Harris v. State

• Decision Date: 13 December 1909
• Docket Number: 13,892
• Citation: 96 Miss. 379,50 So. 626
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Parties: WILLIAM HARRIS v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

50 So. 626

96 Miss. 379

WILLIAM HARRIS v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

No. 13,892

Supreme Court of Mississippi

December 13, 1909

FROM the circuit court of Pike county, HON. MOYSE H. WILKINSON Judge.

Harris appellant, a negro, was indicted in the circuit court of Amite county for an assault and battery with intent to kill and murder a white man; on his application the venue was changed to Pike county, where defendant was tried, convicted and appealed to the supreme court. The opinion of the court states the facts upon which the decision turned.

Reversed.

Clem V. Ratcliff, for appellant.

George Butler, assistant attorney-general, for appellee.

OPINION

WHITFIELD, C. J.

The appellant, a negro, was indicted for shooting with intent to kill and murder a white man. The evidence in the case for the state abounds in contradictions, as between different witnesses, and as to part of the testimony of one witness with other parts of the same witness' testimony. In short, the utmost confusion and uncertainty prevails throughout the testimony of the witnesses for the state, making the case an exceedingly close one on the facts--so close that any serious error must, of necessity, cause reversal.

This being the attitude of the case, the district attorney, in his closing argument for the state, as shown by five separate special bills of exception taken to his remarks in that closing argument, used the following language "Gentlemen, I am putting it up now to twelve white men as to whether or not you will convict a negro for shooting a white man, and the jury last week convicted a white man for killing a negro; and I hope you will have the same sort of nerve, and convict this negro for shooting the white man." "Those white people over there do not often go wrong [meaning in Amite county.] He knew they would have found him guilty as charged. This time he is being tried by twelve men, and the next time he will be tried by one hundred." "The people taking the law in their hands is necessary. The white people of this country will take the law in their own hands, and enforce the law to suit themselves, if you don't do it yourself." "This is our country. We bought it with our own blood, and we have a right to own and rule it, and we are going to rule it." "The time to turn a nigger loose for shooting a white man will never come in Amite county." "They had better brought his case over here. He never would have gotten a...