Jackson v. State

Citation171 S.E.2d 501,225 Ga. 790
Decision Date04 December 1969
Docket NumberNo. 25435,25435
PartiesLucious JACKSON, Jr. v. The STATE.
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

Syllabus by the Court

1. There was no error in denying the motion to change the venue for the trial of this case.

2. There was no error in refusing to allow the defendant or his counsel to appear before the grand jury to present evidence and cross examine witnesses.

3. Prospective jurors, whose reservations toward capital punishment were such that they said they would never vote to impose the death penalty regardless of the facts in the case, were properly excluded from the jury.

4. Code Ann. § 26-1302 (Ga.L.1960, p. 266) is not subject to the constitutional attacks made on it.

5. The sanity examination of the defendant by a court-appointed, competent psychiatrist did not deny the defendant due process or equal protection of the laws.

6. Grounds of a motion for a new trial which are not argued in this court are deemed to have been abandoned, whether enumerated as error or not.

7. The evidence authorized the verdict.

Bobby L. Hill, Savannah, for appellant.

Andrew J. Ryan, Jr., Dist. Atty., Savannah, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Harold N. Hill, Jr., Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Marion O. Gordon, William R. Childers, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.

FELTON, Justice.

The defendant was convicted of rape with no recommendation of mercy, thereby receiving a death sentence by law. He appeals from the judgment denying his motion for new trial, containing 22 special grounds, and enumerates as error: (1) The overruling of his motion for new trial as amended, (2) The denial of his motion for a change in venue, (3) The court's refusal to allow defendant or his counsel to appear before the grand jury to present evidence and to cross examine witnesses who appeared before it, (4) The exclusion of veniremen who stated their opposition to the death penalty, (5) The simultaneous submission to the jury of the issues of guilt and punishment, the statute permitting same being unconstitutional, (6) The court's permitting the death penalty to be imposed upon defendant in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, (7) The court's permitting the death penalty to be unequally applied to defendant because of his race (Negro), (8) The court's failure to grant a thorough psychiatric examination of defendant.

1. In support of his motion for a change in venue, the defendant introduced in evidence nine local newspaper articles published during the month of October, 1968, prior to the December 10, 1968, trial of the case. A reading of the articles reveals that all are merely factual accounts of the events in which the defendant allegedly participated and that the defendant was consistently reported to have been 'accused' or 'allegedly' guilty of various crimes, rather than actually to have committed the crimes. The report of the angry reaction of the local residents to the failure of the prison and police officials to warn them of the presence of an escaped convict in their area was likewise factual and not of itself inflammatory. The one editorial introduced was likewise factual and not wild or accusatory, urging merely a constructive and cautious approach to the local problems relating to escaping prisoners generally. It appears that most of whatever prejudice existed in the community was directed at the public officials, rather than the defendant, and that there was no 'pervasive prejudice in the community which denied the defendant a fair and impartial hearing' or due process of law. See Lingo v. State, 224 Ga. 333, 336(2), 162 S.E.2d 1, 4, and cases cited. The trial court did not abuse his discretion in overruling the motion for a change in venue, as contended in enumerated error 2.

2. The court did not err in refusing to allow defendant or his counsel to appear before the grand jury to present evidence and to cross examine witnesses. The defendant was not on trial at this stage of the proceedings and therefore this refusal denied him neither the right of confrontation, Harper v. State, 131 Ga. 771, 773, 63 S.E. 339; Duke v. United States, 4 Cir., 90 F.2d 840, 841, 112 A.L.R. 317, cert. denied, 302 U.S. 685, 58 S.Ct. 33, 82 L.Ed. 528, rehearing denied, 302 U.S. 649, 58 S.Ct. 135, 82 L.Ed. 503, nor equal protection of the laws, Buchanan v. State, 215 Ga. 791, 792(1), 113 S.E.2d 609. Enumerated error 3 is without merit.

