Elmore v. State
| Decision Date | 27 July 1893 |
| Citation | 13 So. 427,98 Ala. 12 |
| Parties | ELMORE v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Appeal from circuit court, Marengo county; James T. Jones, Judge.
Henry Elmore was convicted of grand larceny, and appeals. Affirmed.
On the trial of the cause, as is shown by the bill of exceptions, the state introduced as a witness one T. J. Beck, who testified that while he was deputy sheriff of Marengo county, in the years 1891 and 1892, the defendant was under an indictment for the offense for which he was at that time being tried; that he was taken from the jail under bond, but was afterwards recommitted to jail; and that after said commitment he broke out of jail, escaped, and fled, and was afterwards recaptured. The defendant moved the court to exclude from the jury the statements of the witness "that he broke out of jail, escaped, and fled," on the ground that it was irrelevant and illegal testimony. The court overruled this motion, and the defendant excepted. This is the only question presented on this appeal.
Gesner Williams, for appellant.
William L. Martin, Atty. Gen., for the State.
The breaking out of jail and escape of one under indictment for crime may arise from conscious guilt and the fear of trial therefor, and the dread of the punishment to follow; or it may be that the defendant, conscious of innocence, may dread trial lest he be convicted; or, again, with such consciousness of innocence, being confined in prison, and unable to give bail, he would seek freedom in flight from the discomforts of such imprisonment. Different individuals might act differently under the same circumstances, owing to the difference in their minds, dispositions, and characters. Whether or not the motive for such an escape has its origin in the consciousness of guilt and the dread of being brought to justice, or whether it can be explained and attributed to some other innocent motive, are questions for the determination of the jury, under all the evidence in the cause. Of itself, such evidence would not warrant conviction; but it is relevant, and the weight to which it is entitled is for the jury, under proper instructions from the court. Bowles v. State, 58 Ala. 335; Sylvester v. State, 72 Ala. 201; Ross v. State, 74 Ala. 532; Carden v. State, 84 Ala. 417, 4 South. Rep. 823. There was no error in the admission of the evidence excepted to. Affirmed.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Poe
... ... instruct the jury that they may consider evidence of flight ... with other circumstances tending to show defendant's ... guilt, but also to advise them as to the weight which should ... [98 N.W. 589] ... to such evidence. Commonwealth v. Berchine, 168 Pa ... 603 (32 A. 109); Elmore v. State, 98 Ala. 12 (13 So ... 427); Sewell v. State, 76 Ga. 836 ... In ... State v. Thomas, 58 Kan. 805 (51 P. 228), the court ... approved an instruction that flight of defendant is "a ... circumstance to be considered, in connection with all the ... other ... ...
-
Wilson v. State
... ... an inference of his guilt, which tended to rebut his ... testimony as to his innocence. Campbell v. State, 23 ... Ala. 44; Murrell v. State, 46 Ala. 89, 7 Am.Rep ... 592; Bowles v. State, 58 Ala. 335; Carden v ... State, 84 Ala. 417, 4 So. 823; Elmore v. State, ... 98 Ala. 12, 13 So. 427; Thomas v. State, 100 Ala ... 53, 14 So. 621 ... If he ... either actually perpetrated the crime or in any way aided and ... abetted Nunn Bell in its perpetration, he would be equally ... guilty. Smith v. State, 8 Ala.App. 193, 62 So. 575; ... ...
-
Untreiner v. State
... ... Walker v. State, 91 Ala. 76, 9 So. 87 ... There ... was no error in allowing the solicitor to question the ... defendant, when examined as a witness in his own behalf, as ... to his movements after the alleged crime was committed, for ... the purpose of showing flight. Elmore v. State, 98 ... Ala. 12, 13 So. 427 ... As to ... who gave the gun to the witness Eddins, after the difficulty ... was over, and the deceased had been killed, was irrelevant ... and immaterial matter ... The ... bill of exceptions recites that, "when the court ... ...
-
The State v. Pope
... ... evidence. State v. Griffin, 87 Mo. 608, 612; ... State v. Walker, 98 Mo. 95, 108; State v ... Sparks, 225 S.W. 1031; State v. Lewkowitz, 265 ... Mo. 613; Hickory v. United States, 160 U.S. 408; ... Albert v. United States, 162 U.S. 510; Starr v ... United States, 164 U.S. 625; Elmore v. State, ... 98 Ala. 12; 2 Wharton's Criminal Evidence, p. 1495; 8 ... R.C.L. p. 193 ... RAILEY, ... C. White and Reeves, CC., concur ... ... [296 ... Mo. 41] RAILEY, C. -- ... An ... information was filed in the ... ...