Smith v. Lawrence

• Decision Date: 20 July 1942
• Docket Number: No. 10107.,10107.
• Parties: SMITH v. LAWRENCE, Warden.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

128 F.2d 822 (1942)

SMITH v. LAWRENCE, Warden.

No. 10107.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

June 16, 1942.

Rehearing Denied July 20, 1942.

George W. Willingham, of Atlanta, Ga., and Edwin H. Grace, of New Orleans, La., for appellant.

John A. Boykin, Sol. Gen., Quincy O. Arnold, Asst. Sol. Gen., and Ellis Arnall, Atty. Gen., of Georgia, all of Atlanta, Ga., for appellee.

Before SIBLEY, HOLMES, and McCORD, Circuit Judges.

McCORD, Circuit Judge.

Richard Smith was indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in the Georgia State Court for the murder of a night watchman during a liquor store burglary at Rhodes Center in Atlanta, Georgia. At the trial in the State Court, Raymond Carter, an alleged accomplice who was then under death sentence for another murder, testified that he and Smith were engaged in the burglary of the liquor store when the night watchman came upon them, and that Smith hit the watchman over the head with a milk bottle filled with sand. There was also introduced in evidence a signed statement of Smith which recited that he and Carter went to the liquor store together; that he, Smith, took a brick and broke the glass in the front door and entered the store; that he found the cash register empty; that he then took three pints of whiskey and walked out; that as he came out the night watchman came upon him with a gun, and Carter, who was watching, came out of the alley "and hit the watchman in the head from behind with a milk bottle filled with sand and wrapped in a napkin". The testimony of Raymond Carter and the statement of Richard Smith were in agreement, except that each of them claimed the other one struck the fatal blow.

At the trial Smith was represented by two qualified lawyers of his own choice and employment. The admission of his signed statement in evidence was not objected to, and it was not contended that the statement had been involuntarily given or that coercion had been used to secure it. After conviction, motion for a new trial was made, but no point was raised as to the admission of the signed statement. After denial of the motion for a new trial, an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Georgia, but no contention was there made as to the voluntary or involuntary character of the signed statement. After reviewing the evidence in the case, the Supreme Court of Georgia said, "The defendant is not convicted on the independent facts or circumstances introduced to support the statement of his accomplice. He is convicted on the testimony of his accomplice, the other evidence being introduced to guarantee the credibility of the direct testimony." Having found the evidence sufficient to support the verdict of guilty, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. Smith v. State, 189 Ga. 169, 5 S.E.2d 762.

After the case had been affirmed, Smith filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the City Court of Reidsville, Georgia, alleging for the first time that the signed statement which had been used in his trial had been illegally procured through coercion. Proceedings were had in the City Court, and after hearing evidence and argument the court dismissed the petition on May 13, 1940. On appeal the judgment was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Georgia, Smith v. Henderson, Warden, 190 Ga. 886, 10 S.E.2d 921. Petition for reargument was denied, and petition for a writ of certiorari was then filed in the Supreme Court of the United States. The petition was denied, Smith v. Henderson, Warden, 312 U.S. 698, 61 S.Ct. 737, 85 L.Ed. 1132.

Thereafter, on May 20, 1941, Smith filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court, and again alleged that his conviction for murder in the State Court had been obtained by the use of an involuntary statement or confession which had been secured from him by coercion in violation of his constitutional rights. On July 18 and 19, 1941, a hearing was held and much testimony was taken — the petitioner testifying at length in his own behalf. On July 30, 1941, the trial judge filed an opinion, found the issues against the petitioner, and entered an order discharging the writ and remanding the petitioner to the custody of the warden of the Georgia State Prison.

The record shows that Raymond Carter was being held under sentence of death for the murder of the Chief of Police of Jackson, Georgia. Carter was questioned by officers about...