King v. State

• Decision Date: 07 June 1923
• Docket Number: 3366.
• Citation: 118 S.E. 368,155 Ga. 707
• Parties: KING v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

118 S.E. 368

155 Ga. 707

KING v. STATE.

No. 3366.

Supreme Court of Georgia

June 7, 1923

Syllabus by the Court.

Incriminatory admissions and confessions are not admissible, if there is evidence, arising from the testimony as to the circumstances under which the confession was made, that the making of the confession was induced by the slightest hope of benefit or the remotest fear of injury.

Additional Syllabus by Editorial Staff.

The word "voluntarily" is practically synonmous with "spontaneously," of his own free will, and not when overmastered by the will of another. It is derived from the Latin "volus," which means one's will.

Certiorari from Court of Appeals.

T. E King was convicted of setting fire to a house, and his conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals (28 Ga.App 751, 113 S.E. 107), and he brings certiorari. Reversed.

Evidence as to circumstances under which defendant confessed burning a house, after being "grilled" for several hours by state fire inspector in room of superior court justice, and in presence of notary public, court stenographer, and others held to show the confession was not voluntary.

King was indicted for setting fire to a house at No. 25 Fortress avenue in Atlanta, Ga., which he had purchased, but had not paid for. This house was insured in all for $1,100, and contained furniture and other personal property on which the accused had taken out a policy for $700 of insurance. The house was burned on the night of April 2, 1922. Prior to the fire the accused had sent his wife to the home of her father in Tifton, Ga., because he was out of employment in Atlanta. The accused was seen at the house which burned between 7 and 7:30 o'clock on the night of the fire, and the alarm was sent in about 9:36 p. m., according to the testimony of the firemen. After the flames had been extinguished, one of the firemen made an examination of the house, and detected the odor of kerosene arising from the closet, and from the circumstances detailed by him it was his opinion that the fire originated in the closet and burned slowly up or within the walls until it came in contact with the air, or the air was admitted by the burning, after which it burned rapidly. This witness testified that the entire roof was aflame and that two nearby homes were afire at the time the fire department reached the scene. On April 5, the defendant King wrote a letter addressed to "Hon. J. Albert Sharp, State Fire Inspector, Atlanta, Georgia," stating that at the time he bought the place there was only $600 insurance on it and, as this was only about $100 more than the loan, that he had procured additional insurance for $500, which he thought was to be made payable to Mrs. Howard Sewell, but which policy had, by mistake of the agent, been issued in the name of his wife, instead of Mrs. Sewell. By the letter the fire inspector was also informed that by reason of the closing of the Southern shops the defendant had decided to go to Tifton, "to the home of my father, T. B. King, where you can locate me at any time." The only reference to the fire is as follows:

"I left my house Saturday night at 7 o'clock p. m., to go to town, and so far as I know there was no fire about the place, except the oil lamp, which light I extinguished as I was leaving. I called on Max Ingram, of No. 62 Adamson street, and we went immediately to a show, and I did not return home until 12:30 a. m. Sunday morning, and knew nothing of the fire until that time."

About the 3d or 4th of May, Sharp, the state fire inspector went to Tifton and inquired for King, but could not locate him; but as soon as King learned that Sharp was in town he went to him and was conducted by Sharp to the office of the judge of the superior court. The accused willingly accompanied the inspector, without the purpose of the visit to the room of the judge being communicated to him in advance. Present in this room were H. S. Murray, notary public, Charles Miller, J. J. Rooney, and Mr. McNichols, court stenographer, beside Sharp. The parties assembled in this room, according to the testimony of the inspector, about 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and remained until the completion of the enterprise, something after 9 o'clock at night. After three hours of grilling (as the conversation is denominated by the state's witness) the accused, who at the time he went to the courthouse and entered into the conversation did not know that he was charged with any offense, or, so far as appears, that he was even suspected of burning his own house, made a plenary confession of his guilt. The testimony as to the confession and the circumstances which induced the accused to confess are detailed by the state's witness Sharp as follows:

