Patton v. State, 2 Div. 208.

• Court: Supreme Court of Alabama
• Citation: 21 So.2d 844,246 Ala. 639
• Docket Number: 2 Div. 208.
• Parties: PATTON v. STATE.
• Decision Date: 26 April 1945

21 So.2d 844

246 Ala. 639

PATTON
v.
STATE.

2 Div. 208.

Supreme Court of Alabama

April 26, 1945

[246 Ala. 641] [21 So.2d 845]

T. G. Gayle, of Selma, and J. Fred Wood, of Centerville, for appellant.

Wm. N. McQueen, Acting Atty. Gen., and John O. Harris, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

[246 Ala. 640]

The trial was had upon an indictment charging the killing of James C. Findlay, alias Finlay, by shooting him with a gun, cutting or stabbing him with a knife or striking him with a club.

The judgment entry recites that 'the defendant being in open court, and attended by his attorneys, was asked by the Court if he had anything to say why the sentence of

the law should not now be pronounced upon him, says nothing. It is therefore considered by the Court, and it is the order, judgment, and sentence of the Court, that the said defendant, Ed Lucky Patton, alias, Oliver Patton, as a punishment for this offense, of which he has been convicted by the jury, and of which he has been adjudged guilty by the Court, be put to death on Friday, January 19th, 1945,' in manner and mode required by law.

The newspaper article made the basis of the motion for change of venue is as follows:

[246 Ala. 641] 'Oliver Patton, negro, was indicted by the Hale County Grand Jury on Tuesday of this week on two first degree murder charges in the death of two white men, James Findlay, 37, of Moundville, and John Parker, 39, of Cypress.

'The Double killing took place at 10 o'clock last Friday morning at Mr. Findlay's farm near Cypress, on the A.G.S. Railroad, and Patton, known as 'Ed Lucky' Patton, was arrested a few hours later near Akron.

'Mr. Findlay, a prominent Moundville merchant and farmer, who had been out of the Navy only two months, and Mr. Parker, a Cypress farmer, were shot and beaten to death by the negro, who confessed to Sheriff Wynne Coleman.

'The two white men were seeing about a tractor at the time of the killing. It is understood that Mr. Findlay had had an argument over a half-ton of fertilizer with Patton, who had been living on the former's place. A small negro witnessed part of the trouble, and he said that, after an exchange of some words, the negro stabbed Mr. Findlay, and then went into his house, grabbed a shotgun, and fired a load of buckshot at each of the men. He then apparently grabbed a stick of wood, and beat the men over the head. Andrew Taylor was only a short distance away and he heard the shots, but before he reached the scene the negro had fled, Mr. Findlay was dead, and Mr. Parker died a few minutes later.

'A manhunt was immediately organized under the direction of Sheriff Coleman, with State Highway partolmen blocking all roads. The negro, who fled across the fields, was arrested early in the afternoon by Ed Ramey and William Seale, of Akron. He is reported to have gone into a store to buy some turpentine, which he planned to use on his feet in throwing bloodhounds off his trail.

'Sheriff Coleman brought Patton to Greensboro immediately, but he hesitated here only a few seconds, going on to an unannounced place of safekeeping. While indignation ran high, especially in the Moundville-Akron area, there was no trouble, and the negro was merely carried out of the county to avoid any semblance of trouble.

'The Grand Jury, which met only last week, was called back from its recess by Judge Lila Moore, of Centerville, and on Tuesday of this week it indicted Patton on first degree murder charges in each case. While the trial has not been set, it is presumed that it will be held some time during the week of criminal court, which opens on Nov. 13.

'Mr. Findlay was one of Moundville's most popular young citizens. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, the Lions Club, and the Masonic Lodge, and he was formerly a member of the Town Council, a position which he resigned when he entered the Navy. He owned Findlay's Store and managed a farm near Cypress. He is survived by his wife, the former Lillian Allen; two sons, Carey and Charles; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Findlay, of Moundville; two sisters, Mrs. F. G. Martin, of Birmingham, and Miss Alice Findlay, of Camden, and one brother, John Findlay, Jr., of Mobile.

'Mr. Parker was a well-known farmer of the Cypress community. He was highly respected by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife and seven children.'

SIMPSON, Justice.

Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and from a sentence of death brings this appeal.

His principal insistence of error is the refusal of the trial court to grant his application for a change of venue. The burden is upon the defendant to show to the reasonable satisfaction of the court that an impartial trial and...