Francis v. State

170 S.W. 779, 75 Tex. Crim. 362, 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 484
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 28, 1914
DocketNo. 3264.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 170 S.W. 779 (Francis 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
Francis v. State, 170 S.W. 779, 75 Tex. Crim. 362, 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 484 (Tex. 1914).

Opinion

PBEHDEBGAST, Pbesidiug Judge.

—Appellant was indicted for the murder of his brother-in-law, Sam Cunningham, alleged to have occurred June 19, 1913, before the new murder statute, doing away with the degrees, went into effect. He was tried under the old law and the court submitted both degrees of murder. The jury found him guilty of murder in the second degree and assessed his punishment at five years in the penitentiary,—the lowest prescribed by law.

Ho extended statement of the evidence is necessarjr. The evidence, in brief, established that appellant married deceased’s sister. Deceased’s home was in San Antonio and appellant’s in Guadalupe County at the time of the killing; that prior to the killing there had been trouble between appellant and deceased sufficient, at least, to show ill-will ■ by appellant towards deceased. A few days before the killing deceased went from his home and was staying at a friend’s,, a few miles from appellant’s, for a few days. On June 19, appellant had a dinner and celebration at his house. Deceased, it seems, attended this, probably without an invitation. As is customary by negroes on such occasions they had intoxicating liquors to drink and it seems all of them partook, more or less. After the dinner trouble again arose between appellant and deceased, and it seems it was about the old scores between them. Deceased thereupon left appellant’s to go to another picnic or celebration in the neighborhood, or the friend’s where he had been staying, a few miles distant. He was walking, and in his shirt-sleeves. When the row started between them at appellant’s house, friends separated them,—some taking deceased out in the yard, others taking appellant into his house. It was then deceased left. Appellant, after remaining in his house for a while, privately got his six-shooter, which was loaded, stuck' it in his clothes so as' to conceal it, went out to his lot, got the horse of another, mounted it and claimed to those present that he was going to a certain pasture to get another horse. . He says he so told the parties in order to throw them off of their guard so that they would not prevent him from going to see deceased, which was his intention and which he at once did. He says he went to see him to try to compromise the matter between them. Appellant, on his horse, followed deceased and overtook him in the road not a great ways from appellant’s-home. Appellant claims that when he overtook him he told deceased he wanted to compromise their troubles and settle the matter; that deceased declined this and instead said he was going to kill him, got out his small pocketknife, started towards him with it open, and when he got within about three steps from him, he shot him witli his pistol, in self-defense, deceased falling; that he then turned and left the *365 scene on his horse. By a dying declaration deceased said that when appellant overtook him, appellant told him that he was going to kill him unless he took back what he had said; that he declined to retract and thereupon, without his doing anything towards appellant, appellant shot him, from which wound he died within two days; that deceased was wholly unarmed, and, as he expressed it, did not even have a pin with which to stick appellant. The doctor who attended him swore that deceased was shot through the hack of the flesh of the left arm about midway between the elbow and shoulder; that the hall entered the side of the deceased, passed through his ribs, liver, lungs, and intestines, and the hall lodged near the right hip or in it; that the wound was necessarily fatal.

Appellant complains that the court erred in submitting murder in the first degree, claiming the evidence did not raise that issue. The jury found appellant.guilty of murder in the second degree, assessing the lowest penalty. This presents no error as has all the time been held. Potts v. State, 56 Texas Crim. Rep., 39.

He also claims that the court should have submitted to the jury whether deceased’s death was caused by negligence and gross mistreatment, after he was shot, and he asked charges on that subject. The court correctly held that the evidence did not raise the issue to require the submission of such an issue.

The evidence shows without contradiction, that when appellant shot him down he rode away without giving or offering any assistance. That very soon deceased met two friends in a conveyance, and asked them to get a doctor. One at once went for a doctor; the other put him in the conveyance and took him to his nearest friend. The one who went for a doctor said there was none at one town, and one was absent from the other town some six miles distant, and the other refused to go. This was late in the evening. That night they took him to the train some six miles to take him to San Antonio, which they did next day, and called a doctor when they got there. The doctor swore the shot was necessarily fatal.

He further excepted to the charge, claiming that the court ought to have submitted the issue of an assault with intent to murder, claiming the evidence raised that issue. Deceased was killed,—not merely shot from which he recovered,—so that the issue of an assault with intent to murder did not arise and in no event should have been submitted. He also claimed that the court should have submitted aggravated assault. Ho such issue was raised by the evidence and the court should not have submitted it. Appellant’s defense was self-defense, which was fully and completely submitted in his favor by the court and found against him by the jury, to which there is no complaint.

He also complained that the court should have submitted manslaughter. In our opinion the evidence did not raise manslaughter and the court should not, as he did not, submit that issue. ’ There was no adequate cause. Johnson v. State, 74 Texas Crim. Rep., 179, 167 S. W. Rep., 736, and cases cited. *366 The term of court at which this case was tried adjourned on May 21, 1914. Several days afterward appellant filed what he calls his supplemental motion for a new trial, in which he sought a new trial for claimed newly discovered evidence. The court had no power or authority to consider it for any purpose and neither has this court. It should not have been contained in the record. , During the term, at which the motion filed and acted upon during term time was overruled, appellant gave notice of appeal, which was properly entered of record. After the court adjourned for the term it was without power or authority to hear any other motion for new trial and make any order. If such order had been made, granting such motion, it would have been void. Tores v. State, 74 Texas Crim. Rep., 37, 166 S. W. Rep., 523.

Appellant complains by a bill that “the witness Robert Jefferson testified that he met the deceased walking down the road and that the said Cunningham said to him: ‘I want to see my poor little children, I am shot.’ He said that Bondy shot him.” Then the bill shows that he objected to this testimony for various reasons. The court does not approve any of appellant’s objections as statements of facts, but in allowing the bill he says he did so “with this statement: The testimony was admitted as res gestae.” By his bill appellant objected to the introduction of the whole of the testimony of the witness quoted above.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
170 S.W. 779, 75 Tex. Crim. 362, 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 484, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/francis-v-state-texcrimapp-1914.