"I got hold of Mr. King along about 6 o'clock, after looking for him all day long, and carried him to the hotel

in Tifton, and after grilling him about three hours on this fire he confessed to setting it afire; that confession was freely and voluntarily made; it wasn't induced by any fear of punishment or by any reward or by any hope of reward held out to him; when he made that confession, Mr. H. S. Murray, notary public of Tift county, Mr. Charles Miller, Mr. J. J. Rooney, and Mr. McNichols, court stenographer of Tift county, were present. He told me that on Friday night before the fire on Saturday night he moved a dresser, washstand, mattress, some pillows, art square, rugs, and a refrigerator to 127 Marietta street. When I came back to Atlanta, I went down to 127 Marietta street, and found the articles that he told me he put there on Friday night before the fire occurred on Saturday. I learned from one of the neighbors that some furniture had been stored at Cathcart's place after the fire. I went to Cathcart's place and checked up the furniture that he had stored there; the furniture that he had stored there was a dining table, a dresser, some washstands, dishpans, a few dishes, and some springs, and to the best of my recollection a couple of iron beds, old beds that they had down there.

In interviewing Mr. King we asked him how he started the fire. He stated that he had taken some papers and some waste that had come from the Southern shops, and saturated it in kerosene oil; put it in the closet about 7 o'clock. He said that he had taken a candle and set it on a piece of paper with a fuse to where the candle burned down it would set this paper and this waste afire. We asked him about how he was going to set it afire and how he knew about it. He said, 'Well, I have tried the candle before.' He said, 'I timed it, and it had taken two hours and a half to burn up;' and he says, 'I set the candle at 7 o'clock, and I figured that it would be two hours and a half when the fire occurred;' and the records show 9:36, I believe is the time the fire department was called to this place; and he also said in his statement that he moved his stuff to Cathcart's, which we checked up. I went out to his father-in-law's home; interviewed his wife. I examined the trunks which he had moved from Atlanta to Tifton. I got the man who had hauled the trunks from Tifton station to the house, and he identified hauling the trunks. I examined the trunks, and some of the stuff he claimed in his proof of loss I found in the trunks; some of his army underwear that he claimed to have lost, that was in his trunk. We looked for his pistol, that one of the witnesses told us that he tried to get on that night, and his wife told us that he had the pistol with him. What we were trying to do was check up on the things, wasn't caring much about the pistol; so he told us after we got hold of him that he did have the pistol, but done carried it home before we saw him. Mr. King signed the name 'T. E. King' to the two-page paper which you hold in your hand; the names of the five witnesses signed to it were signed in my presence by those witnesses, and they were present when Mr. King signed it; it was signed in the office of the superior court judge at Tifton."

On cross-examination the witness testified:

"I went to Tifton, interviewed some witnesses there, and saw Mr. King there. When I first saw Mr. King it was late in the afternoon about 6 o'clock. I don't know what street it was, but right opposite the ice plant I believe, in Tifton, he was talking to his father-in-law. I came down in a car. I didn't know Mr. King personally. I did know his father-in-law, because I had seen him that morning at his home. I looked around and said, 'I believe that is Mr King.' I got out and walked back over there. Mr. King was talking to his father-in-law. I have forgotten his name. I said, 'Mr. King.' 'Yes.' I introduced myself, told him what I wanted; he said, 'I've been to the hotel, you were out;' and I said 'I understood you had been in there; that's the reason I come back for you;' he went to the hotel with me, we went up to the room, and it was about 9 o'clock when he come across and told me about it. I started about 6 o'clock; it took maybe three hours to get the confession out of him; the means I used of getting it was giving Mr. King the evidence that I had got in Atlanta. Mr. King denied it bitterly. I disremember just every word that transpired, but two or three things that transpired. I says, 'Mr. King, your wife told me differently; now listen, don't sit there and perjure yourself; you are under oath.' He says, 'Well, you may know differently, but it's just that way.' I says, 'Well, your wife says that you had the gun with you.' I can't recall everything that transpired, but the gun was one of the articles mentioned, and so he says, 'Well, I did carry the gun out.' I believe he said that he traded the gun with somebody that day. I couldn't recall the whole conversation from 6 to 9, but I am just telling you things that

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