Allen v. State

• Decision Date: 02 February 1901
• Parties: ALLEN v. STATE
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

60 S.W. 956

68 Ark. 577

ALLEN v. STATE

Supreme Court of Arkansas

February 2, 1901

Appeal from Miller Circuit Court, JOEL D. CONWAY, Judge.

STATEMENT BY THE COURT.

At the June term, 1900, of the Miller circuit court, on the 7th day thereof, defendant was indicted for murder in the first degree, and on the 18th day thereof was tried. On said 18th day of June the jury were unable to agree upon a verdict, and on the next day they returned a verdict against the defendant, assessing his punishment at seven years in penitentiary. On 21st June, defendant filed motion in arrest of judgment, which was on same day overruled, and exceptions saved. Afterwards on same day he filed his motion for new trial, which was overruled, and exceptions saved, and he prayed an appeal, and the judgment against him was suspended for sixty days, for him to apply to a judge of the supreme court for appeal and supersedeas, which were granted.

The testimony of Lottie Gayton, deceased's wife tended to show that on Saturday night, the 31st of March last defendant was in her room in bed with her; that there was only one opening to the room, a window, which was covered by a spread; that her husband came home, and was attempting to get in the window, and defendant raised up, and shot him once that no word was spoken by either of them; that deceased ran to Lottie's mother's room, and defendant jumped out of the window and left. Deceased lived several hours. After the shooting crowds gathered in, and she did not tell any one that night how it happened, and no one asked her. She did not, for the reason that she did not want any one to know about it. That at the examining trial she denied that it was defendant, and did not tell who it was, for the reason that the next morning after the killing General Allen defendant's brother, threatened her life if she said it was defendant. That on defendant's application for bail before W. T. Hamilton, county judge, she testified, but denied testifying that she had been intimate with so many men previous to this that she could not give the names of all of them, and denied further that she there testified that her father-in-law told her that if she would swear it was defendant he would see that she was not punished.

By the testimony of Viney McCamie and other witnesses subsequent and following her testimony in the transcript, the state introduced testimony tending to show that deceased said that night, after he was shot, that it was defendant who did it that some of the witnesses followed his tracks away from Lottie's room, and some of them claimed to have seen him that night near deceased's house.

By the testimony of Margaret Ulford and other witnesses following her testimony in the transcript, the defendant introduced testimony tending to prove an alibi.

By the testimony of W. T. Hamilton, county judge, the defendant shows that Lottie Gayton testified before him on defendant's habeas corpus proceedings for bail, and that she testified that her step-father told her that if she would swear it was defendant that he would...