up from over Mr. Davis.” In another place this witness swore as follows: “Mr. Carmichael asked Mr. Davis what his boy was doing, and at that time Mr. Carmichael was standing right where he had stopped at first; and Mr. Davis told him that his boy was throwing up sand in front of the store; Mr. Carmichael did not move then, but asked Mr. Davis what he had said to the boy; and Mr. Davis told Mr. Carmichael that he had told the boy that if he didn’t quit he would whip him, and also told Mr. Carmichael that he could whip him (Mr. Carmichael), too; to give Mr. Davis’ exact language, he said: H told him if he didn’t quit I would whip.him, and, God darned you, I can whip you, too.’ At that time Mr. Carmichael was still in the same place. Mr. Davis then started toward Mr. Carmichael, who was something like three or four steps away, and as he started toward him he (Mr. Davis) put his hand in his pocket, and walked pretty pert; and at that time Mr. Carmichael was not doing anything, I saw him at'the time. . . . Mr. Carmichael did not advance or move toward Mr. Davis from the point where he first stopped and asked the question. After they caught each other they slung each other around and around. I don’t know when Mr. Davis opened his knife, I didn’t see him'open it; all I saw him do was to put his hand in his pocket and pull it out when he started on him. When Mr. Davis struck Mr. Carmichael they were standing up together, and when he made this lick he hit Mr. Carmichael in the breast, just this way (indicating).” He further swore: “I saw Mr. Davis strike Mr. Carmichael in the front part of the body, and by the front part of the body I mean in here (indicating); I am not mistaken about it and have no doubt about it. I did not see any lick struck after they were on the ground and while Mr. Carmichael was standing over Mr. Davis there was no lick struck there.”

Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
204 S.W. 652, 83 Tex. Crim. 539, 1918 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-state-texcrimapp-1918.