People v. Pettijohn, 126.
| Citation | 277 N.W. 193,283 Mich. 108 |
| Decision Date | 19 January 1938 |
| Docket Number | No. 126.,126. |
| Parties | PEOPLE v. PETTIJOHN et al. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Michigan |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Jesse Pettijohn and Lawrence Madden were convicted of entering into a conspiracy to commit murder, and they appeal.
Affirmed.
Appeal from Recorder's Court of Detroit; John J. Maher, judge.
Argued before the Entire Bench.
John J. O'Hara, of Menominee, and Daniel J. O'Hara, of Detroit, for appellants.
Raymond W. Starr, Atty. Gen., and Duncan C. McCrea, Pros. Atty. for Wayne County, and William L. Brunner and William E. Dowling, Asst. Pros. Attys. for Wayne County, all of Detroit, for the People.
Jesse Pettijohn and Lawrence Madden were found guilty on a charge of entering into a conspiracy to kill and murder William Voisine on the 1st day of January, 1936, and divers other days and dates up to and including the 1st day of May, 1936, in the city of Detroit. Voisine at that time was mayor of the village of Ecorse, in which city both defendants resided. It was the claim of plaintiff, as borne out by the testimony, that defendants with one John Bannerman, Dayton Dean, Ervin Lee, and Frederick Gulley, and others, were members of a secret society called the Black Legion; that the society would perpetrate murder for a consideration or some other reason at the request of its members; that Voisine was violently disliked by both defendants, who desired and plotted with the other conspirators to bring about his death. The entire story sounds so barbaric that it almost seems incredible, unless regarded as a scheme devised by psychopaths. On the other hand, positive testimony links defendants with active participationin a conspiracy to murder Voisine, and had it not been the latter's good fortune to be absent at certain times and places, defendants might have been charged with murder instead of conspiracy to commit murder.
In the presentation of its case, the prosecution first showed that Harvey Davis met Dayton Dean in the restroom of the Findlater Temple of Detroit and asked him whether he wanted to make some easy money, from $100 to $200, by killing Voisine. Neither Pettijohn nor Madden was present at this meeting, nor is there any testimony to connect them with it. Shortly thereafter, however, both respondents met with Dean, Lee, and Davis, and others, at a beer garden in Ecorse. The testimony shows that Davis, Dean, and Pettijohn went to the basement where Pettijohn was first assured by Davis that Dean could be relied on and was to do the job; that upon inquiry being made by Davis if he had located Voisine, Pettijohn stated that they had been unsuccessful all evening in the attempt to locate him, but they would keep on trying. Dean then stated to Pettijohn that he did not come there to ‘fool,’ that he had orders to kill Voisine, that Pettijohn was the man who wanted him killed, and it was up to Pettijohn to find him and the others would do the job. Pettijohn stated that he would like to do the job himself, but could not do it. It was not shown that Madden or Pettijohn offered Dean any money.
Another meeting took place at the same beer garden where Dean, Lee, and Davis found Madden. Dean testified that he told Madden that he had a gun to get Voisine that night and wanted Madden to find Pettijohn because he would know where to find Voisine. The four thereupon went to a hall in Ecorse where a political meeting was in progress, but Pettijohn had not arrived there. After making a further search for him, they returned to the hall and talked over their plans. The testimony shows that at this time Madden told Dean that his wife had been working as a nurse for Voisine and that he was the ‘stool pigeon’ between Voisine and Pettijohn. Some time later, Pettijohn appeared. He was informed that Dean was armed. However, they were unable to find Voisine that evening.
Dean resided on Twenty-Third street in the city of Detroit. The record shows that some time in March or April, 1936, Madden, Pettijohn, and Davis drove to Dean's home, and that Madden alighted from the car and went to the house to summon Dean and inform him that Pettijohn and Davis were out in the car and wanted to speak to him. When Dean came out, a conversation took place in which Pettijohn stated that there was to be a budget meeting of the village council that night in Ecorse, and it would be a good time to find Voisine. Dean was to meet Pettijohn at his store at 7 o'clock that evening to learn whether the budget meeting would be held. That evening Dean and one Claimont drove to Pettijohn's store in Ecorse and Pettijohn told Dean that the budget meeting would not take place. Dean thereupon told Pettijohn that he had been delegated to kill Voisine, and it was up to Pettijohn to locate him. Dean and two others drove to the home of Voisine in Ecorse and Dean with one Henderson, with drawn revolvers, knocked at the door of Voisine's home, but no one answered. Dean thereupon walked around the house and looked through the windows, but no one was there. Dean and his associates thereupon returned to Detroit. It is unnecessary to recite further details of the conspiracy. If the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses is true, there can be no question but that Pettijohn and Madden were parties to the conspiracy.
The motive for getting rid of Voisine was testified to by Dean as follows:
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The motive for Madden's participation was an intense dislike for Voisine and his association with Pettijohn. The testimony of Dean is corroborated by that of John Bannerman, Ervin Lee, and Fred Gulley. Dean, Bannerman, and Lee are serving life sentences for two other murders. Gulley also was serving a term in the penitentiary for ‘false imprisonment’ at the time of the trial. One other witness...
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People ex rel. Winkle v. Bannan, 58
...Its activities were well known in the state through trials or examinations held in Detroit and vicinity. See the record in People v. Pettijohn, 283 Mich. 108 (October 1937, Docket No 126) a case charging conspiracy to murder the mayor of Ecorse; the record in People v. Lee, 334 Mich. 217 (A......
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People v. Meredith
...be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in which an overt act occurred in furtherance of the conspiracy. Ranney, supra; People v. Pettijohn, 283 Mich. 108, 114, 277 N.W. 193 (1938); People v. Arnold, 46 Mich. 268, 275, 9 N.W. 406 (1881). We can find no basis for the proposition that the law regar......
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People v. Schram, 73
...of testimony is solely for the jury--since this is not actually in issue, but the principle is reaffirmed in People v. Pettijohn (1938), 283 Mich. 108, 277 N.W. 193, People v. Moore (1943), 306 Mich. 29, 10 N.W.2d 296, People v. Ranney (1943), 304 Mich. 315, page 320, 8 N.W.2d 80, page '* *......
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People v. Batten
...the conspiracy be not shown, the jury is instructed to disregard the declarations." This rule was also approved in People v. Pettijohn (1938), 283 Mich. 108, 115, 277 N.W. 193, where the Court specifically acknowledged the conditional reception of evidence as 'The testimony was conditionall......