Hall v. The State Of Ga.

• Decision Date: 28 February 1880
• Citation: 65 Ga. 36
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court
• Parties: Hall. v. The State of Georgia.

65 Ga. 36

Hall. v. The State of Georgia.

Supreme Court of the State of Georgia

(February Term, 1880.)

Criminal law. Practice in the Superior Court. Confessions. Charge of Court. New trial. Before Judge Simmons. Crawford Superior Court. March Term, 1879.

Reported in the opinion.

Stroud, Smith & Winslow; Hall & Son; Bacon & Rutherford, for plaintiff in error.

C. L. Bartlett, solicitor general; W. S. Wallace; L. D. Moore, for the state.

CRAWFORD, Justice.

The defendant in error was jointly indicted with Green Thurman, Sr., Isham Thurman, and Green Thurman, Jr., for the murder of Augustus H. Murchison. He was tried separately, and a verdict of guilty rendered against him. A mo-tion for a new trial was filed, upon several grounds, and, after argument had, the same was refused by the court, and the plaintiff in error excepted.

The state relied upon circumstantial evidence and con-fessions *for a conviction, and whilst this court will not say that the evidence offered was or was cot sufficient to justify a verdict of guilty, yet we are of opinion that there were committed in the admission of some of the evidence touching errors the confessions said to have been made, as also in reference to one of the charges given by the court, under one or both of which the jury may have been induced to render their verdict.

1. 2. The sheriff of the county was introduced by the state to prove certain confessions of the prisoner, and he was asked: "Did you have him under arrest for this killing?" Ans. "Yes." "Did he make any statement to you about it?" "Notdirectly to me, he has not. I heard him make it to somebody else." "Did you hold out to him any reward, or did you threaten him in any way?" "I did not, sir." "Where was it?" "In the court house here." "What did he say to you?" This question was objected to by prisoner\'s counsel to inquire "whether others had not used threats to prisoner to get this statement?" "I think they had, sir." "Is it true that Mr. Stroud had just fired a pistol off close to Joe and threatened to kill him if he did not tell all about it?" "I heard a pistol fire, and Mr. Stroud told me." "Was not the statement you speak of made immediately after the pistol was fired?" "Yes." "Did not Stroud come in with a pistol in his hand just behind Joe, and was it not just then that Joe made the statement to you?" "Yes, sir."

Mr. Stroud testified as follows: "Was employed as counsel by Green Thurman but not for Joe Hall, at the time the alleged statement was made. Immediately after I made these threats to Joe, I told him I would protect him as an attorney. After he made some confessions, I would protect him. I threatened to kill him if he did not tell what he knew about the killing of Murchison. Mr. Bond, the sheriff, had Green Thurman, Joe Hall and these two boys, Isham and Green Thurman, Jr., under arrest in the ordinary's office. I got permission to take them to my *office in the basement. I think Mr. Dannielly was with me. I took Joe along, and asked him to tell me all about the circumstances of Murchison's death that he knew. It was the first night after Murchison's death, and Joe said he knew nothing about it. I pressed him to make a statement, and he declined to make any. I finally pulled out my pistol—I think I had it out all the time while with them, as I was assisting Bond in guarding them— and I pointed the pistol near his head and fired it off right at (by) his head. I told him I was going to kill him if he did not tell me all about the circumstances of the killing of Murchison. I cocked my pistol again, and said I missed you that time, but the next time I'll get you. He said hold on, he would tell all of it, and did so. Bond came in immediately afterwards, and that is the statement that he refers to."

"I kept the pistol out, and if he would slack up I would threaten him again and spur him up. He was in a tremble, seemed much excited, and begged me not to kill him."

It is to be remembered that the scene described transpired on the first night after the homicide, in the courthouse, the most public place in the county, and although it does not appear that any of the jurors knew what that confession was, yet they had heard the testimony of Bond and Stroud upon the stand, and whatsoever the confession was, was probably as well known to the jurors as to the witnesses. Even if this were not so, at that time, on the trial, in their presence, the sheriff swore that the prisoner made a statement, not directly to him, but he heard him...