Hinton v. State

• Decision Date: 10 April 1950
• Docket Number: No. 37480,37480
• Citation: 209 Miss. 608,45 So.2d 805
• Parties: HINTON v. STATE.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 805

45 So.2d 805

209 Miss. 608

HINTON v. STATE.

No. 37480.

Supreme Court of Mississippi, in Banc.

April 10, 1950.

Bidwell Adam, Gulfport, O. L. McLeod, Pascagoula, for appellant.

Geo. H. Ethridge, Acting Attorney General, Luther Maples, Gulfport, Maurice Malone, Lucedale, and T. Horton Hillman, Lucedale, for appellee.

LEE, Justice.

Murdock Hinton was indicted by the grand jury of George County for the murder of J. E. Nelson. A change of venue was granted to Stone County. On the trial, the jury returned a straight verdict of guilty of murder. From a judgment and sentence to death by electrocution, he appeals.

Hinton was 45 years old, and the father of seven children. He experienced marital difficulties, and his wife divorced him. His eldest daughter Gloria Jean, 18 years old and unmarried, had given birth to an illegitimate child--a daughter. On December 21, 1948, the family was living near Lucedale in George County, whereas Hinton was staying with his mother in Jackson County. On that day, a relative, who was working in the vicinity, was going to make a trip to Lucedale, and Hinton asked to ride there with him. They went by Larson's store, where he picked up a package, wrapped in red paper. It was a box of twelve gauge shotgun shells, which Hinton told Larson that he was buying for a Christmas present, and asked him to wrap up as such. Hinton carried the rest of the paper away to wrap up another present--a shotgun. Going from the store to his mother's house, he there picked up the shotgun, wrapped as another Christmas present.

The trip was made, and Hinton got out of the car at the Rock House, a relatively short distance from his wife's home. About 5:30 o'clock that afternoon, a neighbor heard three shots at the Hinton home, and shortly thereafter, Gloria Jean came to his house, excited, and gave him a report thereon. This neighbor called Sheriff J. E. Nelson over the telephone, but was unable to locate him immediately. After several efforts, finally he contacted the sheriff and advised him of trouble at the Hinton home. About twenty minutes thereafter, this neighbor and his brother-in-law saw Sheriff Nelson's car pass, and observed that Gloria Jean got in the car a short distance from the Hinton home. These neighbors, believing that something serious had happened, started over to the place. But, immediately after Sheriff Nelson's car stopped in front of the gate, and the lights went off, they heard several shots, two in fairly rapid succession, and two subsequently. These neighbors proceeded no further, and immediately Hinton drove the car away, without turning on the lights.

Another neighbor had heard the report of shooting in the Hinton family, and observed the car as it drove up in front of Hinton's gate. As a man got out of the car, a gun fired from over the fence, behind the car, and he immediately heard a voice and the groans of a man. He then saw a man cross over the road, fire again and the groans stopped. Hinton, whose voice he knew, then said, 'I have got him'. Immediately there were cries of a woman, and Hinton said, 'Get out of there', with an epithet. Two shots were fired immediately--the racket all stopped--and Hinton left in the car without turning on the lights.

Several witnesses followed the car as Hinton was driving away, but did not overtake him. He made good his escape and was not apprehended until the following Christmas morning.

In the meantime, an investigation of the scene disclosed that Sheriff Nelson was lying close to the gate, dead, with twelve buckshot wounds in his back from the hips to the shoulders, and a round hole in the chest with powder burns, showing that the lethal weapon had been fired at close range. In the house were found the bodies of Mrs. Mattie Hinton and her little seven weeks old granddaughter, both of whom had met violent deaths from shotgun wounds on the same occasion. The wrecked automobile of Sheriff Nelson was found several miles away, and the body of Gloria Jean, who had also met a violent death from shotgun wounds was found therein.

Following his apprehension, Hinton made a voluntary statement to the officers in which he gave this version: He had planned the killings since October the 13th, the day his wife got her divorce. He intended to present them a present on Christmas morning, but decided they would not be at home at that time. So, he made it up to do the work that day. When he went to the house, his wife and his daughter's child were there. He killed his wife and granddaughter and thought about the Sheriff arresting him again, and he did not propose to let him do it. Consequently he went across the road in front of the house, in the bushes, until the sheriff arrived. As the sheriff got out of the car and pushed the door to and was looking toward the house, he shot him. He then walked up to the sheriff, as he was saying 'Ouch, Ouch', and shot him again. The little boy in the car begged his father not to kill him, and Hinton said, 'I will not', and told him to 'Get out of the car and leave'. He then shot his daughter in the car, and drove away, until it wrecked. He broke the back glass out with the gun, left the car, and escaped. When one of the bloodhounds came up to him in the woods, he made friends with him by patting him on the head.

On the stand, Hinton verified the purchase and wrapping of the shells, the wrapping of the shotgun and the trip to his wife's home. He admitted that he knew what he was doing. When he left the car at the Rock House, he unwrapped the gun and shells immediately after getting in the woods. As he approached the house, he was on the lookout for a rabbit or squirrel. When he arrived at the house, his wife tried to take the gun away from him, and it discharged hitting her in the leg. He then had a complete lapse of memory, he had no recollection of killing his wife, his granddaughter, Sheriff Nelson or his daughter. The next time he knew anything was when he waked up in a treetop, perhaps the next day.

The defense was insanity, and his sisters and mother testified that he was terribly upset and nervous prior to October 13th and thereafter. He complained that Sheriff Nelson got his daughter in her pregnant condition. His wife was running around with another man; and his home had been destroyed.

The psychiatrist, introduced in his behalf, replying to the hypothetical question of defense counsel, gave his opinion that Hinton was insane at the time of the killing. But, on cross examination, in response to a hypothetical question by the District Attorney, detailing the State's version, gave his opinion that Hinton was sane at the time of the killing.

The evidence for the State showed Hinton to have been well composed at the time of his apprehension, and he admitted that he was sane and knew everything up to the time when the gun fired as he and his wife were in a tussle.

Thus, with no substantial dispute as to the facts and circumstances of the killing--the defense thereto being insanity--we proceed to a consideration of the alleged errors of the trial court, assigned by appellant.

The first of these was the failure of the court to instruct the jury to disregard the statements of three witnesses about appellant's connection with liquor.

This proposition came up in this way: Three sisters of the appellant testified to facts which, if believed, would tend to establish the insanity of the appellant. Among other things, they said their brother farmed for a living. On cross-examination, the District Attorney asked the first one if she knew what else he did to make money, and she replied, 'He made whiskey'. There was no objection and no motion to exclude. The second was asked if she knew of anything else (other than farming) that he did to make money, and she replied: 'He fooled with a little bit of whiskey'. There was no objection and no motion to exclude. The third was asked several questions as to whether she knew anything about his making whiskey around his or his mother's place, or carrying it to his place and selling it in Lucedale, and she replied that she did not. There was no objection and no motion to exclude. Another witness was introduced by the appellant, and after his evidence had been given, the court recessed for the day. The next morning, appellant moved the court to instruct the jury to disregard this...