People v. Crawford, No. 26439
| Docket Nº | No. 26439 |
| Citation | 191 Colo. 540, 553 P.2d 827 |
| Case Date | September 07, 1976 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Colorado |
Page 827
v.
Burnice Allen CRAWFORD, Defendant-Appellant.
[191 Colo. 505]
Page 828
John P. Moore, Atty. Gen., John E. Bush, John R. Rodman, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for plaintiff-appellee.Ashen & Fogel, William L. Keating, Denver, for defendant-appellant.
LEE, Justice.
Defendant Burnice Crawford was charged with the first-degree murder of Kenneth Baxter, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, C.R.S.1963, 40--2--5. 1 We affirmed.
Testimony at trial revealed that defendant and decedent were both middle-aged divorced men who jointly rented an apartment. Though generally on friendly terms, they often quarreled and argued, and on several occasions decedent had in anger slapped defendant. Baxter was a taller and stronger man than defendant.
The killing occurred on June 16, 1972. At approximately 6:30 p.m., defendant and a neighbor, Raymond Basford, entered the apartment, having just purchased various food items at a supermarket, which they intended to prepare for dinner. Baxter was in the kitchen when they arrived, and he and defendant became embroiled in an argument over whether [191 Colo. 506] defendant had paid Baxter for some vodka. According to defendant's testimony, Baxter called him a liar and slapped him on the side of the face, knocking him against the refrigerator.
Defendant testified further as follows. After being struck, he feared further abuse; so he locked himself in his bedroom. He then saw his sixteen-gauge shotgun in the corner and decided to 'bluff' Baxter rather than let Baxter strike him again. Exiting the bedroom, he saw Baxter coming rapidly toward him in an angry manner, cursing. He begged the latter to stop and instinctively threw up his hand, which held the gun, to shield himself. The weapon discharged, three or four feet from decedent's throat, fatally wounding him. Defendant testified that he had not intended to kill decedent, and did not intentionally pull the trigger. Though in a state of disbelief as to what he had done, he promptly called the police to report the incident.
The neighbor, Basford, who was present during these events but who did not actually witness the shooting, stated that he heard the parties argue, and that defendant had said, 'Ken, apologize to me or I'll kill you.' According to Basford, decedent thereafter said 'Just forget it. * * * We'll talk about it tomorrow. * * *' Perhaps thirty seconds later, he saw defendant, with the gun, run into the living room, followed by Baxter, and then a shot went off. When he hurried into the living room, said Basford, defendant exclaimed, 'He was going to hit me.'
Defendant denied that he had threatened to kill Baxter. Three witnesses, some of whom were acquainted with both defendant and decedent, testified that Basford's reputation for truth and veracity was bad and that...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Kogan v. People, No. 85SC489
...A criminal defendant has the right to conduct liberal cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 506, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976). "Absent a showing of abuse or manifest prejudice, limitation of cross-examination does not constitute reversible error.&qu......
-
People v. Taggart, No. 80SA32
...v. People, 196 Colo. 522, 587 P.2d 1196 (1978); People v. Moreno, 192 Colo. 314, 558 P.2d 440 (1976); People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 553 P.2d 827 Page 1386 C. The Redirect Examination of Donna Taggart The defendant argues that the trial court erred by allowing Donna Taggart to testify o......
-
People v. Pratt, No. 86SA401
...whether to allow this type of cross-examination is within the discretion of the trial court, People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 507, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976); see People v. Raffaelli, 647 P.2d 230, 234 (Colo.1982), the conduct inquired into nevertheless must be probative of the truthfulness......
-
People v. Houser, No. 09CA2147.
...Idrogo v. People, 818 P.2d 752, 754 (Colo.1991); People v. R.V., 635 P.2d 892, 894 (Colo.1981); People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 507, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976); Blincoe v. People, 178 Colo. 34, 38, 494 P.2d 1285, 1287 (1972). While courts must tailor instructions to the facts at trial, ins......
-
Kogan v. People, No. 85SC489
...A criminal defendant has the right to conduct liberal cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 506, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976). "Absent a showing of abuse or manifest prejudice, limitation of cross-examination does not constitute reversible error.&qu......
-
People v. Taggart, No. 80SA32
...v. People, 196 Colo. 522, 587 P.2d 1196 (1978); People v. Moreno, 192 Colo. 314, 558 P.2d 440 (1976); People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 553 P.2d 827 Page 1386 C. The Redirect Examination of Donna Taggart The defendant argues that the trial court erred by allowing Donna Taggart to testify o......
-
People v. Pratt, No. 86SA401
...whether to allow this type of cross-examination is within the discretion of the trial court, People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 507, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976); see People v. Raffaelli, 647 P.2d 230, 234 (Colo.1982), the conduct inquired into nevertheless must be probative of the truthfulness......
-
People v. Houser, No. 09CA2147.
...Idrogo v. People, 818 P.2d 752, 754 (Colo.1991); People v. R.V., 635 P.2d 892, 894 (Colo.1981); People v. Crawford, 191 Colo. 504, 507, 553 P.2d 827, 829 (1976); Blincoe v. People, 178 Colo. 34, 38, 494 P.2d 1285, 1287 (1972). While courts must tailor instructions to the facts at trial, ins......