Ryals v. State
| Decision Date | 21 September 1933 |
| Parties | RYALS et al. v. STATE. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Error to Circuit Court, Duval County; A. Z. Adkins, Judge.
Aaron Ryals, alias Arthur Ryals, and William Harris were convicted of manslaughter, and they bring error.
Reversed for a new trial.
COUNSEL Farris & Joel, of Jacksonville, for plaintiffs in error.
Cary D Landis, Atty. Gen., and Roy Campbell, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
Aaron Ryals, William Harris, and Augustus Harris were indicted in four counts on a charge of murder in the first degree. The first count charged all three as principals in the first degree in the slaying of one Ralph McRae in Jacksonville on June 8, 1932. The remaining counts charged first one and then another of the defendants as principals in the first degree, with the other two as principals in the second degree. The jury convicted Aaron Ryals and William Harris of Manslaughter. Augustus Harris, being a fugitive from justice at the time of the trial, was not placed on trial with the two convicted defendants who had been jointly indicted with him. On writ of error, the two defendants found guilty seek reversal of their convictions on the ground that the evidence is not sufficient in law to support the verdicts returned against them.
It was substantially proved at the trial that the fatal shots that killed McRae were fired by the defendant Augustus Harris, the man who fled the scene shortly after the shooting, and who was never thereafter apprehended. It is also reasonably clear that the shooting ensued as the result of a sudden encounter largely provoked by the deceased, McRae, who seemed to resent the openly expressed enthusiasm of Aaron Ryals, William Harris, and Augustus Harris over the outcome of Rex Sweat's candidacy for sheriff; the fatal encounter having occurred in Key's Chili Parlor on the night of the primary, and the participants being there for the purpose of refreshment while awaiting the completion of the election returns.
The rule in this state is that, before a person can be lawfully convicted as a principal in the second degree to a homicide he must not only be present aiding or abetting the killing by the actual perpetrator, but must also be a participant in the felonious design with which the killing is done. Savage v. State, 18 Fla. 909, text 960; Condron v State, 62 Tex. Cr. R. 485, 138 S.W. 594; Henry v State, 81 Fla. 763, 89 So. 136.
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Brown v. Crosby
...must both intend that the crime be committed and do some act to assist the other person in actually committing the crime. Ryals v. State, 112 Fla. 4, 150 So. 132 (1933); Collins v. State, 438 So.2d 1036 (Fla. 2d DCA Here, the principal piece of evidence linking Brown to the asserted shooter......
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Barron v. State
..."[must] do some act to assist the other person in actually committing the crime." Staten, 519 So.2d at 624 (citing Ryals v. State, 112 Fla. 4, 150 So. 132 (1933)). It also is settled that the "criminal offense" referenced in section 777.011 is the criminal offense for which the defendant is......
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Wright v. State
...kill the deceased, or know that the person aided entertained such design." (emphasis supplied). Later cases, see e. g., Ryals v. State, 112 Fla. 4, 150 So. 132 (1933); Hutchinson v. State, 309 So.2d 184 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), citing to Henry and Savage, abbreviate those holdings with the stat......
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...one must intend that the crime be committed and do some act to assist the other person in actually committing the crime. Ryals v. State, 112 Fla. 4, 150 So. 132 (1933); Collins v. State, 438 So.2d 1036 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Chaudoin v. State, 362 So.2d 398 (Fla. 2d DCA Clearly, the getaway dr......