Sampson v. State

Citation160 Tex.Crim. 302,268 S.W.2d 661
Decision Date25 November 1953
Docket NumberNo. 26604,26604
PartiesSAMPSON v. STATE.
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Henry E. Doyle, Francis L. Williams, Bernard A. Golding, Houston, for appellant.

William H. Scott, Dist. Atty., King C. Haynie, Asst. Dist. Atty., Houston, Wesley Dice, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

MORRISON, Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, death.

It was shown that Mrs. McCasland, while working in a flower shop alone, met her death on January 6, 1953, between 3:00 and 3:35 p.m. as the result of a gunshot wound. The money from the flower shop was taken. There is some evidence that she received other wounds than those caused by the firing of a weapon.

The appellant and his co-indictee were arrested on suspicion of another offense on January 7. At 2:00 a.m. on January 12 appellant confessed that he and his co-indictee had committed the murder.

Appellant's confession recited that some three months prior to the homicide he had visited in the home of his cousin at Richmond in Fort Bend County, and while there he had stolen a .22 caliber pistol; that on January 6 he had taken his pistol and gone to the home of Willie Gilbert, and they had discussed robbing someone; that the two of them had gone in Willie's automobile back to appellant's home, where they had gotten a stick with a chunk of iron on the end of it, which they agreed that Willie was to use in the robbery; that they drove by a flower shop and saw that there was no one there but a woman; that as they entered appellant asked for change for a $5 bill, and when the woman turned for the change Willie struck her with the iron on the end of the stick; that he hit her again, and she fell to the floor; whereupon, appellant walked over to her and fired a bullet through her head at close range. After this, appellant got the money out of the box on the desk, and the two of them left the flower shop and divided the money. The confession continues to relate that he carried the stick back home and put it under the bed; that he carried the pistol down to the end of Paul Quinn Street and threw it into the woods; that thereafter he told the officers about it, and they had gone and gotten the stick and exhibited it to him.

Isiah Ford, a resident of Richmond in Fort Bend County, testified that appellant was his wife's cousin-in-law; that appellant had visited in his home sometime before the date charged in the indictment; and that after the appellant left he looked for his .22 caliber pistol and found that it was gone.

Sheriff Kern testified that he went to the scene of the homicide, found a bullet or slug on the floor, and from his observations of the wounds on the body of deceased instituted a search for a gun and a club; that he went to appellant's home and found a club with an iron nut on the end of it. Both the bullet and club were brought to the Department of Public Safety in Austin for testing. Experts from that department testified that the bullet or slug had come from a .22 caliber firearm and that the club had human blood on the iron end of it. The pistol was never found, even though the area of the bayou was searched.

Appellant's defense was that of alibi, and he was in a measure supported by some of his witnesses.

Unless the confession was inadmissible as a matter of law, the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction.

We shall attempt to apply the undisputed evidence rule as adopted by this Court and the Supreme Court of the United States.

These facts, which would raise a question as to the admissibility of the confession, are undisputed:

1. Appellant was arrested without a warrant and was not taken before a magistrate following his arrest and prior to the making of the confession.

2. Appellant was carried by the officers out of the jail in an effort to locate the pistol used in the murder.

3. Appellant did not receive any visitors while in jail prior to the making of the confession.

The appellant's testimony did not raise the issue of long and uninterrupted questioning. He claimed only brutality, which he said was inflicted upon him right up until shortly before he confessed. Appellant testified that the officers hit him over the head with a piece of pipe and a hose. Each of the officers named by the appellant denied that he struck the appellant at any time while he was in their custody or that he had inflicted any brutality upon him in any manner.

It is further undisputed that the appellant was taken immediately after he confessed to the hospital, where he was given a physical examination by a doctor. The doctor testified that he saw no bruises or evidence of any violence having been inflicted upon the appellant and that he examined his head and body thoroughly. The doctor testified that he found only one break in the skin of appellant and that was a small ulcer on his left shin. Appellant offered a witness who saw him shortly after the confession was made and who testified that he saw some scratches on his legs just above the ankle.

