Jackson v. State, 29680
| Decision Date | 02 June 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 29680,29680 |
| Citation | 234 Ga. 549,216 S.E.2d 834 |
| Parties | Tony JACKSON v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
I. Burl Davis, Jr., Frank B. Lanneau, III, Macon, for appellant.
Fred M. Hasty, Dist. Atty., Walker P. Johnson, Asst. Dist. Atty., Macon, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., B. Dean Grindle, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
Tony Jackson was indicted for the murder of Michael Daniels. The trial judge instructed the jury on the law of murder and voluntary manslaughter and, at the defendant's request, extensively on self-defense. No objections were made to the charge. The jury found the defendant guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On appeal he enumerates as error the failure of the trial court to charge the jury on involuntary manslaughter, and the overruling of his motion for new trial on the general grounds.
The State's evidence showed that the defendant stabbed the victim twice with a knife, 4 1/2 to 5 inches long, during a fight or scuffle. There was evidence of malice, as will appear, and the victim died. The trial court did not err in overruling the motion for new trial.
It appears that on the evening preceding this event, a friend, George Greer, saw the victim with the defendant's wife and reported this fact to the defendant. On the evening in question, a party was in progress. Before the defendant arrived at the party, the victim had a fight with Greer due to Greer's having told the defendant about the victim and defendant's wife being together the night before.
The defendant testified as follows: that he had known the deceased Michael Daniels all his life and they were good friends; that he had fought with him once before and Daniels had 'whipped' him; that he has about 45% disability in his right hand due to an industrial accident; that he was right-handed; that at about 11:30 p.m. on the night of April 20, 1973, he took George Greer to Chet's Lounge and dropped him off to get a beer; that Greer came back to the car and told him that his (the defendant's) wife was inside with Michael Daniels; that he went inside, found his wife sitting with Daniels, who had his arm around her; that he took his wife home and told her 'if she wanted Mike, to go on around there and stay with him and don't come back to my house no more'; and that the next morning he got up and went to Daniels' house and told Daniels' grandmother, 'I caught Michael and my wife together last night and I don't want him round my hosue no more and plus I don't want him round my wife no more.'
The defendant testified further that after he talked to Daniels' grandmother he came back to his house to put a new starter in his car; that in order to do this he used a wrench, a pair of pliers and 'a little small knife' he got out of the kitchen; that when it became dark and he could no longer see to work he put the tools in his shirt pocket and went in the house to get something to eat; that his wife had not cooked anything so he decided to go to the party to get some sandwiches; that he did not go to the party intending to fight Daniels; that on the way there he met George Greer with his clothes torn and disheveled; and that he asked Greer what happened and Greer replied, 'Well, Mike jumped on me and beat me up 'cause I told him your wife and him was together last night.'
When he arrived at the party the appellant stated that he asked for two hamburgers and a Coca-Cola and went out in the yard to wait for them; that he saw Daniels and spoke to him about staying away from his house; that Daniels made a derogatory remark about his disabled hand; that Daniels 'wasn't in his right mind' when drinking; that Daniels had been smoking marijuana; that two other people came up behind him, taunting him that they had their money on Daniels to whip him, 'So I started walking and so they all gathered around me in one circle, so Mike kept on easing, you know, gradually coming up on me.
The defendant also testified that he was afraid the three men were going to gang up on him; that although he was right-handed, he used his left hand to reach in his pocket for a weapon to protect himself; that the knife was in the front when he reached in his pocket and he just pulled it out; that he held it in his left hand when he struck Daniels with it; and that 'when he grabbed me, I wasn't intentioned of hurting him or nothing, I only tried, you know to keep him from hurting me.'
George Greer testified that after his fight with Daniels he met the defendant and returned to the party; that Daniels and appellant began 'passing words,' and 'After they got through passing words, Mike tried to go up under Tony . . . Tried to grab his leg;' and that when Daniels 'almost had him up in the air . . . that's when Tony stuck him.'
In considering the overruling of the defendant's motion for new trial on the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Brown v. State
...from Brown's request to charge number 17. Brown may not now complain that these instructions were incomplete. Jackson v. State, 234 Ga. 549, 553, 216 S.E.2d 834 (1975). 12. For reasons stated in our previous opinion, the trial court did not err by admitting evidence of two extrinsic crimes ......
-
Parham v. State
...of involuntary manslaughter as there was no evidence that appellant's shooting of the deputy was unintentional. See e.g., Jackson v. State, 234 Ga. 549, 216 S.E.2d 834. 8. Appellant's final enumeration of error is that the trial court erred in allowing a GBI agent to testify for the state w......
-
Tamplin v. State, 29954
...later obtain a new trial based upon such argument, after an unfavorable verdict. Induced error is impermissible. See Jackson v. State, 234 Ga. 549, 553, 216 S.E.2d 834. The trial court did not err in not declaring a mistrial on its own 5. The defendant contends that appointed trial counsel ......
-
Harris v. State
...guilty of murder or not guilty by reason of justification, he cannot complain of the consequences of that decision. Jackson v. State, 234 Ga. 549, 216 S.E.2d 834 (1975). 5. Relying on the "necessity" exception, Harris sought to introduce the pre-trial statements of two of Gay's friends who ......