Jones v. State

Decision Date04 April 1904
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
PartiesBEE W. JONES v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

March 1904

FROM the circuit court of Leflore county. HON. A. MCC. KIMBROUGH Judge.

Jones appellant, having been indicted, tried, and convicted of the murder of one Robert Riley and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, appealed to the supreme court.

On the night of January 7, 1904, at a meeting of the colored Knights of Pythias, appellant shot and killed Riley. Before the meeting was called to order, some question came up as to the correctness of the books of the organization, of which Jones had control, and Riley said: "Open up the lodge, and let Bee W. alone." Whereupon angry words passed between Jones and Riley, and Jones advanced toward Riley with his hands in his pistol pocket, making insulting remarks. The chancellor commander of the lodge went to Jones, caught him by the coat, and ordered him to take his seat. Thereafter Riley attempted to get a stick, and, failing in that, got a hatchet and advanced upon Jones, who moved away, drawing his pistol, and backed fifteen or twenty feet from where the trouble first commenced, followed by Riley, when Jones shot Riley, killing him. The third instruction given for the state, referred to in the opinion of the court, is as follows: "No. 3--The court instructs the jury that if the minds and consciences of the jury are fully satisfied by all the evidence in the case that the defendant provoked the difficulty with the deceased, armed at the time with a deadly weapon, provided for the purpose of killing or doing deceased some great bodily harm, and that he shot and killed the deceased in the difficulty so provoked, then the court instructs the jury that the defendant is guilty, even though the jury may believe that the defendant, at the time he killed the deceased, killed him in self-defense."

Reversed and remanded.

S. R Coleman, for appellant.

The long line of decisions condemning the omission of "belief beyond reasonable doubt" has been violated, and the court is referred to Helm's case as authority for the language used. But the graver and greater error in the third instruction is in leaving out entirely and taking from the consideration of the jury whether or not Jones had abandoned the difficulty, even if he provoked it, and whether Riley was or was not the aggressor at the time of the shooting.

William Williams, attorney-general, and McClurg, Gardner & Whittington, for appellee.

The testimony is undisputed that Jones made threats to kill Riley on Thursday morning; that he was the aggressor and provoker of the difficulty; that he entered it armed with a deadly weapon, intending to use it when he provoked or brought on the encounter; that he did originate the difficulty; that he did not at any time abandon the difficulty, and did use the weapon and kill Riley in the difficulty so provoked, pursuant to such intent, and provoked for the purpose of decoying his victim into demonstrations which would apparently justify the contemplated killing. There was no error by the court below in granting instruction No. 3 for the state. Helm v. State, 67 Miss. 562; Aldridge v. State, 59 Miss. 250.

Under the facts proved in this case this instruction is in complete harmony with the law as announced in Cannon v State, 57 Miss. 147; Allen v. State, 66 Miss. 385; Hunt v. State, 72 Miss. 413; Prine v. State, 73 Miss. 838; King v. State, 74 Miss....

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  • Vance v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • September 12, 1938
    ... ... 182; Patty v. State, ... 126 Miss. 94, 88 So. 498; Blackledge v. State. 157 ... Miss. 33, 127 So. 684; Strahan v. State, 143 Miss ... 519, 108 So. 502; Jarman v. State, 178 Miss. 103, ... 177 So. 869; [182 Miss. 842] Weathersby v ... State, 165 Miss. 207, 147 So. 481; Jones v ... State, 60 So. 735; Sides v. State, 96 Miss ... 638, 51 So. 465; Conway v. State, 177 Miss. 461, 171 ... So. 16; Henerson v. State, 180 So. 89; Wesley v ... State, 153 Miss. 357, 120 So. 918; Walters v ... State, 153 Miss. 709, 122 So. 189; Kelly v ... State, 147 So ... ...
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    ...60; Williamson v. State, 76 So. 637. This instruction does not negative the self-defense theory. Herring v. State, 40 So. 230; Jones v. State, 36 So. 243; Pulpus v. State, 34 So. 2; Lopton v. 31 So. 720; Cooper v. State, 31 So. 579. The court erred in giving the following instruction: "The ......
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    ...find that the defendant had not abandoned his felonious design. Ross v. State, 158 Miss. 827; Williamson v. State, 115 Miss. 716; Jones v. State, 84 Miss. 194; Pulpus State, 82 Miss. 194; Rogers v. State, 82 Miss. 479; Smith v. State, 75 Miss. 542; Hunt v. State, 72 Miss. 413. The instructi......
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