Mr. Estes, a newspaper reporter, testified without objection that he was present when a search for the pistol was in progress and that the appellant, who was at the scene of the search, told him that he thought the pistol had hit a tree when he threw it away and might have fallen in the bayou, and was also present later when the appellant made the confession; that he witnessed the same; that he read each sentence of the confession to the appellant, asked him if he understood the meaning of the sentence, and if it was correct; and that the appellant had answered in the affirmative to each question. Estes testified that he saw no marks of violence or injuries on the person of the appellant at that time. The two other men present when the confession was made had not been active in the investigation of the case against the appellant. One of them, Mr. Albertson, testified that he questioned the appellant specifically about mistreatment and that the appellant told him 'that he felt better by going ahead and admitting it.'

We return to the enumerated undisputed facts:

1. Appellant was arrested without a warrant and was not carried forthwith before a magistrate.

It has been the consistent holding of this Court, and of the Supreme Court of the United States in passing on State court cases, that the rule in McNabb v. U.S., 318 U.S. 332, 63 S.Ct. 608, 87 L.Ed. 819, does not apply and that the failure to take an accused forthwith before a magistrate does not in itself standing alone vitiate a confession. Dimery v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 240 S.W.2d 293; Gallegos v. State of Nebraska, 342 U.S. 55, 72 S.Ct. 141, 96 L.Ed. 86; Shook v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 244 S.W.2d 220; Leviness v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 247 S.W.2d 115; Golemon v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 247 S.W.2d 119 (writ of certiorari denied); Gasway v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 248 S.W.2d 942 (writ of certiorari denied); Paris v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 249 S.W.2d 217 (writ of certiorari denied); Hulen v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 250 S.W.2d 211; Stroble v. State of California, 343 U.S. 181, 72 S.Ct. 599, 96 L.Ed. 872; Stein v. People of State of New York, 346 U.S. 156, 73 S.Ct. 1077, 97 L.Ed. 1522.

2. Appellant was taken out of jail by the officers.

In connection with this fact, it is important to note that it is also undisputed that there were present at such time at least two newspaper reporters, one of whom talked to the appellant out of the hearing of the officers, at which time the appellant told the reporter that no brutality had been threatened or inflicted upon him by the officers.

3. Appellant received no visitors during his confinement in jail.

Jailer McAlpine testified that he...

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11 cases
  • Ciulla v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
    • 29 Noviembre 1968
    ...Brown v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 322, 313 S.W.2d 297 (1958); Gomez v. State, 163 Tex.Cr.R. 469, 293 S.W.2d 657 (1956); Sampson v. State, 160 Tex.Cr.R. 302, 268 S.W.2d 661 (1953). In the absence of evidence that appellant refused to sign a citation to appear or failed to demand that he be taken......
  • Gilbert v. Beto
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. Southern District of Texas
    • 31 Julio 1967
    ...Maurice Sampson, his co-indictee, was convicted and sentenced to death. Both convictions were affirmed on appeal. Sampson v. State, 160 Tex. Cr.R. 302, 268 S.W.2d 661 (1953); Gilbert v. State, 159 Tex.Cr.R. 424, 265 S.W.2d 110 (1953). Sampson was electrocuted in 1954, and now, after serving......
  • Collins v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • 2 Octubre 1961
    ...293; Golemon v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 534, 247 S.W.2d 119, certiorari denied, 344 U.S. 847, 73 S.Ct. 60, 97 L.Ed. 659; Sampson v. State, 160 Tex.Cr.R. 302, 268 S.W.2d 661; Gallegos v. State of Nebraska, 342 U.S. 55, 72 S.Ct. 141, 96 L.Ed. 86; Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.......
  • Ortega v. State, 43317
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • 24 Febrero 1971
    ...Brown v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 322, 313 S.W.2d 297 (1958); Gomez v. State, 163 Tex.Cr.R. 469, 293 S.W.2d 657 (1956); Sampson v. State, 160 Tex.Cr.R. 302, 268 S.W.2d 661 (1953).' Further, in 51 Tex.Jur.2d, Sec. 46, p. 731, it is 'To justify the admission of evidence obtained by a search, the ......
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