Claxton v. State

• Decision Date: 21 October 1925
• Docket Number: (No. 9512.)
• Citation: 280 S.W. 832
• Parties: CLAXTON v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

280 S.W. 832

CLAXTON v. STATE.

(No. 9512.)

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

October 21, 1925.

State's Rehearing Denied March 3, 1926.

Commissioners' Decision.

Appeal from District Court, Milam County; John Watson, Judge.

J. A. Claxton was convicted of murder, and he appeals. Reversed and remanded.

Henderson, Kidd & Henderson, of Cameron, for appellant.

Sam D. Stinson, State's Atty., of Austin, and Nat Gentry, Jr., Asst. State's Atty., of Tyler, for the State.

BERRY, J.

The appellant was convicted in the district court of Milam county for the offense of murder, and his punishment assessed at confinement in the penitentiary for a term of 25 years.

The facts show that the appellant killed the deceased McAlpine and at the same time and place killed one Junek. The killing occurred at the home of the deceased McAlpine. The appellant, McAlpine, and Junek lived in three different houses situated along a certain road in Milam county within an aggregate distance of something like 500 yards. Near these houses one Jess Gunn lived; he being a tenant of the deceased Junek. In going from Cameron in the direction in which the parties lived one first passed the home of Jess Gunn and the next house was McAlpine's, the third Junek's, and the fourth the appellant's. McAlpine's house was 205 steps from Gunn's house. Junek's house was 270 steps from McAlpine's house, and the appellant's house was 275 steps from Junek's. The record discloses that on the day of the homicide, about 9:30 or 10 o'clock, Vera Claxton, the 19 year old daughter of appellant, went to the mail box, and in doing so went by Gunn's home. It also discloses that Jess Gunn's wife, Carrie Gunn, was the daughter of the appellant. When Vera Claxton went by Gunn's home on the day of the homicide she found her sister, Gunn's wife, at home crying, nervous, and jerky, and, upon being asked the cause of her condition, she told the witness Vera Claxton that Junek and McAlpine had been down to her house, and had abused and cursed her, telling her not to use any more water out of the cistern. Mrs. Gunn told her sister Vera that she was standing between the cistern and the house where she had a tub, and that Junek and McAlpine drove up, and that Junek said, "You black son of a bitch, if you don't get out of the way, I will run over you," and that she moved over, and he stopped the car, and told her, "By God, I have come to stop you sons of bitches from using water out of the cistern for washing or drinking or anything," and asked her where her husband was, and she told him that he had gone off on some business, and he said, "Well, when I hire a man, I want him to work instead of running around over the country," and she further told her sister that McAlpine said. "You son of a bitching people are not fit to live in a white man's house, and ought to be throwed out on the roadside," and she further told her sister that Junek started to get out of the car, and put his foot out, but never did get out of the car, and said, "If I get out of this car, I will shoot you, you black son of a bitch, that is what I will do." And that McAlpine said, "That son of a bitch Jess has been telling lies off on my family," and Junek said, "If I see you around that cistern any more or drawing any water out of it I am going to kill you." And that when they started off Junek said, "When that son of a bitch Jess comes home, tell him I want to see him." The witness Vera Claxton further testified that she returned home at once, and told her father what her sister Carrie Gunn had informed her as to what the deceased McAlpine and Junek had said to her, and told her father that her sister Carrie had told her to tell him to come up and stay with her until her husband came back, on account of the fact that Junek and McAlpine had been down there cursing and abusing her. At the time this information was conveyed by Vera Claxton to her father her testimony shows that he was in the field plowing near his house, and that he immediately went in the house and got his gun and started on down towards the scene of the difficulty. Upon his arrival at the home of McAlpine the record discloses that both McAlpine and Junek were sitting on the front porch. The appellant's conduct is described at the scene of the killing from the state's standpoint by the witness Majorie Beckham, Floyd Beckham, and Mrs. J. M. McAlpine. Majorie Beckham testified as follows on this point:

