Hatchell v. State

84 S.W. 234, 47 Tex. Crim. 380, 1904 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 324
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 30, 1904
DocketNo. 3011
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 84 S.W. 234 (Hatchell 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
Hatchell v. State, 84 S.W. 234, 47 Tex. Crim. 380, 1904 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 324 (Tex. 1904).

Opinion

HEHDERSOH, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of murder in the second degree, the punishment being assessed at confinement in the penitentiary for a term of five years; hence this appeal.

Appellant reserved a bill of exception to the action of the court in regard to the testimony of E. H. Carter, county attorney. The bill presenting this matter is in this wise: “The State, through its district attorney, read before the jury, the following statement of the witness Vaughan, who had testified before, in behalf of defendant on the examining trial, wherein said Vaughan stated, he was present during the examining trial and that he heard one Joel Whitfield testify; and that he did-not tell E. H. Carter, the county attorney, that his evidence would be substantially the same as Whitfield’s, and if he wanted him to, he would adopt Whitfield’s evidence as his.own, whereupon the State then introduced E. H. Carter, county attorney, who testified that Vaughan did tell him immediately after Whitfield had testified that he, Vaughan, would testify substantially the same, and that he would adopt Whitfield’s statements as his own, if he desired it.” Appellant objected to said evidence because the same was irrelevant, immaterial and prejudicial to the rights of the defendant, because it was an attempt on the part of the State to impeach the witness Vaughan upon an immaterial issue; because there [385]*385was no evidence introduced as to what witness Whitfield testified in the examining trial; nor did the State introduce or prove that said Whitfield testified in the examining trial the same as he did in the present trial, no evidence being introduced to show that witness Whitfield testified at the inquest trial, that he was present and saw the difficulty, and the jury was not informed in any way that Whitfield testified on the inquest trial. The court explains this bill by stating, that Whitfield did testify on the examining trial, and that the witness Vaughan heard the testimony. We do not regard the explanation as relevant, or affording any reason for his action in the premises. An examination of the bill fails to disclose how or why this testimony was adduced. It is not shown what the witness Whitfield testified on the examining trial, and it is not shown that the witness Vaughan testified differently on this trial from what he had testified before the examining court. The grounds of objection are not a part of the bill in this respect. The facts attending the introduction of the evidence and connected therewith, should have been stated. It may be, under proper circumstances or conditions, the testimony might have been admissible. At any rate, not having the testimony before us, we cannot determine that its admission was calculated to prejudice appellant.

Bills 3 and 4 embody exceptions to the argument of the district attorney. In the first of these bills it appears that the district attorney stated, “This defendant is guilty of one of the most cruel and diabolical crimes ever committed in this county; and you cannot as good citizens of this county turn this defendant loose, and I want to tell you, if j'ou do, every good respectable citizen within the borders of Shelby County will hang their heads in shame.” The first portion of this statement of the district attorney may have been a proper deduction from the testimony and may have been permissible. As presented, we cannot say it was not. The last portion, however, tells the jury, in substance that unless they convict appellant, every good and respectable citizen within this county would hang his head in shame, could not be authorized from the testimony. It has been held that an invocation or appeal to the jury by a menace of this sort, is not permissible. However, no charge in writing was requested on the subject and refused by the court; and we do not regard it of that character which would authorize a reversal. And again, the district attorney in his argument is shown to have made these remarks,—“The defendant, unlike the hyena who digs in the grave for the body of the dead and buried, while the defendant revels in living streaming blood of his victim; that he took the life of Old Man Judge and walked away from his lifeless body with blood dripping from his hands, calm, cool and deliberate; and his attorneys come here and ask you to acquit him. It may be that defendant’s counsel have some one man on this jury whom they expect to hang it, and no doubt expect by such means 'to induce and persuade some one to hang it, but you Askew, you Wes Darnell nor you Bob Williams can’t afford to hang the jury.” The court explains as to this latter portion that the counsel for defendant in their address to the jury had called names of Turner and others, and the dis[386]*386triet attorney in referring to that matter had used the language. We held in Kugadt v. State, 38 Texas Crim. Rep.:, 681, referring to defendant as a hyena, in the connection in which it was used, did not constitute reversible error. In that case, the court immediately reprimanded counsel for the State and instructed the jury to disregard the same. In this case, however, while there was an attempt to differentiate between defendant and a hyena, it was rather to the disparagement of defendant. The court’s explanation, that the district attorney referred to the jurors by name, because defendant’s counsel had done so, may explain that matter. But it hardly explains the reference, that appellant’s counsel had succeeded in stocking the jury with some man to hang it. These remarks were uncalled-for and reprehensible; but no written request was made of the court, instructing the jury to disregard the same. We do not believe that they are of that character, as to cause a reversal, in the absence of such requested written instruction, the refusal of the court to give the same, and exception reserved thereto.

We do not believe the action of the court, with reference to permitting •the district attorney to talk with the witnesses while they were together was error. The court explains that this request was granted before the witnesses were placed under the rule, though after the rule had been invoked. The better practice would have been, when objection was made, to have authorized the district attorney to talk with the witnesses separately.

Appellant objected to that portion of the charge of the court as follows : “Insulting words or gestures, or an assault and battery so slight as to show no intention to inflict pain or injury, is not adequate cause; but an assault and battery, causing pain or bloodshed, is adequate cause.” This is the language of our statute on the subject; and appellant relied on an assault, as adequate cause to reduce the homicide to manslaughter. The court properly left the question as to whether or not under the circumstances, the assault caused pain, or whether the assault, in connection with the other facts or circumstances in evidence, was such as to afford adequate cause.

And again, this portion of the charge of manslaughter, is objected to: “In order to reduce a voluntary homicide to the grade of manslaughter, it is necessary not only that adequate cause exist to produce anger, rage, sudden resentment or terror, but that such state of mind does actually exist at the time of the killing.

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Bluebook (online)
84 S.W. 234, 47 Tex. Crim. 380, 1904 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 324, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hatchell-v-state-texcrimapp-1904.