Whitten v. State

1951 OK CR 137, 236 P.2d 706, 94 Okla. Crim. 393, 1951 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 337
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 17, 1951
DocketNo. A-11438
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1951 OK CR 137 (Whitten v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitten v. State, 1951 OK CR 137, 236 P.2d 706, 94 Okla. Crim. 393, 1951 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 337 (Okla. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinion

POWELL, J.

The appellant, who will hereinafter be referred to as defendant, was charged by information filed in the district court of Pittsburg county with the crime of manslaughter in the first degree, was tried before a jury, convicted, and his punishment fixed at four years imprisonment in the State Penitentiary. The punishment was the minimum for the crime charged. Tit. 21 O. S. 1941 § 715. Appeal has been duly perfected to this court.

Counsel for defendant has filed a very able brief in which some twelve specifications of error are set out, but which are argued together, and involve the admission and rejection of evidence, instructions to the jury, and alleged misconduct of the county attorney, etc.

At trial counsel for defendant elected to make their opening statement following the statement of the county attorney, and prior to the introduction of evidence by the State. The gist of the statement was to the effect that the defendant, while acting as room clerk at the Dyer Hotel and after he had retired for the night in an upstairs room, was pounced upon and beaten up by the deceased Charles Miriani and another man, bound with a pillow slip and gagged by having a paper sack stuffed in his mouth and throat, was threatened, cursed and robbed of his money. Counsel proceeded over the objection of the county attorney to recite the details of the alleged robbery; he stated that defendant did not know the deceased at the time; that deceased told defendant that if he told about the robbery that he would kill him. Defendant soon freed himself and ’phoned the police and shortly thereafter Miriani’s half brother ’phoned the police that Mariani and another were in his place raising a disturbance and the police arrested these boys and it developed that they were the ones that had robbed the defendant and a charge of robbery was filed against them.

Counsel proposed to show that after the alleged robbery, Charles Miriani was seen around in front and across the street from the Dyer Hotel looking up at the window where the defendant lived and that the defendant was “somewhat” afraid of him. That on the day of the killing defendant was in Klapp’s drug store under the Dyer Hotel and that he saw deceased across the street from the hotel and pointed him out to one of the parties in the drug store, and that defendant went back up stairs and he saw Miriani come across the street toward the drug store, but did not know where he went; that defendant decided to go get breakfast at the Anchor Cafe near the railroad tracks on South Main Street, but as he passed the Country Club Bar decided to go in and have a beer; that he did not immediately see Miriani when he entered but saw “a fellow” who was a roomer at the Dyer Hotel and who stood between him and Miriani, and the roomer said something that defendant.did not understand and that defendant said, quoting counsel:

[395]*395“ ‘What do you say, boy?’ talking to the man who lived in the hotel where he worked, and that at that time Mr. Whitten sees Charles Miriani, the big boy, who had turned on his stool and said, ‘You told it, didn’t you?’ and made some move and Mr. Whitten will tell you what that move was himself, and that at that time, of course, Mr. Whitten had been afraid, and thought a great deal about what this boy could do to him — as a matter of fact, he had already experienced as to what he could do, as you will remember, the night of the robbery; that at that time he thought perhaps the man who lived in the hotel was trying to warn him that Miriani was there, and the first thing he thought about was defending himself because he knew he was going to have to do it. So, he pulled a gun and fired two shots into the body of Charles Miriani.”

The evidence on the part of the state established that around 10 o’clock the morning of September 5, 1949, Charles Miriani was shot and killed while sitting at a counter in the Country Club Bar, McAlester, and that defendant, Whitten,, who entered the bar some time after the deceased, using a .38 Colt Automatic pistol, fired two shots into Miriani almost immediately after entering said bar, the first shot entering the corner of deceased’s right eye and coming out at the left upper part of the head, and the second shot entering his body about the top of the hip, right side, and coming out at the left side. The deceased weighed around 200 pounds and was about 25 years of age. He was unarmed.

Buby White testified that she was employed as a bar maid at the Country Club Bar in McAlester on the 5th day of September, 1949; that around 10:30 that morning Charles Miriani was in this place, sitting at the bar near the curved place and some three seats from the door; that Henry Corder, the owner, and about a half dozen customers were present; that she had sold Miriani one bottle of beer; that he sat across the counter about two seats to the east of her and was facing north with both hands on the counter as the defendant Whitten entered the Bar to the rear of Miriani; that Whitten appeared nervous and was reaching his hand in his shirt. Witness further testified:

"Q. Now, then, what did he do? Tell what he did after he came in the front door? A. Well, he walked past Miriani and reached in his shirt and took out a gun. Q. When he took out his gun where was he standing in relation to where you were standing? A. Bight opposite. Q. About like I am here — if Miriani was where I demonstrated a minute ago? A. Yes. Q. And took out a gun? A. Yes. Q. Then what did he do? A. He spoke to him. Q. He spoke to who? A. Miriani. Q. What did he say? A. He said, ‘What do you say there, boy?’ Q. Did Miriani say anything? A. He said Y didn’t say anything’, or something like that. Q. When he spoke to Charles Miriani, where was Miriani’s hands at that time? A. As far as I know they were still on the bar. * * * Q. After Charles Miraini said ‘I never said anything’, what happened? A. Whitten shot him. Q. Do you know where he shot him — what position of the body? A. Shot him in the temple. Q. What did Charles Miriani do? A. He slumped toward the bar. Q. Where were his hands at that time? X'. They were on the bar. Q. Then what happened next? A. He shot him in the side. Q. Now, were the shots fast or slow — or how^— tell how they were fired? A. Well, they weren’t fast — there was a slight pause between them. Q. Can you demonstrate by saying ‘bang, bang’ how quickly they were? A. No, I couldn’t. Q. Was there a slight perceptible pause? A. Yes. Q. Then what happened to Miriani? A. After the second he fell to the floor. Q. Did Charles Miriani ever turn on the stool and face Oliver Whitten? A. He turned his head. Q. Did he ever turn any portion of his body? A. No. Q. Jusc his head toward where Oliver Whitten was standing, is that right? A. Yes, sir. Q. What did Oliver Whitten do after he shot Charles Miriani? A. He walked out. * * * Q. Did you see Charles Miriani have any weapon of any description? A. No. Q. Did Charles Miriani make any move or make any action whatsoever toward Oliver Whitten prior to the time he was shot? A. No, he didn’t. Q. And you state his hands were on the bar at the time he was shot the first time and he slumped down? A. Yes.”

[396]*396Henry M. Corder testified that he operated two taverns, one being the Country Club Bar, McAlester; that on September 5, 1949, he was in this bar and that around 10:46 a.m. Charles Miriani was sitting inside and at the bar about the third seat from the curve in the bar; that witness was at the east end of the room, facing the door. Witness further testified:

“Q. Tell the Court and jury what you saw and heard there? A.

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Related

Miller v. State
1966 OK CR 95 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1951 OK CR 137, 236 P.2d 706, 94 Okla. Crim. 393, 1951 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitten-v-state-oklacrimapp-1951.