Addison v. State, 46461

Decision Date28 September 1971
Docket NumberNo. 46461,No. 3,46461,3
Citation184 S.E.2d 186,124 Ga.App. 467
PartiesVirginia ADDISON v. The STATE
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

J. Walter Cowart, Savannah, for appellant.

Andrew J. Ryan, Jr., Dist. Atty., Edward M. Buttimer, Stanley H. Friedman, Savannah, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

HALL, Presiding Judge.

Defendant appeals from her conviction for voluntary manslaughter and from the denial of her motion for a new trial.

Defendant was indicted for the murder of her husband with a butcher knife late on a Christmas night. It appears that they had been entertaining most of the day, with a typical holiday dinner, quite a bit of drinking, and friends coming and going. One couple, the Floyds, were staying the night. The various accounts of the evening tend to indicate that defendant was sober and her husband well on the way to being drunk. They and the Floyds prepared to retire about 11:30. Defendant testified (under oath) that her husband began to quarrel with her in the bedroom and slapped her a couple of times. To avoid further contention, she went back to the kitchen, where food was still set out, and began preparing sandwiches for some people who had said they might drop by later. She was slicing chicken when her husband came to the kitchen and resumed the argument. When he would not desist, she then went to the telephone to call the police. She said that as she was reaching for the telephone, she was hit violently on the back of her head and has no memory from that moment until she saw her husband with a bloody towel clutched to his middle. She then shouted for Mr. Floyd who awakened, took in the scene, ran back to rouse his wife to call an ambulance, and tried to render assistance to both the wounded man and defendant (who, he testified, appeared to be in a state of shock).

The evidence also showed that the deceased had a history of violence to his wife over the past 24 or so years, at one time hospitalizing her for an extended period; that she had, when taken to jail that night, a very severe lump and laceration on the back of her head which, according to the testimony of a police officer, was probably caused by something harder than a fist; that there were no eyewitnesses to what occurred; and that the deceased had many other cuts and wounds around the face and arm as well as the fatal chest wound.

1. On the general grounds, the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict of voluntary manslaughter.

2. Defe...

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8 cases
  • May v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 23 Junio 1978
    ...The nature and extent of these injuries established the intent, or voluntariness, requisite to voluntary manslaughter. Addison v. State, 124 Ga.App. 467(2), 184 S.E.2d 186. See Teal v. State, 122 Ga.App. 532, 177 S.E.2d 840; Carmichael v. State, 115 Ga.App. 591, 155 S.E.2d 439. A charge on ......
  • Anderson v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 5 Enero 1982
    ...However, we conclude " '[t]he number of wounds inflicted leaves no doubt on the question of intent or voluntariness.' Addison v. State, 124 Ga.App. 467, 468, 184 S.E.2d 186." Powell v. State, 130 Ga.App. 588, 590, 203 S.E.2d 893 (1974). See also, Johnston v. State, 232 Ga. 268, 206 S.E.2d 4......
  • Johnston v. State, 28668
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 21 Mayo 1974
    ...on involuntary manslaughter or simple battery, in that the required mens rea was clearly present, and as was stated in Addison v. State, 124 Ga.App. 467(2), 184 S.E.2d 186 'the number of wounds inflicted leaves no doubt on the question of intent or voluntariness.' See also Carmichael v. Sta......
  • Cornog v. State, 48295
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 22 Octubre 1973
    ...See Tate v. State, 123 Ga.App. 18, 179 S.E.2d 307; Teal v. State, 122 Ga.App. 532, 533, 177 S.E.2d 840, and Addison v. State, 124 Ga.App. 467, 468, 184 S.E.2d 186. Carmichael v. State, 115 Ga.App. 591, 595, 155 S.E.2d 439, 442, holds that even 'if we concede in this case, in arguendo, that ......
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