Brooks v. State, 21796.

• Decision Date: 10 December 1941
• Docket Number: No. 21796.,21796.
• Citation: 158 S.W.2d 307
• Parties: BROOKS v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 307

158 S.W.2d 307

BROOKS v. STATE.

No. 21796.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

December 10, 1941.

Rehearing Denied February 11, 1942.

Appeal from District Court, Williamson County; Harry A. Dolan, Judge.

Lee Brooks was convicted of murder without malice, and he appeals.

Affirmed.

Polk Shelton, of Austin, for appellant.

Spurgeon E. Bell, State's Atty., of Austin, for the State.

BEAUCHAMP, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of murder without malice in the district court of Williamson County and assessed the maximum penalty for that offense of five years in the penitentiary.

The record brings before us no bills of exception to any ruling of the court, and consideration is given only to the exceptions to the court's charge and the order overruling motion for new trial.

The record discloses that on the night of December 25, 1940, appellant, who resided in the city of Austin, went with two male companions to Taylor, in Williamson County, and appeared at a public dance hall for colored people a short while before the tragedy occurred. A woman whose company he had been keeping and with whom he had had some disagreement was in Taylor to visit relatives, and it appears that this was the moving cause for his visit. He was a stranger to most of the colored population, particularly to those present, and there is sufficient variety of opinion as to the details of the homicide, even without some witnesses from Austin who testified to being there only a few minutes and who hurriedly made their escape without coming in contact with anyone known generally to have been present. The only material difference, however, between the testimony of the State and of the defense is that it was the theory of the State that appellant made an uncalled for assault upon Willie Rucker and stabbed him with a knife, severing a vein about the head which caused him to bleed to death in a short period of time. While the defense, admitting the death in the manner stated, claimed that Rucker was approaching the appellant with a knife in his hand, and after following the story of at least two witnesses to this effect, appellant testified that he stabbed the deceased with a pocket knife having a three inch blade, which he surrendered to the officers and which was exhibited in evidence, because he was afraid that the deceased would take his life. There was a perfect case of self-defense made by his evidence which, if believed by the jury, would have called for a verdict of not...