Jefferson v. State
| Decision Date | 17 October 1938 |
| Docket Number | Criminal 4097 |
| Citation | 120 S.W.2d 327,196 Ark. 897 |
| Parties | JEFFERSON v. STATE |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from St. Francis Circuit Court; D. S. Plummer, Special Judge affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
S. S Hargraves, for appellant.
Jack Holt, Attorney General, and John P. Streepey, Assistant, for appellee.
Information was filed by the prosecuting attorney within and for the First Judicial Circuit in the St. Francis circuit court accusing the appellant, Lucian Jefferson, of the crime of murder in the first degree. It was alleged that the said Lucian Jefferson on the 14th day of February, 1938, in St. Francis county unlawfully, wilfully, feloniously and with malice aforethought, and after deliberation and premeditation, did kill and murder one Emmer Jefferson, by striking, beating and hitting her and by running over her with an automobile after he had struck and beaten her with a certain blunt instrument, the name of which was unknown; that the said Lucian Jefferson then and there held said blunt instrument in his hand. Upon a trial, a jury convicted Jefferson of murder in the first degree as charged in the information and fixed his punishment at life imprisonment in the penitentiary. Motion for a new trial was filed, same was overruled and appellant appealed to this court.
The first objection made by the appellant relates to the information copied in the transcript. The information is regular in form, except at the end of the information it contains the verdict of the jury. There is no explanation as to how the verdict of the jury happened to be copied at the end of the information. There was no objection to the form of the information taken at the trial and no objection relating thereto was brought forward in the motion for a new trial. Therefore, the presence of the verdict of the jury copied upon the information at the end thereof constitutes no error which this court can review. Any irregularity in this respect must have been due to a clerical misprision. Since there was no objection at the trial and no exception brought forward in the motion for a new trial, there is nothing with reference to this contended irregularity in the information that is subject to review by this court. Taylor v. State, 73 Ark. 158, 83 S.W. 922; Clardy v. State, 96 Ark. 52, 131 S.W. 46; Williams v. State 103 Ark. 70, 146 S.W. 471; Stevens v. State, 117 Ark. 64 at 64-70, 174 S.W. 219; McDonald v. State, 160 Ark. 185, 254 S.W. 549.
It is contended by appellant that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain the verdict. The rule as to the sufficiency of the evidence in such cases has been many times announced by this court as follows:
"The rule is well settled that the evidence adduced at a trial will, on appeal, be viewed in the light most favorable to the appellee and if there is any substantial evidence to support the verdict of the jury, it will be sustained." Citing, Slinkard v. State, 193 Ark. 765, 103 S.W.2d 50; Walls v. State, 194 Ark. 578, 109 S.W.2d 143.
It is true that the evidence in this case is wholly circumstantial but, bearing in mind that the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the state and that a showing of substantial evidence to sustain the verdict is all that is required, after a careful review of the record, we have concluded that the evidence is sufficient. It would serve no useful purpose to set out in detail the evidence of the several witnesses. Suffice it to say that appellant was accused of having killed his wife by striking her with a blunt instrument and by running over her with an automobile, and that the deceased was found dead on the roadside about two miles from Forrest City between four and five o'clock in the morning of February 14, 1938. The condition of the body was such that it was apparent that she had been struck on the head several times with a blunt instrument and it was further apparent that she had been run over by an automobile, the imprint of the tires being on her body. One witness residing in a tent near where she was killed heard her begging for her life and immediately thereafter he heard the blows as she was struck upon the head with the blunt instrument used in killing her. The assailant left the scene in an automobile, was gone about two minutes, came back and ran over the prostrate form of the deceased with the automobile. He then turned and left the scene again. On examination of appellant's automobile it was found that blood was on one or more of the wheels thereof. An analysis of this blood was made so that it was certain that it was human blood. It was further shown that appellant carried a policy of insurance on the life of the deceased. In this policy he was named as beneficiary. This insurance was against death by being struck by an automobile. Upon an examination of his automobile by the sheriff of the county and upon the discovery of blood on the wheels thereof, appellant was accused by the sheriff of having committed the crime. This, he denied and tried to explain that the blood might have been caused by the automobile's having struck a chicken or a dog. At that time, he also further tried to frame a defense for...
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Vowell v. State
...his injuries to the jury might have prejudiced the minds of the jurors by creating sympathy for the appellant. Jefferson v. State, 196 Ark. 897, 120 S.W.2d 327 (1938). It is in the trial court's discretion as to whether a witness will be allowed to display his injuries to the jury. Vaughn v......
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Cook v. State
...to sustain a conviction. Walker v. State, 229 Ark. 685, 317 S.W.2d 823; Osburne v. State, 181 Ark. 661, 27 S.W.2d 783; Jefferson v. State, 196 Ark. 897, 120 S.W.2d 327; Smith v. State, 227 Ark. 332, 229 S.W.2d The law is also well settled that in testing the sufficiency of evidence on appea......
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...717, 276 S.W. 849, Alexander v. State, 103 Ark. 505, 147 S.W. 477, Simmons v. State, 184 Ark. 373, 42 S.W.2d 549, and Jefferson v. State, 196 Ark. 897, 120 S.W.2d 327. In order cases we have held that the Court committed no error in charging on second-degree murder when the indictment charg......
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...by death. Circumstantial evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction. Osburne v. State, 181 Ark. 661, 27 S.W.2d 783; Jefferson v. State, 196 Ark. 897, 120 S.W.2d 327; Smith v. State, 227 Ark. 332, 299 S.W.2d 52; Walker v. State, 229 Ark. 685, 317 S.W.2d The evidence, which is uncontradic......