Harris v. State

249 S.W. 485
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided February 28, 1923·No. No. 7184·Published·Cited by 32 cases

Opinion

MORROW, P. J.

The indictment is for murder; the conviction for manslaughter; punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for a period of five years.

The deceased, C. W. Ray, was a physician. He had been treating the wife of the appellant for some time for tuberculosis. He and Dr. Jenkins had adjoining offices and used the reception room in common.

From the testimony of the appellant, it' appears that from the conduct of the deceased and the wife of the appellant, the conversations between the appellant and his wife, and her own conduct towards him, he became suspicious of her relations with the deceased, and with the determination to satisfy himself, he secretly wont into the space between the roof and the ceiling of the private office of the deceased and made a hole so that he might observe the conduct of the persons in the office. On the next visit of his wife to the doctor’s office, he secreted himself and observed their conduct through the aperture mentioned. What followed is described by him, and from his testimony excerpts are taken as follows:

“They walked underneath me then; she leaned upon the table, and he helped her upon the table, putting his hands under her arms, and he began to fool with her skirts, got her dress up above her knees, and she pushed his hands down, and said: ‘Doctor, X am sick; don’t do that.’ And he dropped her skirts and run his arm around her waist, and her arms went around his neck, and they kissed; it looked to me like the sweetest kiss I ever saw her put out. I could not stand it any longer, and I hollered. I said: ‘God damn it! Don’t do that! I see you.’ * * * In about a minute, I said: ‘I don’t intend to do nothing. I am just coming down to talk to you.’ And he said, ‘All right, come down.’ * * * I walked in and said, ‘Well, you are caught,’ and he said: ‘Now, Bill, don’t take the wrong conception; your wife is straight.’ I told him that my eyes didn’t deceive me from that hole.”

An encounter ensued. Dr. Jenkins entered the room, but was pushed out by the deceased with the remark: “This is our affair; wé will settle it.” During the affray, Dr. Jenkins re-entered and the parties separated. Appellant and his wife left the office, and according to the appellant, they went to the cemetery, where they had a child buried, and at the grave of the child, appellant’s wife admitted to him that her relations with the deceased had been criminal. Upon their return to their home, appellant went to the doctor’s office, stopping on the way to get a pistol. He said that he got the pistol without the intention to use it save in protecting himself. In describing the interview that followed with the deceased‘and Dr. Jenkins, we quote in part from appellant’s testimony:

T walked up and said, ‘Dr. Ray, I want to see you two men in the private office,’ and they followed me in there and closed the door. Dr. Jenkins was on the left of me, and Dr. Ray was on the right. I said, ‘Now, men, I don’t want this little trouble to get out — this little disgrace to get out.’ And Dr. Jenkins assured me that he would not say nothing about it, and I excused him from the room. I did not want it to get out on account of my wife and babies; I did not then intend to kill anybody. Then I said to Dr. Ray, ‘You have done me damn dirty.’ He said, ‘Yes, Bill, but your wife is still straight.’ I said, ‘Dr. Ray, she has told me everything.’ He kind of dropped his head, kind of grinned a little and said, ‘Has she?’ This flashed right up into my mind. I then said: ‘Dr. Ray, as hard as I have tried to get your money for you, I find out you are playing my wife. How would you feel if you caught me fooling with yours?’ He told me that I would not have any luck. I said, ‘If George McCal-ley knew of this he would kill you before sundown,’ and he said, ‘Yes, I believe he would.’ I said, ‘Really, you think I ought to do it, don’t you?’ He looked me from head to foot with the most impudent grin I ever saw. He said, ‘Yes, I ought to be killed.’ I said, ‘Good-bye,’ and I killed him.
“That grin flashed all over me like powder. It was under this condition of mind I formed the intent to kill him. I could not control myself ivhen I asked him if he didn’t think he ought to.be killed, and he looked over me from head to foot with that most impudent ’ grin that I ever saw. It seems as though Dr. Ray started toward me when I pulled the gun — kind of started with his shoulder over toward me, and I began shooting, and he ran against me, and I stepped to one side and finished shooting.”

Dr. Jenkins gave ,his version of the affair, and from his testimony we take the following excerpts:

“When I went in, I took hold of Bill Harris’ hand and asked him to stop, and Dr. Ray requested him to stop; and I asked what was wrong; and defendant pointed to a hole up in the ceiling and said: ‘You see that hole up there, don’t you?’ * * * Dr. Ray said, ‘There is nothing wrong, just his foolishness,’ and then Mrs. Harris said, ‘Let’s go, Bill, there is nothing wrong between me and Dr. Ray.’ Then defendant turned to me and said: ‘God damn it! this is our affair, and you keep out of it.’
“In about an hour after defendant first left, he came back again. * * * When the'defendant came in, he * * * said, ‘Dr. Ray, I want to see you a minute,’ and then he turned to me and said, ‘You come in too,’ and we walked into Dr. Ray’s private office together. * * * Harris said: ‘Fellows, I am sorry for what I done this morning. I don’t want you to think that I think that my wife is crooked. I am through with this, and I don’t want to hear anything more about it.’ * * * And then Dr. Ray said: ‘I’m glad you look at it that way, Bill. I will assure you we will not have anything to say about it.’ And then defendant turned to me and said, T want to see Dr. Ray privately a minute,’ and I walked out of the back door. The defendant seemed to be perfectly calm and did not seem to be angry. * * " * I had been in the front office about a minute. * * * I heard Dr. Ray [487]*487say, T will not give you money,’ and then I heard Bill Harris say, ‘That was a good piece,’ and heard Dr. Ray say, T know nothing about it; I have had nothing to do with your wife,’ and defendant said, ‘You are a God damn lying son of a bitch.’ And then Dr. Ray said, ‘I know nothing about it,’ and then defendant said, ‘You are a God damn lying son of a bitch,’ and when he said that I walked out through the back door of my private office and into the laboratory, and saw the defendant sitting on the table with a pistol in his hand pointed at Dr. Ray, and Dr. Ray was standing there with his hands by his side looking the defendant in the face; and I said: ‘Bill, please don’t shoot Dr. Ray. He has not done you any wrong.’ And then the defendant shot —shot three times. The first shot hitting Dr. Ray in the chest. * * * I did not do anything toward interfering. * * * I-was standing ' there looking, and the defendant turned the gun from Dr. Ray toward me. and said, 'God damn you.’ He shot at me and hit me in the left arm.”

Some contradictory statements of the appellant and some of both the state and appellant’s witnesses were introduced. By circumstances the state undertook to controvert the possibility of appellant observing the actions of the deceased and appellant’s wife' through the aperture in the ceiling.

. The relations of the deceased and appellant’s wife were combated by circumstances. Iler reputation for virtue and chastity was attacked by a number of witnesses, as was that of the appellant for peace and quietude.

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Harris v. State, 249 S.W. 485 (Tex. 1923).

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