Beckman v. State, 49962
| Citation | 134 Ga.App. 118,213 S.E.2d 527 |
| Decision Date | 03 March 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 1,No. 49962,49962,1 |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Dana BECKMAN v. The STATE |
Russell, McWhorter & Adamson, Robert W. Adamson, Winder, for appellant.
Nat Hancock, Dist. Atty., Jefferson, for appellee.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
The defendant, charged with the murder of his wife, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Held:
1. The defendant contends that the trial court erred in charging the jury on the law of voluntary manslaughter and that the verdict was unauthorized as there was a complete lack of evidence of that crime. We agree. There was not a scintilla of evidence to show that the defendant caused the death of his wife acting solely 'as the result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation sufficient to excite such passion in a reasonable person,' the gravamen of the crime of voluntary manslaughter. Code Ann. § 26-1102. The state tacitly admits this by failing in its brief to cite any part of the transcript which would tend to show that defendant killed his wife in the heat of passion. The defendant's evidence showed that several hours prior to the wife's death, he and his wife demonstrated affection for each other. In Robinson v. State, 109 Ga. 506, 34 S.E. 1017 it was held : The state showed by circumstantial evidence that defendant had been married for about two months and shortly after marriage was made the beneficiary of his wife's life insurance policy. While this evidence may imply a motive for murder, it certainly falls for short of demanding a verdict of guilty of murder. On the other hand, defendant's out of court statements as well as his testimony at trial, if believed, showed that the death was caused by an accidential discharge of his shotgun. Accident is a complete defense to a crime. Code Ann. § 26-602. Thus, this evidence would have...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Parham v. State
...117(2), 210 S.E.2d 659; Williams v. State, 232 Ga. 203, 206 S.E.2d 37; Joyner v. State, 208 Ga. 435(4), 67 S.E.2d 221; Beckman v. State, 134 Ga.App. 118(1), 213 S.E.2d 527. The evidence here does not demand a verdict of murder, and there is evidence of self-defense which would authorize an ......
-
Holmes v. State, 64128
... ... State, 234 Ga. 827, 832(2), 218 S.E.2d 612; Morgan v. State, 240 Ga. 845, 847, 242 S.E.2d 611 ... In Beckman v. State, 134 Ga.App. 118, 213 S.E.2d 527, this Court quoted with approval language found in Robinson v. State, 109 Ga. 506, 34 S.E.2d 1017, wherein ... ...
-
Conley v. State, 55185
...sufficient to excite such passion in a reasonable person,' the gravamen of the crime of voluntary manslaughter." Beckman v. State, 134 Ga.App. 118, 213 S.E.2d 527 (1975) and There is simply not sufficient evidence to support a jury conviction of Conley of voluntary manslaughter. The state u......
-
Green v. State, 58555
...137 Ga.App. 319, 322, 223 S.E.2d 456, 458-459 (1976). Compare Odom v. State, 106 Ga.App. 60, 126 S.E.2d 472 (1962); Beckman v. State, 134 Ga.App. 118, 213 S.E.2d 527 (1975); Parham v. State, 135 Ga.App. 315, 318(3), 217 S.E.2d 493 (1975). There was no 2. After a review of the entire record,......