Wilson v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Wilson v. State

34 S.E.2d 577, 72 Ga. App. 620, 1945 Ga. App. LEXIS 653

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedApril 20, 1945

Docket30785.

StatusPublished

This text of 34 S.E.2d 577 (Wilson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Wilson v. State, 34 S.E.2d 577, 72 Ga. App. 620, 1945 Ga. App. LEXIS 653 (Ga. Ct. App. 1945).

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Opinion

MacIntyre, J.

In the instant case, there is no controversy over who killed Riner’s dog, for the killing was admitted by the defendant. Therefore the only question to be decided is, was the killing justifiable? “Every person who shall instigate, engage in, or do anything in furtherance of an act of cruelty to a domestic animal shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.” “The word ‘cruelty’ shall be held to include every wilful act, omission, or neglect, whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering, or death is caused or permitted.” Code, §§ 26-7902, 26-7904. Under the evidence, the jury were authorized to find that the dog had been killed on the open range approximately a half mile from the defendant’s house on land neither owned nor controlled by the defendant; that there was no evidence, other than the defendant’s statement, that when killed the dog had been killing sheep, or had acquired the sheep-killing habit, so as to become a nuisance. Thus, as the motive of the defendant in killing the dog, and whether the same was justifiable under the circumstances, were questions for solution by the jury, there was sufficient evidence to authorize a verdict of guilty of the statutory offense of cruelty to animals, and the judge did not err in overruling the motion for a new trial. Miller v. State, 5 Ga. App. 463 (63 S. E. 571); May v. State, 120 Ga. 497 (48 S. E. 153); Moore v. State, 121 Ga. 194 (48 S. E. 919). Compare Green v. State, 124 Ga. 343, 348 (52 S. E. 431).

Judgment affirmed.

Broyles, C. J., and Gardner, J., concur.

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MacIntyre, J.

In the instant case, there is no controversy over who killed Riner’s dog, for the killing was admitted by the defendant. Therefore the only question to be decided is, was the killing justifiable? “Every person who shall instigate, engage in, or do anything in furtherance of an act of cruelty to a domestic animal shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.” “The word ‘cruelty’ shall be held to include every wilful act, omission, or neglect, whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering, or death is caused or permitted.” Code, §§ 26-7902, 26-7904. Under the evidence, the jury were authorized to find that the dog had been killed on the open range approximately a half mile from the defendant’s house on land neither owned nor controlled by the defendant; that there was no evidence, other than the defendant’s statement, that when killed the dog had been killing sheep, or had acquired the sheep-killing habit, so as to become a nuisance. Thus, as the motive of the defendant in killing the dog, and whether the same was justifiable under the circumstances, were questions for solution by the jury, there was sufficient evidence to authorize a verdict of guilty of the statutory offense of cruelty to animals, and the judge did not err in overruling the motion for a new trial. Miller v. State, 5 Ga. App. 463 (63 S. E. 571); May v. State, 120 Ga. 497 (48 S. E. 153); Moore v. State, 121 Ga. 194 (48 S. E. 919). Compare Green v. State, 124 Ga. 343, 348 (52 S. E. 431).

Judgment affirmed.

Broyles, C. J., and Gardner, J., concur.

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Bluebook (online)

34 S.E.2d 577, 72 Ga. App. 620, 1945 Ga. App. LEXIS 653, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-state-gactapp-1945.

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