Robinson v. State

238 S.W.2d 193, 156 Tex. Crim. 6, 1951 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1461
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 7, 1951
Docket25136
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 238 S.W.2d 193 (Robinson 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
Robinson v. State, 238 S.W.2d 193, 156 Tex. Crim. 6, 1951 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1461 (Tex. 1951).

Opinions

WOODLEY, Judge.

Appellant was convicted for the murder of Barbara Jean Roberts, and the jury assessed his punishment at death in the electric chair.

The deceased was a 21-year-old Negro girl, who had been reared in Wichita Falls where she lived with her parents. She had been married, but was divorced. She was described as being 5 feet tall and weighing 95 pounds.

Appellant, also a Negro, was a sergeant stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base near Wichita Falls. He was married.

On March 8, appellant’s wife came to Wichita Falls on a [8]*8visit, and after spending the night with appellant at a house located at 705 Waco Street, she boarded the train to return to her home in Illinois about 3:45 the following afternoon.

After taking his wife to the train, appellant drove in his Buick convertible car to the Milam Hotel where the deceased was employed and picked her up. After leaving two of her friends at a dentist’s office, the deceased and appellant drove to the Cozy Inn Cafe where they remained from about 4 P.M. until about 6:30 or 7 P.M.

During this time, the state’s evidence is that they quarreled and were arguing, and that while they were having a few drinks, their attitude was distinctly unfriendly. Some of the state’s evidence indicates that the deceased was mad and said that she was through with appellant apparently because of her having learned that he was married and that his wife had been there and appellant remarked: “No woman quits me like that.” Other evidence was to the effect that appellant was threatening the deceased and accusing her of “trifling” on him, and that he threatened her by placing his finger between her eyes and saying that he was going to put a bullet right there.

Leaving the cafe, appellant drove the deceased to the house on Waco Street where they had spent much time together.

Appellant had in his possession a .45 Service Automatic pistol, which was shown to have been missing from the Air Force Base.

The deceased, after entering the house, was engaged in conversation with Ruby Lee Banks in her bedroom when appellant came in with the pistol and told the deceased to “Shut up” and was heard to say “Don’t you believe I will shoot you?” At this time he was holding the pistol against the forehead of the deceased, and after the deceased had replied no she did not, the pistol was fired.

After pointing the pistol toward the witness Ruby Lee Banks and telling her not to tell anyone, even her boy friend, about the killing appellant placed the body of the deceased in his car, mopped the floor, and put the bucket and mop he had used in the car, picked up the shell and the bullet which had gone through the deceased’s head, and drove to a point some one-half mile outside of the limits of the city of Wichita Falls to a point on a lonely dead-end country road and left the body in [9]*9the high grass and weeds. He also left nearby the bucket and mop.

The pistol he took apart and threw the pieces away at various points, the part bearing the serial number being thrown in an outdoor toilet where it was afterwards recovered.

The body was not found until about noon on Saturday following the killing on Thursday evening. During that time, appellant inquired of her parents as to the deceased’s whereabouts, denied any knowledge thereof when questioned, visited his usual haunts and engaged in drinking with his friends, and explained some blood seen on his car as being blood from a rabbit he had killed.

Appellant denied all testimony to the effect that there was any argument or animosity between him and the deceased or that he had threatened her.

He testified that he took the gun out of his car and into the house where he had been staying with the intention of leaving it in a bureau drawer, and that it was accidentally discharged while he was playing with it.

He attributed his conduct in disposing of the body and his efforts to destroy the evidence to the fact that he “was scared.”

We find no error shown by the bills of exception relating to the state’s proof, and the district attorney’s statement that appellant was a married man and that his wife visited him a few hours before the killing. Such fact was admissible as a part of the res gestae, and was relevant on the question of motive. Also appellant testified to the same effect.

Bills Nos. 3, 6, 8, 11, 15 and 16 to 22 inclusive complain of various remarks of the district attorney.

Bill No. 3 was prepared and filed by the court following refusal to approve a bill on the same subject submitted by appellant.

The court’s bill shows that the objection was sustained, the jury instructed not to consider the remarks of counsel, and also that no exception was taken to the remarks or to the court’s ruling. Therefore no error is shown by this bill.

[10]*10Bills Nos. 6, 8, 11, 15, 19, 20 and 22 are also insufficient on one or more grounds stated in overruling Bill No. 3, and are overruled.

Bill No. 16 complains that during the cross-examination of appellant, state’s counsel remarked “Your attorney has finished making the objection, you can answer the question now if you want to.”

No request was made to have the jury instructed to disregard the remark, and we are not impressed with the seriousness thereof.

Bills Nos. 17 and 18 relate to the following occurrence:

After appellant had testified that he could not remember whether or not he pulled back the hammer of the .45 automatic pistol before he pulled the trigger, and that he could not remember having previously sworn that he did not pull the hammer back, appellant then testified he guessed he had so previously testified, and finally he testified he did remember pulling the hammer back.

Also appellant then denied that he had wrapped the body of the deceased in a sheet and blanket.

The district attorney then asked appellant if he had previously told the district attorney that the body was so wrapped, and asked him if he did not want to be honest with the jury.

Appellant, at this time, objected and requested the court to instruct the jury not to consider the district attorney’s remarks on the grounds of their being prejudicial and inflammatory.

Before the court could rule on the matter, the district attorney remarked to the court that he had a right to ask the question and that there was nothing reprehensible or improper about it unless defense counsel did not want appellant to be honest.

Counsel for appellant, before the court could rule on the former objection, objected to the last remark of the district attorney as being unfair and prejudicial.

Both attorneys stated that their remarks were addressed to the court, the district attorney in connection therewith fur[11]*11ther remarking that he did not know why counsel did not want him to ask the defendant to be honest.

The court overruled the objection, and the question was not answered nor again propounded.

These bills, as certified in lieu of appellant’s refused bills, show a series of objections beginning with the objection to an unanswered question. The remarks of the district attorney do not impress us as being prejudicial or inflammatory, nor the entire episode as being of a nature requiring a reversal.

Bill No.

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Related

Smith v. State
320 S.W.2d 680 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1959)
King v. State
312 S.W.2d 501 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1958)
Hickerson v. State
286 S.W.2d 437 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Wilson v. State
289 S.W.2d 597 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Robinson v. State
238 S.W.2d 193 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 S.W.2d 193, 156 Tex. Crim. 6, 1951 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-state-texcrimapp-1951.