Draper v. State
| Decision Date | 01 January 1858 |
| Parties | JAMES DRAPER v. THE STATE. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
Where A and B (who were soldiers) were shown to have started from camp, about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning, in company with C, to guide him into a trail, by which he could save some eight miles of travel upon the main road; and were seen with C about three-quarters of a mile from the fort, going in the direction of the trail, and about the same distance from where the remains of C were afterwards found, and where he was apparently murdered; and it was also shown, that A and B returned to camp about three o'clock of that day, and that C had not been heard of subsequently; and that A, when he heard that he was charged with the murder of C, left camp without permission, going in the direction that B had that morning gone, and met, and had a long private conversation with B, and then returned to camp with him; and that A, when asked, denied having gone with C, when he left the fort, but when shown the shirt and skull found at the place of the murder, was much excited, and after a few minutes, said, “I did not go over the hill with C; I know nothing about it:” Held, by the court, that there were no such circumstances of a common design between A and B, as would authorize the admissibility of A's declarations, as those of a coconspirator.
The general rule of law is well settled, that a man's confessions of guilt, can only be used against himself.
If improper testimony, which may have influenced the jury, have been received, the court cannot look to the whole case, to determine whether or not there be other testimony sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt.
The defendant is entitled to the verdict of a jury, upon competent testimony alone.
APPEAL from Bexar. Tried below before the Hon. Thomas J. Devine.
The appellant and James Beardall were indicted, on the 16th of September, 1858, for the murder of Louis Vare. The indictment charged the immediate killing to have been the act of Beardall; and that appellant was present, aiding, assisting, etc. The defendants were permitted to plead, and to be tried separately; and appellant being placed on trial, the jury found him guilty, and assessed his punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary, at hard labor, for life.
The testimony upon the trial showed, that Beardall and the appellant left Fort Lancaster, between nine and eleven o'clock on the morning of the 4th of February, 1858, with Louis Vare; that they (Beardall and the appellant), returned about three o'clock in the evening; and that Vare had not been seen or heard of since that day. Beardall and appellant were escorting Vare to a trail, which led into the main road from Fort Lancaster to San Antonio, that could be traveled on foot or on horseback, and by which a person could save about eight miles of travel. Vare was on horseback, and wished to go this trail way, to overtake a train with which he had intended to travel, but which had left the fort some hour or two before him. Beardall and appellant, when they left the fort, were upon foot, and armed with rifles. After they left the fort, Beardall, appellant, and Vare, were seen by one witness, who said, that he was herding horses, some three-fourths of a mile from the fort, and about ten o'clock in the morning they passed him; they were
On the 21st of July, 1858, the witness, Reagan, having informed the commanding officer that Beardall had confessed he had murdered Vare, a search was made, and about a mile and a half from the fort, on the direct road of the cut off, at the place indicated by Reagan, the remains of a human body were found; which, from the formation of the under jaw and lower teeth, were identified by the witnesses as the remains of Vare. Near the remains was found a gray shirt, or coat (such as was worn by Vare the day he left the fort), stained with blood, with a bullet hole through the back. In the breast pocket was found a letter, also stained with blood, addressed to Vare. The other pockets were turned wrong-side out; and pipes, tobacco, etc., were found emptied upon the ground, a short distance off. The remains of a horse were found, shot in the skull, and thrown over a bluff; near by were also found a saddle, blanket coat, cup, and other equipments belonging to a horseman. All the articles found were taken to the commander of...
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