Reed v. State

59 S.W.2d 122, 123 Tex. Crim. 348, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 199
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 5, 1933
DocketNo. 15788
StatusPublished

This text of 59 S.W.2d 122 (Reed 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
Reed v. State, 59 S.W.2d 122, 123 Tex. Crim. 348, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 199 (Tex. 1933).

Opinion

CALHOUN, Judge.

Murder is the offense; punishment, 2 years in the penitentiary.

The evidence shows that on or about the 29th day of May, 1932, the appellant shot the deceased. Some time previous to the killing the appellant was suspicious of the conduct of her husband and the deceased. The appellant left her husband and went to live with her father. Afterwards there was a reconciliation between them and she went back to live with her husband. It seems that on the night of the homicide some women belonging to the church in the neighborhood, including the appellant, were giving a supper for the benefit of the church and the appellant and her husband went to the place where the supper was being given and assisted in the supper affair. ■ It further appears from the testimony that the deceased and another negro woman started to the place where the supper was being given, but before getting there they stopped and the two men with them went on, and the deceased sent word by [349]*349one of the men to tell appellant’s husband where she was and for him to come down there. It seems that the husband of the appellant went to where the deceased was and they started going in the direction of the deceased’s home. The other woman walked ahead of the deceased and the ¿ppellant’s husband. When they had reached a point about three hundred yards from the deceased’s house, she was shot and killed by the appellant as she was running away.

The appellant testified that she had missed her husband from the supper and had become suspicious of where he had gone and taking a pistol out of a drawer of the house she de- • parted in search of her husband. She started for the home of the deceased thinking that she would find him there and when she reached a point on the road about three hundred yards from deceased’s home she saw the deceased and her husband by the side of the road in a compromising position, he bending over as she thought in the act of committing adultery. She became excited by this sudden surprise and hollered to her husband, “Oh, Bubba” (meaning her husband), and the deceased and her husband jumped up and started running; that she fired at the deceased as she started to run and when she fired the deceased fell, and she then fired one shot at her husband as he ran off; afterwards she went to a telephone and told the telephone operator what she had done and asked her to telephone for the sheriff.

Appellant objected to the charge of the court on the ground that it fails to submit the law of temporary insanity. The testimony upon which the request was predicated was in substance as follows: The appellant testified that the condition of her mind at the time she fired was very uncertain and she didn’t have any thought when she saw them in the road and she fired at once; she hardly knew what she was doing; she was startled at the scene before her eyes. A doctor testified in behalf of the appellant as follows: “The term ‘temporary insanity’ means for the time being; it means just a short time; a person going along and seeing something that would shock them might cry out or make some movement that would be an involuntary movement or shock; of course you couldn’t tell what they might do under the circumstances you have related, coming upon something suddenly which might produce some exclamation or something of that kind; no physician or no person could tell with absolute certainty what a shock of that kind would cause a person to do; it would be just a mere opinion of any[350]*350body of what the effect on a person would be of a shock of any kind.”

We are of the opinion that the testimony mentioned fails to raise the issue of temporary insanity. According to the record before us, prior to and subsequent to the time of the killing, appellant showed no symptoms of insanity or weakened intellect. She testified fully to her movements up until the time she fired the fatal shot. After killing the deceased, she went from the scene of the homicide and had them telephone for the officers. Before the refusal to submit an alleged defense theory to the jury in the charge of the trial court would be deemed an error for which a reversal would be ordered, it must not only appear that there were facts before the trial court tending to raise or support such theory but also from such facts it reasonably appeared that the refusal might have resulted in injury to the rights of the accused. Davis v. State, 107 Texas Crim. Rep., 389, 296 S. W., 605; Knight v. State, 64 Texas Crim. Rep., 541, 144 S. W., 967. Evidently the trial court was of the opinion that there was not sufficient evidence before him to justify the submission to the jury of the law applicable to the case of insanity. No witness testified that appellant did not know at the time she shot the deceased that it was wrong to kill her. We quote from Anderson v. State, 67 Texas Crim. Rep., 320, 148 S. W., 802, as follows:

“We can not sanction the doctrine that one who, prior to the time and subsequent to the time of committing an act, shows no symptoms of insanity or weakened intellect, can raise the question of insanity as a justification of crime by showing that he was not in a normal state of mind, was angry, looked wild, and acted different than he did ordinarily for the brief period of time necessary to the consummation of the act. Such doctrine would render virtually all homicides justifiable, for there are but few instances where one slays another while his mind is in normal condition.”

See, also, Lyles v. State, 91 Texas Crim. Rep., 400, 239 S. W., 616; Dover v. State, 102 Texas Crim. Rep., 113, 277 S. W., 675; Swann vs. State, 92 Texas Crim. Rep., 153, 242 S. W., 735.

Appellant also objected to the charge of the court on the ground that said charge did not charge that homicide is justifiable when committed by the wife upon one taken in the act of adultery with the husband, provided the killing takes place before the parties to the act have separated. In support of said contention the appellant cites article 1220 of the Penal [351]*351Code, which is as follows: “Homicide is justifiable when committed by the husband upon one taken in the act of adultery with the wife, provided the killing takes place before the parties to the act have separated. Such circumstances cannot justify a homicide where it appears that there has been, on the part of the husband, any connivance in or assent to the adulterous connection.” The contention of the appellant, as we understand it, is that while said article specifies that where the homicide is committed by the husband upon one taken in the act of adultery, that it was also the intention of the Legislature to provide that the wife would be justified in killing the person taken in the act of adultery with the wife’s husband. No authority wherein this exact point was raised has been cited by the appellant, but he cites the case of Williams v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 480, 165 S. W., 583, and also the case of Cook v. State, 78 Texas Crim. Rep., 116, 180 S. W., 254. In both of said cases it is held that under article 1220, P. C., above quoted, if the husband intentionally shot his wife while she was in the act of copulation with a man, it would be justifiable homicide. In the case of Billings v. State, 102 Texas Crim. Rep., 338, 277 S. W., 687, the holding in said cases above quoted was overruled and it was held that in a prosecution for murder of a wife killed with an alleged paramour after finding them in a compromising position, a charge on justifiable homicide was not authorized under article 1220, P. C. We quote from the opinion of Billings v. State, supra:

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Related

Lyles v. State
239 S.W. 616 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1922)
Billings v. State
277 S.W. 687 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1925)
Davis v. State
296 S.W. 605 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1925)
Knight v. State
144 S.W. 967 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1912)
Williams v. State
165 S.W. 583 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1914)
Dover v. State
277 S.W. 675 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1925)
Cook v. State
180 S.W. 254 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1915)
Anderson v. State
148 S.W. 802 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1912)
Jordan v. State
294 S.W. 1109 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1927)
Swann v. State
242 S.W. 735 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1922)
Jimenez v. State
280 S.W. 829 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1925)

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Bluebook (online)
59 S.W.2d 122, 123 Tex. Crim. 348, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reed-v-state-texcrimapp-1933.