"I saw Mr. Claxton coming up to the house from the direction of his house. He had a gun in his hand. He was coming up the steps, and daddy pushed him back, and said he didn't allow guns in the house, and he said he was coming in anyhow. Then daddy went in the house. He took the little children in the the house with him. Mr. Junek went in the house too. I stayed out on the gallery. Then Mr. Claxton just shot through the door. That was the door close to the road. I did not see my mamma there anywhere before he shot. When he shot through the door, there was no one else on the gallery except me and Mr. Claxton. My papa had gone before he shot through the door. He shot mamma and Mr. Junek. Then he went on in the house. I went in the house too. When I went in the house I saw my mamma in there. She was standing in the door between the bedroom and the frontroom. I saw my papa come in the house then. He came from outside the back somewhere. I did not see Floyd. After papa came in, I did not see Mr. Junek. Mr. Claxton shot daddy. That is all I saw him shoot — daddy. I did not hear him say anything before he shot daddy. Daddy was going towards mamma when he shot him. Mr. Claxton shot, and daddy run on the porch, and fell from the porch. I heard daddy say, `You shot my wife.' He was talking to Mr. Claxton. That was before he shot daddy. Then Mr. Claxton shot daddy. I do not know where Mr. Claxton went then."

Floyd Beckham's version of the affray was as follows:

"I saw Mr. Claxton coming up toward our house. I did not see his gun at first, but Martin did, and he said, `That man has got a gun,' and I looked and saw Mr. Claxton. He was coming from the direction of his house. He was walking. After we saw him coming, we went in on the front porch. Martin told them that man was coming with a gun. They didn't do nothing then. Mr. Junek asked papa if he had a gun, and papa said, `No.' By that time Mr. Claxton had got up by the house. He had a gun. It looked like that one (indicating gun). Mr. Claxton came on in the yard. He come up to the porch, and said to Junek, `God damn you, I am going to shoot you,' and Junek and papa run in the house, and Junek shut the door, and papa run out in the back yard with the two little girls to hide them in the chicken house, and Mr. Claxton shot through the door, and shot mamma, and then I went out in the back yard, and Mr. Claxton come around there, and papa said, `Don't shoot no more,' and he said, `Where is Junek,' and papa said, `I don't know where he was,' and he said, `I will find him,' and he went back in the house. Mr. Claxton went back in the house, and papa and I went in behind him, and papa saw mamma was shot, and he said, `Claxton, you have shot my wife,' and he said, `Yes, sir, and, God damn you, I will shoot you, too,' and he shot him, and then he went in the back yard to shoot Mr. Junek. The chicken house is situated on the far side of the house 5 or 10 feet from the corner. When Mr. Claxton shot through the front door I was standing in the door that separates the two rooms inside the house. Mother and Mr. Junek were in there then. * * * When he shot through the door I went out the back where papa was. After that shot Mr. Claxton came back in the back where papa and I were. That is when he had the conversation. Mr. Claxton did not shoot any out the back when he first came back there. After he had this conversation with papa, he went in the house. Papa and I went in right behind Mr. Claxton. When we got in the house mamma was standing in the back room; that is, the little side room. * * * Mr. Claxton shot at papa three times in the house. I saw papa fall. He fell from the front porch out in the yard. I do not know where Mr. Claxton went then."

Mrs. J. M. McAlpine, the wife of the deceased, gave the following version as to how the shooting occurred:

"I thought the wind had blowed the north front door open. I went to close it, and I went in there, and somebody told me to look out for the gun, and I raised my eyes at the same time, and I taken hold of the point of the gun. Mr. Junek was standing behind the door at that time, and I pushed the gun back, and said, `Mr. Claxton, don't come in the house with the gun.' I do not remember exactly whether the defendant was standing on the porch or right inside the door. It was not such a long gun he had, about this long (illustrating). It looked like that gun the best I can remember. * * * I shut the door, but didn't lock it, and he pushed the door open, and stuck his foot inside the door just enough, I reckon, to keep it from closing tight, and then he fired through the door. He fired through the door, and the bullet struck me in the side here, and went through my body, and come out about here (indicating). I remember then Mr. Junek catching me as I staggered back, and helped me get to the middle door, and then he departed. Mr. Junek departed out of my sight, and I do not remember seeing him any more. * * * The...