Myers v. State
| Decision Date | 29 November 1947 |
| Citation | 206 S.W.2d 30,185 Tenn. 264 |
| Parties | MYERS v. STATE. |
| Court | Tennessee Supreme Court |
Error to Circuit Court, Greene County; Shelburne Ferguson, Judge.
Arthur Myers was convicted of murder in the second degree, and he brings error.
Reversed and remanded.
B. B. Fraker, Willis Jaynes, John A. Armstrong and J. W. Kilgo, all of Greeneville, and Jenkins & Jenkins, of Knoxville, for plaintiff in error.
Nat Tipton, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
Myers was indicted, tried and convicted for the homicide of Abe Blankenship, the conviction being for murder in the second degree, with the maximum punishment fixed at 18 years.
Myers a farmer and cattle buyer, was 53 years of age. For many years he had been what we term 'a courtesy deputy sheriff.' Apparently the only reason for this position was to permit him to carry a pistol in his rounds as a cattle buyer in the tough part of the county. We know of no authority whereby one may carry a pistol under such conditions but be that as it may, this is the reason given for his carrying one.
On the morning of July 11, 1946, after helping dig a basement for a house he was building, he drove his truck into the town of Greeneville to purchase cement etc., to build a wall in this basement. He parked his truck back of a local hardware store, went to the bank and talked with various acquaintances before going to the local Greene County Courthouse where the homicide took place. After entering the Courthouse, he sat around a while and talked to a friend. He then started to leave the Courthouse by the front door and as he was going down the steps he noticed the butt of the pistol he was carrying sticking out of his front pocket. In order that this pistol would not show he started to place it differently in his pocket when it discharged, the bullet breaking his leg and lodging in the flesh. By the time this happened he was near the bottom step. As his leg was broken he sank to one knee and pitched forward a few feet onto the lap of the deceased. They struggled over the pistol and the deceased was shot and died as a result thereof the following day. The above narration is from Myer's account of the homicide.
The state's witnesses say that the first they knew was that they heard a muffled noise as a fire cracker going off when they looked around and saw Myers sink to one knee and reel or fall forward toward the deceased with his pistol pointed at the deceased. They then relate the struggle about as did Myers. The deceased had no weapon but was apparently struggling with Myers to keep from getting shot. As soon as the deceased was shot one time, Myers' pistol was given by him to a deputy sheriff who was present. Myers told those present to take a pistol from the deceased and said at the time 'there is the damned son-of-a-bitch that caused the trouble' indicating the deceased.
The state's witnesses indicate that Myers shot the deceased deliberately after he, Myers, was shot in the leg when he was trying to place the gun in his pocket. One of the prosecution witnesses says Myers accused the deceased of breaking his leg.
Myers testifies on direct examination that the deceased had been the instigator of 21 separate lawsuits against him but that in each instance he, Myers, had won. He further said that various people had told him the deceased had 'said he was going to kill me'. Two such instances had been communicated to Myers on the day of the homicide. On the morning of the homicide he had taken one of these witnesses to a lawyer's office and had this threat put in affidavit form. The above statements were admitted in evidence.
Myers offered as a witness on his behalf the mother-in-law of the deceased. She testified the deceased said: 'Mamma have you seen big Arthur lately, and I said, 'No, Abe, I haven't saw him for a week or two' and he said, the damned rascal is running around trying to validate my oath and I will kill him.' She then says she communicated this information to Myers with the admonition 'to watch and be careful'. This was after the 21 lawsuits and shortly before the homicide.
On motion of the District Attorney General, this testimony of the deceased's mother-in-law was stricken and not admitted because no plea of self-defense was interposed. Exception was taken to this action of the court and is now assigned as error.
The only plea filed by the defendant was that of 'Not guilty.' In his testimony he had insisted that the shooting was an accident which occurred in the struggle over the pistol after he was shot in the leg. He had insisted that he, Myers, had nothing against the deceased and did not know the deceased was...
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State v. Stephenson
...(citing Crawford v. State, 44 Tenn. 190, 194-195 (Tenn.1867); Green v. State, 154 Tenn. 26, 285 S.W. 554 (1926); Myers v. State, 185 Tenn. 264, 206 S.W.2d 30 (1947); Harbison v. Briggs Paint Co., 209 Tenn. 534, 354 S.W.2d 464 (1962)). In our view, the prosecutor's remarks served only to emp......
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State v. Johnson, No. W2003-02349-CCA-R3-CD (TN 10/1/2004), W2003-02349-CCA-R3-CD
...2001); see also Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-203(c),(d). A defendant is not required to enter a plea of self-defense. See Myers v. State, 185 Tenn. 264, 206 S.W.2d 30 (1947). In Myers, our supreme court stated "It is not true, as an abstract principle of law, that a plea of self-defense, in a pr......
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Medina v. State
...well-settled that a criminal defendant is entitled to an instruction on every issue raised by the evidence. See Myers v. State, 185 Tenn. 264, 206 S.W.2d 30, 31-32 (Tenn. 1947) (holding that a defendant is entitled to an affirmative instruction on self-defense if raised by the evidence). A ......
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State v. Sparkman
...and essential to a fair trial. . . ." State v. Anderson, 985 S.W.2d 9, 17 (Tenn. Crim. App.1997). See also Myers v. State, 185 Tenn. 264, 206 S.W.2d 30, 31-32 (Tenn. 1947) (holding that a defendant is entitled to an affirmative instruction on self-defense if raised by the evidence) and T.C.......