People v. Miller
| Decision Date | 28 January 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 69--130,69--130 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joe S. MILLER, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Joe S. Miller, Robert L. Ellison, Rock Island, for defendant-appellant.
James N. DeWulf, State's Atty., Rock Island, for plaintiff-appellee.
Defendant Joe S. Miller was found guilty by a jury of the crime of Voluntary Manslaughter by reason of the shooting of John Henderson in an automobile service station in Rock Island. The shooting occurred as a culmination of disputes and fights between two family groups which had been going on during the day. Following conviction, defendant was sentenced from 10 to 20 years.
On the basis of the record, it appears that around 2:00 P.M. on September 21, 1969, Pearlie Henderson and Leona Miller got into a fight about Raymond Smith. As a result of the fight Pearlie was stabbed in the arm with a pair of scissors. When Raymond Smith heard of this stabbing he went to the home of defendant, Joe S. Miller, to talk with him. As Smith returned to his automobile, a fight developed and Smith hit Miller on the head, cutting him. Some witnesses stated that Smith caused the fight and others stated that Miller was the cause. Miller's daughter, Deanna Fleming, took her father to the hospital and then to a doctor to be treated. In the meantime, Smith went to the hospital to see Pearlie Henderson and while he was returning home, Thornlee Miller, a son of defendant, followed Smith in an automobile and struck the rear of the Smith car causing Smith to have an accident. From this point on, many people in the respective families seemed to arrive. Thornlee got out of his car with his brother, Leo, and a cousin, David Broadnax. They also had with them a German Shepherd dog, which Smith testified chased him up on the top of his car. Smith's brother, James, was passing by and saw the conflict and got out of his car along with friends, Gary Day, Henry Henderson, and the deceased John Henderson. A melee erupted and all the parties including the dog ran into a Clark Service Station nearby. The Miller faction had a fist fight with the Smith-Henderson faction in the service station. While the fight was going on, Deanna Fleming, who was taking her father home from the doctor, drove by. She recognized her brother's car and stopped to see what was the trouble. There is conflict in the testimony as to what happened thereafter.
The Smith-Henderson people and certain independent bystanders testified that defendant got out of the car and walked into the station with a rifle, and fired at John Henderson, fatally wounding him. Pearlie Henderson, the daughter of deceased, who witnessed the shooting from just inside the door testified that as defendant entered he said, .
An independent witness testified that she saw the fight develop as Raymond Smith got out of the car and had an encounter with the dog. She saw about 10 people go into the station and begin fighting. She then said she saw defendant get out of his car with a gun, and when someone asked him what he was going to do, he answered, 'I'm going to kill them all'. This witness also testified that defendant went into the Clark station and fired one shot, and she saw Mr. Henderson fall in the corner. This witness also testified that the only woman she saw go into the station prior to the shooting was Pearlie Henderson; that when defendant got out of the car, defendant walked straight to the station.
A 14-year old girl who saw the incident from across the street testified that defendant was about a foot or two outside the door when he fired the shot. A witness, who was part of the Smith-Henderson faction, stated that the deceased was standing in the front part of the back room of the station with his hands down and not fighting anyone when defendant entered and fired a shot inside the station. The bullet, after passing through the decedent, struck this witness. Another one of the Smiths testified that he saw defendant fire the shot while defendant was inside the station.
Another independent witness also testified that he ran to the station to see what was going on and saw defendant get out of his car and walk to the station, and then go inside, raise the gun and fire it. He said someone shouted, 'What are you going to do?', and the man with the gun answered, 'I'm going to kill him'. Other witnesses corroborated the testimony of such witnsesses, indicating that defendant's such witnesses, indicating that defendant's after her father.
Police officers who investigated the situation testified as to the location of the body of Henderson and one officer testified that he found a shell casing about 21 feet outside, from the front door of the station. The officer also stated that defendant remarked after his arrest, 'I meant to kill him'.
On behalf of the defense, three members of the Miller faction, the defendant, his daughter Deanna Fleming, and his son Thornlee Miller, testified that just prior to the firing of the shot, Deanna Fleming was being choked by the deceased while stretched out on the floor. These witnesses testified in substance that the defendant was heard to say, 'Let her go', just before the shot was fired. Deanna Fleming stated that John Henderson, the deceased, knocked her to the floor and grabbed her around the throat and shook her and swung her back and forth while she lay on her stomach.
Joe Miller, the defendant, testified. He denied making any of the statements about killing anyone which were testified to by other witnesses although he did admit that he told one officer, 'I intended to kill him'. Defendant testified that he saw his daughter go into the station and saw Henderson knock her down and then reached for his gun and started for the station. As he approached the station, he testified, he saw Henderson choking his daughter and swinging her from side to side. When he got about 15 or 20 feet from the station he stated that he shouted, 'Let her go', and when Henderson did not respond he fired at him, and then ejected the shell which flew over his shoulder. He also testified that when he fired the shot at the deceased, he thought his daughter was dead already from the chocking.
The jury which tried the case found defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter and he was thereafter sentenced to a term of 10 to 20 years in the penitentiary.
It is first contended that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed the crime of voluntary...
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