McCarley v. State
| Decision Date | 02 February 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 27333,27333 |
| Parties | Oscar McCARLEY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
Walter Conway, Peter S. Navarro, Jr., and R. O. Kenley, Sp. Atty., Houston, for appellant.
Dan Walton, Dist. Atty., and Eugene Brady, Asst. Dist. Atty., Houston, Leon Douglas, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.
The offense is murder; the punishment, 3 years.
The trial of this case was lengthy, and since there is no material conflict as to how the homicide occurred, the 400-page statement of facts will be summarized.
The appellant was the owner of eleven apartment houses in the City of Houston. He spent his time looking after his property and 'for my sport and hobby' maintained a string of racing horses, in charge of a trainer. During the four years preceding the homicide, the City Health Officer and his subordinates had made repeated visits to the appellant's real estate holdings in an effort to get him to repair sewer lines that were leaking and make other renovations which they considered necessary to protect the health of appellant's tenants and those residing in the vicinity. It is apparent from the appellant's testimony that he considered the actions of the city employees as an attempt on their part to meddle in his business and to persecute him.
On March 18, 1954, the City Health Officer sent the appellant a letter concerning one of his apartment houses, from which we quote in part:
'This building is a two-story box type house 20' by 20', with the outside covered with imitation brick composition siding. The roof is covered with composition roll roofing. The second floor is served by an outside stairway. The building is designed for and actually used for the occupancy of more than one family which is connected to a sanitary sewer and does not have properly installed in said building at least one commode in good working order for each eight (8) persons thereof living in said building. The upstairs portion of the building has a closet bowl only, with no closet tank. The commode is flushed with a bucket of water, not having water piped to the closet tank. The waste sewer lines from the closet, tub and basin do not comply with the plumbing code of the City of Houston, and the sanitary condition is terrible. The building has become so deteriorated through natural causes and by damages through lack of maintenance, upkeep and painting and thereby through exposure to the elements, especially wind and rain, to the extent that the roof, windows and doors or portions of the building which ordinarily protect the occupants from the weather, will no longer so reasonably protect the same. The stairs leading to the apartment above have rotten stringers and the landing is rotten and unsafe. The rafter ends are rotten and the rotten decking has no support. The doors, windows or other outside openings of the building are not reasonably screened against flies and other insects by screening in ordinary state of repair sufficient to reasonably protect the occupants. There are no windows or doorframes on the second floor. The second floor bathroom is in a leanto and has holes in the wall. The window screens are badly torn in this apartment and many window panes are broken out. * * * The building is maintained in a condition of filth and uncleanliness to such a degree and extent as to seriously hazard the health of persons living in such building. * * * The foregoing unsanitary, filthy and deteriorated condition of this building at 717 Tulane Street renders the occupancy of this building an extreme risk to public health and the continued existence of which filthy and unsanitary conditions will, under all probabilities, result in an injury to the health of the persons living in said building or to the public generally.
'I find that the only measure that would safely abolish this substandard building and health hazard located at 717 Tulane...
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