Phelan v. State

114 Tenn. 483
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 15, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 114 Tenn. 483 (Phelan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phelan v. State, 114 Tenn. 483 (Tenn. 1904).

Opinion

Mr. Justice McAlister

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The plaintiff in error was convicted in the criminal court of Davidson county of murder in the second degree for the hilling of R. T. Townes, and his punishment fixed by the jury, at confinement in the State prison for a period of ten years. He has appealed in error.

[486]*486The record reveals 'that deceased and defendant were men over sixty years of age. The deceased Townes was the son-in-law of defendant Phelan, having married the daughter of the latter about two years before the homicide. The deceased at that time was about sixty-four years of age and the daughter of defendant only about twenty-four years of age. On account of the disparity in their ages, the defendant and probably his family objected to the marriage, but it was consummated- despite their opposition. It appears, however, that all the domestic differences growing out of this union had become reconciled, so that, in January, 1904, the defendant, upon the invitation of deceased and his wife, moved his family into the home of deceased, where the two families resided up to the time of this tragedy. The deceased had owned this farm for twenty-five years prior to his marriage with defendant’s daughter, but before defendant and his family came to live upon the place, the deceased had conveyed the farm to his wife, the daughter of the defendant. This conveyance was made in March, 1903, a few months prior to the institution of a damage suit against Townes by one J. B. Jones.

The defendant is shown to have been a man of excellent character, his neighbors testifying with singular unanimity to his reputation as a truthful and peaceable man. It-appears that for some time after defendant took up his residence at the home of his son-in-law, the relations existing between the families were most harmonious. It is probable from this record that the en[487]*487mity between the parties grew out of a business transaction, when some timber ties were hauled by Jim Phelan, son of defendant, from the place to the city of Nashville to be sold, and in dividing the proceeds of the sale, the parties differed in their respective calculations. It turned out that the calculation made by deceased was correct, whereupon defendant acknowledged his mistake and paid over to Townes the sum in dispute, to wit, $3.75. Deceased did not seem satisfied and manifested a special unfriendliness to Jim Phelan, who, on account thereof, finally left the place and established a home elsewhere.

Another cause of disturbance in this family was a remark Mrs. Phelan overheard the deceased make to his wife, to the effect that she was furnishing more than her share of the provisions. It appears that each family had been furnishing their own provisions and all of them would eat together at Mr. Phelan’s table. After this remark, the families established their own kitchen and dining room and maintained separate housekeeping.

There is also proof tending to show that another cause of unpleasantness was the intemperance at times of the deceased, who frequently drank too much on visiting the city and when he returned home at night would become disagreeable to his family. The defendant testifies that on two occasions, Mrs. Townes ran screaming from her husband’s room to her parents’ room at night, saying that her husband was going to kill her and asking protection. There is proof also tending to show that on one [488]*488occasion the deceased fired off: his pistol while in the house, probably while under the influence of liquor. The defendant also testified that on another occasion he had been notified by his daughter that her husband, the deceased, had become angry with her while they were on a visit near Mt. Juliet and had kicked her.

The record also reveals that, after these antagonisms arose, defendant contemplated moving his family away and made one or two ineffectual efforts to rent another house. There was also proof on behalf of the State tending to show that during this time the defendant expressed unfriendliness to the deceased, complaining that he could stand as much as he could stand, and to one H. B. Carter, on the day before the killing, stated that he had a notion two or three times of killing deceased. Witness said to defendant, “Don’t do that.” Defendant replied, “I won’t say that I will. I have tried to get him to fight me.” Witness advised defendant, if he could not get along with him, to get off the place. Defendant replied, “We did think of moving down to a little place across the road,” but added, “Annie,” (his daughter) “wants me to stay here to protect her.” Another witness testified that defendant told him about the trouble he was having in getting along with the deceased and finally said to witness, “About the only way I can get along with Bob (the deceased) is to take a double barrel gun and blow his head off his shoulders.” In this same conversation defendant said to witness that deceased, on one occasion, had gone into his room, closed [489]*489the door and fired off Ms gun. Defendant asked the witness, “Ain’t that threats?” I think that’s threats. Ain’t that threats?” Defendant then asked the witness if he thought deceased had shot off his gun to terrorize defendant’s family, remarking, “If he’s doing it for that, I’ll not take it off of him. I’ll shoot his head off.”

These latter threats are proven by one Tom Williams, a negro, and they seem to have been made while defendant was laboring under some excitement from either real or imaginary insults heaped upon him or Ms family by deceased. Further it appears that while defendant protested he was not afraid of deceased, he yet manifested great uneasiness lest deceased should do him or his family some hurt. This is shown by the following evidence:

Tom Williams (colored), on cross-examination, deposed as follows:

“Q. You say the first time Mr. Phelan was down at your house talking with Mr. Townes, he asked you how you got along with him? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And then he said he believed Mr. Townes was going to kill him or some member of his family? A. Yes, sir, he asked me somehow or another in that direction.
“Q. It was along that line? A. Yes sir.
“Q. And before he shall do it, I will get my gun and shoot him? A. ‘Blow his head off.’ He seemed to be uneasy or afraid or badly scared.
“Q. When he first came down there he seemed to be uneasy and frightened? A. Yes, sir.
[490]*490“Q. And asked bow yon got along? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And said be could not get along, and believed be intended to burt bim and bis family? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And before be would permit bim to burt them, be would take bis gun and sboot bim? A. Take bis gun and blow bis bead off bis shoulders.
“Q. That was in the same connection in which be told you be was afraid be would burt bim or some member of bis family? A. Yes, sir.”
Witness Carter testified that Phelan said be bad a notion of shooting Townes, and that Carter said to bim: “I would not do that.”
“Q. And when you said, ‘I wouldn’t do that if I was you,’ what was it be said? A. I didn’t mean to say that I will.”
The next witness on the alleged threats was Alex.

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Bluebook (online)
114 Tenn. 483, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phelan-v-state-tenn-1904.