Pressley v. State

• Decision Date: 14 April 1910
• Citation: 166 Ala. 17,52 So. 337
• Parties: PRESSLEY v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

52 So. 337

166 Ala. 17

PRESSLEY v. STATE.

Supreme Court of Alabama

April 14, 1910

Appeal from City Court of Talladega; G. K. Miller, Judge.

Olin Pressley, alias, etc., was convicted of murder, and he appeals. Affirmed.

The errors insisted upon sufficiently appear in the opinion of the court. The following charges were refused to the defendant: (1) General affirmative charge. (2) "The mere fact that Cicero Culberson was at his house did not justify him in attacking the defendant, or in killing him without cause; and if he did so, and if the evidence shows that Cicero attacked defendant, and shot at him with a pistol, and that defendant did not bring on the difficulty, then the defendant had the right of self-defense; and if it reasonably appeared to the defendant as a reasonable man that his life was in danger, or he was in imminent danger of life or limb at the hands of Cicero Culberson, the defendant would have the right to shoot, even to death, the said Culberson, if the jury believe from the evidence that the defendant was not at fault in bringing on the difficulty."

M. D Ivey, for appellant.

Alexander M. Garber, Atty. Gen., and Marion H. Sims, Sol., for the State.

EVANS J.

The defendant was indicted on the 8th day of September, 1909, in the city court of Talladega, by the grand jury thereof. On the 13th day of September, 1909, he was duly arraigned according to law, and pleaded "not guilty." All the orders of court appear regular, and according to law, upon the record. On the 4th day of October, 1909, the day regularly set for his trial, he was tried and convicted of murder in the second degree. On the trial, the defendant reserved exceptions to the ruling of the trial court on the admissibility of certain evidence, and to a certain part of the oral charge, and to the refusal of the court to give written charges Nos. 1 and 2, asked by defendant. We will consider the exceptions in the order in which they arose on the trial of the case.

On examination of defendant's witness P. C. McKinney, alias Lewis Brown, by the defendant, said witness testified "that he saw a fuss or difficulty between defendant and deceased; that this fuss occurred about three hours before the shooting; and that in said difficulty he saw deceased hit defendant with a stick." The solicitor objected to going into the details of this difficulty which took place about three hours before the shooting by which deceased was killed. The court sustained the objection, and the defendant excepted. It is a well settled rule of law in this state that, while the fact that there was a former difficulty may be proved to show motive or malice, yet the details of such difficulty cannot be proved. Jones v. State, 116 Ala. 468, 23 So. 135; Martin v. State, 77 Ala. 2. The defendant then offered to exhibit a stick, and to prove by the same witness that about three hours before the shooting deceased struck defendant twice with said stick, and ran defendant under the house, and ran after him. The court sustained the objection of the state to the introduction...