Beavers v. State

• Decision Date: 14 March 1891
• Citation: 15 S.W. 1024,54 Ark. 336
• Parties: BEAVERS v. STATE
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

15 S.W. 1024

54 Ark. 336

BEAVERS v. STATE

Supreme Court of Arkansas

March 14, 1891

APPEAL from Logan Circuit Court, HUGH F. THOMASON, Judge.

Judgment reversed and case remanded.

Evans & Hiner and John S. Little for appellant.

W. E Atkinson, Attorney-General, for appellee.

OPINION

HUGHES, J.

The appellant was convicted of an assault with intent to kill John Pridmore, and appealed to this court.

The evidence in the case tended to show that the appellant had some time prior to the alleged assault, seduced and debauched his sister-in-law, Mattie Pridmore, the sister of John Pridmore, and that on that account bad blood and ill feeling had existed between the said John Pridmore and the defendant.

For the purpose of this opinion it is not important to state here the evidence in the case, nor to discuss the instructions given to the jury by the circuit court, except the following "The court charges you that if you find from the evidence that Mattie Pridmore, being the sister of John W. Pridmore and being a girl of tender years, towit: under the age of eighteen years, and her father being old and infirm; and you further find that, prior to that time, the defendant had seduced and debauched the said Mattie; and that, on the day of and before the alleged assault, she being at her father's house, and her father and John W. desiring to keep and protect her from further debasement; and you further find that witness, John W., had stated and declared that, if necessary to so protect her, he would do so, even to the taking of the life of the defendant; and that, on the morning of the alleged assault and a short time prior thereto, these facts were communicated to the defendant, and that the defendant thereupon, armed with a deadly weapon, immediately proceeded to the house of said Mattie's parents for the purpose of forcibly taking her away in order to further debauch and degrade her, and upon arriving there, with his hand on his pistol, he called to her to come and go with him, and said Mattie replied, 'Johnny is at the window with a gun and is going to shoot,' and that defendant responded, 'Yes, Johnny, d--n you; I see you,' and drew his pistol and fired at witness, John W., with intent to kill him, you should convict; for in that event it would be immaterial who fired the first shot."

This instruction, in the opinion of the court, should not have been given, because, first, the age and infirmity of Mattie Pridmore's father was not material to the issue, nor was the fact that the defendant had seduced and debauched the said Mattie prior to the alleged assault material, further than to show the animus with which the assault was made. Evidence to show the state of feeling that had existed between the parties a short time anterior to the difficulty was proper to aid the jury in forming a...