3. Under Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 the trial court did not err in excluding for cause those prospective jurors who unmistakably answered that their reservations toward capital punishment were such that they would never vote to impose the death penalty regardless of the facts in the case. Whisman v. State, 224 Ga. 793, 164 S.E.2d 719; Hakala v. State, 225 Ga. 629(1), 170 S.E.2d 406, Cf. Miller v. State, 224 Ga. 627, 636, 163 S.E.2d 730. Enumerated error 4 is without merit.

4. Code Ann. § 26-1302 (Ga.L.1960, p. 266) is not subject to the constitutional attacks presented that it violates the Eighth and the Fourteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution by simultaneously submitting the issues of guilt and punishment to the same jury and imposing the death penalty on one convicted for rape. Miller v. State, 224 Ga. 627, 630, 163 S.E.2d 730; Massey v. Smith, 224 Ga. 721, 723, 164 S.E.2d 786 and cit.; Sims v. Balkcom, 220 Ga. 7(2), 136 S.E.2d 766. As in Miller v. State, supra, 224 Ga. at p. 631, 163 S.E.2d at p. 733, there was no evidence to support the contention that 'there exists a discriminatory pattern whereby the death penalty is consistently imposed upon Negro defendants convicted of raping white women.' Enumerated errors 5, 6 and 7 are without merit.

5. It is contended in enumerated error 8 that the defendant was denied due...

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18 cases
  • Furman v. Georgia Jackson v. Georgia Branch v. Texas 8212 5003, 69 8212 5030, 69 8212 5031
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • June 29, 1972
    ...of rape in Georgia and was sentenced to death pursuant to Ga.Code Ann. § 26—1302 (Supp.1971) (effective prior to July 1, 1969). 225 Ga. 790, 171 S.E.2d 501 (1969). Petitioner in No. 69—5031 was convicted of rape in Texas and was sentenced to death pursuant to Vernon's Tex.Penal Code, Art. 1......
  • State v. Taylor, 108
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
    • November 3, 1981
    ...examination of the defendant may not be regarded as a prosecution witness, but is instead a witness for the court. Jackson v. State, 225 Ga. 790, 793, 171 S.E.2d 501. Hence, the requisite relationship did not exist and it was not error to admit in evidence the psychiatrist's testimony as to......
  • Thacker v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • February 13, 1970
    ...vote to impose the death penalty regardless of the facts of the case. Whisman v. State, 224 Ga. 793, 164 S.E.2d 719; Jackson v. State, 225 Ga. 790(3), 171 S.E.2d 501. The term 'feeling,' as used by the court, referred to and was synonymous with the jurors' attitudes toward capital punishmen......
  • Davenport v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • July 2, 2020
    ...sua sponte sufficiency in a death penalty case, citing only Dixon in stating that we felt "constrained" to do so. Jackson v. State , 225 Ga. 790, 794 (7), 171 S.E.2d 501 (1969) ("While the general grounds of the motion for new trial were technically waived ..., nevertheless, in a capital fe......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 firm's commentaries
  • <em>Furman</em> at 50: so much and so little
    • United States
    • LexBlog United States
    • June 29, 2022
    ...convicted of rape in Georgia and was sentenced to death pursuant to Ga. Code Ann. § 26—1302 (Supp.1971) (effective prior to July 1, 1969). 225 Ga. 790, 171 S.E.2d 501 (1969). Petitioner in No. 69—5031 was convicted of rape in Texas and was sentenced to death pursuant to Vernon’s Tex. Penal ......
1 books & journal articles
  • Death of the challenge to lethal injection? Missouri's protocol deemed constitutional yet again.
    • United States
    • Missouri Law Review Vol. 75 No. 4, September 2010
    • September 22, 2010
    ...The cases were Furman v. State, 167 S.E.2d 628 (Ga. 1969) (conviction of murder), rev'd sub nom. Furman, 408 U.S. 238, Jackson v. State, 171 S.E.2d 501 (Ga. 1969) (conviction of rape), rev'd sub nom. Furman, 408 U.S. 238, and Branch v. State, 447 S.W.2d 932 (Tex. Crim. App. 1969) (convictio......

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