Miller v. State
| Decision Date | 02 April 1894 |
| Citation | 21 S.E. 128,94 Ga. 1 |
| Parties | MILLER v. STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
1. That a fellow prisoner in jail with the accused, who was charged with murder, asked him about the killing, and "told him he better tell the truth; the white folks were going to break somebody's neck," --did not, as matter of absolute law, render inadmissible confessions then and there made, in the presence and hearing of fellow prisoners only; the trial court ruling them prima facie competent, and in its charge leaving the jury to determine whether they were in fact made and instructing them properly upon their effect on condition that they appeared to have been free and voluntary.
2. After charging the jury substantially in the terms of the statute as to the prisoner's statement, there was no error, when charging the law of reasonable doubt, or upon other principles of law applicable, to instruct the jury that they should try the case by the evidence, or in failing to charge that they should consider the prisoner's statement along with the evidence. Vaughn v. State. 16 S.E 64, 88 Ga. 731. In the case of Washington v. State, 13 S.E. 131, 87 Ga. 12, where a recommendation as to the practice in such cases was made, the facts were entirely different from those of the case at bar.
3. There was no error requiring a new trial in any of the charges complained of as to admissions, confessions corroboration of the same, reasonable doubt, the prisoner's statement, and recent possession by the accused of goods which were in the possession of the deceased at the time of the homicide; the evidence warranted the verdict, and this court will not overrule the discretion of the trial judge in refusing to grant a new trial.
Error from superior court, Bibb county; C. L. Bartlett, Judge.
Henry Miller was convicted of murder, and brings error. Affirmed.
R. L. Anderson and W. J. Grace, for plaintiff in error.
W. H. Felton, Jr., Sol. Gen., and J. M. Terrell, Atty. Gen., for the State.
Henry Miller was indicted, jointly with one Boston, one Bird, and two Troutmans, for the murder of John Braswell. Miller was tried separately, and was found guilty. He made a motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and he excepted.
1. One Mosley testified that while he and one Bugg were confined as prisoners in the same cell with Miller, after the preliminary trial of Miller, Bugg asked Miller, "What about the killing?" and said, "he better tell the truth; the white folks were going to break somebody's neck," --whereupon Miller said that he shot Braswell, and Bird cut his throat; that Boston was present, but had nothing to do with it; that he (Miller) threw the gun away in the woods and went on home; that he got home just about day, and put into his trunk the flour which was taken from it at the time he was arrested. The first ground of the motion for a new trial assigns error upon the refusal of the court below to rule out this testimony, it being contended that Bugg's remark to the accused that he had better tell the truth, etc., rendered what was said by the latter inadmissible, under that section of the Code which declares that "to make a confession admissible, it must have been made voluntarily, without being induced by another by the slightest hope of benefit or remotest fear of injury." Section 3793. Undoubtedly, the statement to the person charged with crime that he had better tell the truth may, under some circumstances, amount to such an inducement as should exclude a confession made upon the strength of it; but, under the circumstances shown by the evidence in this case, we do not think that in this instance it should as a matter of law be held to constitute such an inducement. Counsel for the plaintiff in error relied upon the case of Green v. State, 88 Ga. 516, 15 S.E. 10 in which it was held that the court below erred in not excluding a confession which the accused was led to make by the statement...
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