James v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court

James v. State

104 So. 301, 139 Miss. 521, 1925 Miss. LEXIS 169

CourtMississippi Supreme Court

DecidedJune 1, 1925

DocketNo. 24857.

StatusPublished

Cited by3 cases

This text of 104 So. 301 (James v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

James v. State, 104 So. 301, 139 Miss. 521, 1925 Miss. LEXIS 169 (Mich. 1925).

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Opinion

*523 Anderson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

*524 Appellant, Phillip James, was indicted and convicted in the circuit court of Grenada county of the murder of Gene 'Eiskridge and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, from which judgment he prosecutes this appeal.

Two errors are assigned: (1) That the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction; (2) that the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury, at the request of appellant, that if they believed from the evidence the deceased had threatened the life of appellant, which threat had been communicated to appellant, and the latter, because of such threat, shot and killed the deceased, the jury should acquit appellant.

1. With reference to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction, we have to say that we. have carefully read and considered the evidence and. are of the opinion that it was sufficient to justify the verdict of the jury.

2. The instruction requested by appellant is clearly erroneous. By it the appellant sought to have the court charge the jury that appellant had the right to kill the deceased because he knew deceased had threatened his life. This is not the law. It took more than a threat by deceased against the life of appellant to justify the latter in killing the deceased. There must have been in addition, at the time of the. homicide, an overt act on the part .of the deceased indicating a purpose to carry out such threat.

Affirmed.

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*523 Anderson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

*524 Appellant, Phillip James, was indicted and convicted in the circuit court of Grenada county of the murder of Gene 'Eiskridge and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, from which judgment he prosecutes this appeal.

Two errors are assigned: (1) That the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction; (2) that the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury, at the request of appellant, that if they believed from the evidence the deceased had threatened the life of appellant, which threat had been communicated to appellant, and the latter, because of such threat, shot and killed the deceased, the jury should acquit appellant.

1. With reference to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction, we have to say that we. have carefully read and considered the evidence and. are of the opinion that it was sufficient to justify the verdict of the jury.

2. The instruction requested by appellant is clearly erroneous. By it the appellant sought to have the court charge the jury that appellant had the right to kill the deceased because he knew deceased had threatened his life. This is not the law. It took more than a threat by deceased against the life of appellant to justify the latter in killing the deceased. There must have been in addition, at the time of the. homicide, an overt act on the part .of the deceased indicating a purpose to carry out such threat.

Affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)

104 So. 301, 139 Miss. 521, 1925 Miss. LEXIS 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-v-state-miss-1925.

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