Harris v. State

394 S.W.2d 135, 239 Ark. 771, 1965 Ark. LEXIS 1080
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 4, 1965
Docket5143
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 394 S.W.2d 135 (Harris v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. State, 394 S.W.2d 135, 239 Ark. 771, 1965 Ark. LEXIS 1080 (Ark. 1965).

Opinion

Frank Holt, Associate Justice.

The bodies of Leonard Dever, his wife, and four of their children were found in the ruins of their home which was destroyed by fire on the night of December 20, 1963. Two other children escaped and made their way to the home of a neighbor. The appellant was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the death of Leonard Dever. The appellant was then charged by information with the joint crimes of the murder of Mrs. Dever and her four children. A jury found him guilty of murder in the first degree and assessed his punishment at death-in each of the five cases. Upon appeal we reversed and remanded each of the cases for a new trial because we deemed inadmissible and prejudicial the testimony of one of the surviving children and, also, the other upon proper objection being made. Harris v. State, 238 Ark. 780, 384 S. W. 2d 477. Upon a retrial a jury found the appellant guilty of the alleged crimes and fixed his punishment at death in each of the five cases. From these judgments appellant appeals.

For reversal the appellant first contends that count no. 1 of the information alleges two separate and distinct charges of first degree murder in the - disjunctive and that the court erred in overruling a demurrer to that part of the information. Count no. 1 of the information alleged that the appellant “did unlawfully, wilfully and feloniously, with malice aforethought, kill and murder Mrs. Martha Dever while in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate the crime of robbery and/or arson.” We think the court was correct in overruling appellant’s demurrer. An indictment or information, except as provided in Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-1010 (Repl. 1964) our joinder statute, must charge only one offense, however, if it could have been committed by different modes and means the indictment or information may allege the modes and means in the alternative. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-1009 (Repl. 1964). In the case of Franklin v. State, 153 Ark. 536, 240 S. W. 708, we said: “* * * Under our law murder is a single crime and must be so charged, but if committed in different modes or by different means it is permissible to allege the different modes or means in the alternative. * * * In other words, the same murder may be charged in the same indictment either by poisoning or by force in the alternative, the means or modes being inconsistent.” See also Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-2202 (Repl. 1964).

In the case at bar count no. 1 in the information charged appellant with only one offense, namely murder, while in the perpetration of or the attempt to perpetrate either robbery or arson or both. By this permissible pleading a defendant knows with certainty that he is charged with a single offense. And, further, upon acquittal or conviction a defendant has available to him the plea of double jeopardy in any future prosecution.

The appellant argues that the court erred in overruling his motion for a supplemental bill of particulars as to count no. 1 of the information. In counts 2, 3, 4 and 5 the State alleged that the defendant murdered the four children in the perpetration of arson. In his motion for a supplemental bill of particulars as to count no. 1 appellant asked that the State be required to state further “the means, methods, act or acts of the defendant whereby Martha Dever came to her death.” Certainly count no. 1 of the information fully apprised the appellant of the information he sought by his supplemental bill of particulars. Furthermore, by his previous trial he was fully aware of the information he sought. Also, the record discloses the appellant was advised that the State elected to conduct the prosecution under the provisions of Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-2205 (Repl. 1964).

The appellant contends that it was error for the court to refuse his motion to quash the regular and special jury panels on the ground that none of the members of said panels were qualified electors since they were not registered voters as required by our newly adopted Amendment 51, Arkansas Constitution. This contention has recently been decided adversely to appellant. Qualifications of jurors are prescribed by statute and not by the Constitution. Coger v. City of Fayetteville, 239 Ark. 688, 393 S. W. 2d 622. By the provisions of Act 126 of 1965, which was held by us to be valid legislation in the Coger case, these jurors were qualified and, therefore, the court correctly overruled appellant’s motion to quash the jury panels.

The appellant also contends there is no substantial evidence to support the verdicts of the jury and the court erred in overruling his motions for directed verdicts. In determining the sufficiency of the evidence we must review it in the light most favorable to the appellee and affirm if there is any substantial evidence to support the verdict. Clayton v. State, 191 Ark. 1070, 89 S. W. 2d 732; Higgins v. State, 204 Ark. 233, 161 S. W. 2d 400; Stockton v. State, 239 Ark. 228, 388 S. W. 2d 382.

About 10 P. M. on December 20, 1963 the home of Leonard Dever was observed as being on fire. Following the fire the bodies of Leonard and Martha Dever, his wife, and four of their children, Nelle, age 8, Joanne, age 5, Sharon, age 4, Janette, age 1, were found in the ruins. Two of the children, Bonald, age 9, and Mary, age 6, escaped from the burning home and through zero weather walked approximately one and one-half miles to the house of a neighbor. An autopsy was performed on the charred bodies of Leonard and Martha Dever. An x-ray disclosed that there were leaden pellets in that portion of Leonard Dever’s body from the neck down to the middle part of the stomach. An x-ray disclosed the presence of leaden pellets in the elbow portion of Mrs. Dever’s right arm. The autopsy revealed that Mr. Dever died from gunshot wounds and that it was uncertain as to whether Mrs. Dever died from gunshot wounds or the fire. A partially burned single-barreled 20-gauge shotgun was found in the ruins of the fire on a couch near Dever’s body. An expended 20-gauge shell was found in the barrel of the gun. One unburned and expended 20-gauge shell was found outside the house, as was Dever’s cap and a trail of blood leading to the house. According to the evidence both shells had been fired from this gun.

Within a few hours after the fire and the discovery of the bodies, appellant was apprehended at his home. He appeared to be drunk and bad a patch on a bleeding cut under his right eye. He related conflicting stories as to his activities that night. He said that he had been to Poinsett County to buy some whiskey from a Negro. He denied that he was acquainted with the Dever family and that he had any knowledge of the alleged crimes. Sometime later, however, he admitted that he knew the Devers and went to the Dever home the night of the fire to get some moonshine whiskey. He took his shotgun and seven shells with him and left the shotgun with Mr. Dever as payment for two gallons of whiskey. He admitted that he and Mr. Dever gambled and drank together and that the cut on his eye was the result of Mr. Dever hitting him when he [appellant] intervened in a dispute between Mr. Dever and his wife. According to him Dever shot his wife with appellant’s gun. He left to escape from Mr. Dever’s attack and observed the house afire. He returned and through a window saw Mrs. Dever’s body and was unable to rescue the screaming children. He left the scene in his car and abandoned it in a gravel pit off the road when the lights stopped functioning.

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Bluebook (online)
394 S.W.2d 135, 239 Ark. 771, 1965 Ark. LEXIS 1080, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-state-ark-1965.