Sorrell v. State
| Decision Date | 19 June 1947 |
| Docket Number | 4 Div. 437. |
| Citation | 249 Ala. 292,31 So.2d 82 |
| Parties | SORRELL v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
A L. Patterson, of Phenix City, for appellant.
A A. Carmichael, Atty. Gen., and John O. Harris, Asst. Atty Gen., for the State.
The appellant was convicted of murdering her husband, Elmer Sorrell. She was not present at the scene of the crime and the evidence implicating her came from the testimony of one Joe Avery, a negro who was the actual perpetrator and who admitted guilt.
The pivotal point is whether or not there was sufficient corroborative evidence of the accomplice's testimony to take the case to the jury. This, of course, was a question of law for the determination of the court. Smith v. State, 230 Ala. 413, 161 So. 538; Skumro v. State, 234 Ala. 4, 170 So. 776; Slayton v. State, 234 Ala. 1, 173 So. 642.
The defendant and her husband were white people living on the outskirts of Phenix City, Alabama, and the negro, Avery occupied one room of their threeroom 'shotgun' house and was employed by the deceased as a hired hand. The night he was killed Sorrell had about $75 in money on his person, which was missing when the body was found. He met his death on his return trip from taking Avery to be treated by doctor in a nearby community. The body was discovered the same night and the officer who found it reported the fact to appellant, who cried some and then mentioned something about looking for his insurance policies, whereupon the officer stated he was not the undertaker or insurance man, but an officer of the law. Avery was arrested the same night and first claimed innocence. A few days later he changed his story and implicated appellant, claiming she had asked him to kill her husband and threatened certain things against him if he did not execute her commands, and that on the return trip from the doctor's he killed Sorrell by hitting him on the head several times with a tire tool.
The appellant denied the accusation of Avery and the record clearly reflects that she assumed a rather ingenuous and forthright attitude toward all phases of the investigation.
It is argued for the State that the following is sufficient corroborative evidence: (1) That Sorrell had burial and life insurance and her general mention of it on the night of his death. (2) A photograph of appellant among the personal effects of the accomplice. (3) A statement of one witness that appellant had been seen at times in the company of negroes. (4) That Avery was once seen rubbing appellant's neck with liniment when she was partially disrobed. (5) A statement of appellant in jail that 'she was getting tired of all this mess and she would just go on to the penitentiary if it wasn't for her mother and daddy.' (6) Testimony of the doctor corroborating Avery's statement of the visit to his office the fatal night. (7) The possession of money by Sorrell and its absence when the body was found. (8) Proof that, while in jail, appellant wrote one Harvey Wade a letter of an amorous nature indicating some affection for him. (9) Proof that some years previously appellant had suggested to the probation officer that her husband's parole be revoked because he was drinking and throwing away his money.
The principle controlling is well understood and of almost universal application. The corroboration necessary to support the testimony of an accomplice must be of some fact tending to prove the guilt of the accused. It is not sufficient if it is equivocal or uncertain in character and must be such that legitimately tends to connect the defendant with the crime. It must be of a substantive character, must be inconsistent with the innocence of the accused and must do more than raise a suspicion of guilt. Code 1940, Title 15, § 307; authorities, supra; Berry v. State, 231 Ala. 437 165 So. 97; Malachi v. State, 89 Ala. 134, 8 So. 104; Crumbley v. State, 26 Ala.App. 24, 152 So. 55, certiorari denied, 228 Ala. 45, 152 So. 57; Marler v. State, 67 Ala. 55, 42 Am.Rep. 95; Cheatwood v. State, 22 Ala.App. 165, 113 So. 482; certiorari denied, 216 Ala. 692, 113 So. 915; Slayton v. State, 27 Ala.App. 422, 173 So. 632; Id., 234 Ala. 1, 173 So. 642; 6 Ala.Dig., Crim. Law, k 511; Roath v. State, 185...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ex parte Scott
...character, must be inconsistent with the innocence of the accused and must do more than raise a suspicion of guilt....' Sorrell v. State, 249 Ala. 292, 31 So.2d 82, 83."' Ex parte Bell, 475 So.2d 609, 613 (Ala. 1985). See also Booker v. State, 477 So.2d 1388, 1390 (Ala.Cr.App.1985). `"[E]vi......
-
Lynn v. State, 4 Div. 183
...connect the defendant with the commission of the offense. See, e.g., Thompson v. State, supra; Miller v. State, supra; Sorrell v. State, 249 Ala. 292, 31 So.2d 82 (1947); Ross v. State 74 Ala. 532 (1883); Early v. State, 392 So.2d 548 (Ala.Crim.App.1980), cert. denied, Ex parte Early, 392 S......
-
Wilson v. State
...with the crime, but only tend to do so. Andrews v. State. The rule is well stated by the Alabama Supreme Court in Sorrell v. State, 249 Ala. 292, 293, 31 So.2d 82, 83 (1947), as "The corroboration necessary to support the testimony of an accomplice must be of some fact tending to prove the ......
-
Stanley v. State
...must be inconsistent with the innocence of the accused, and must do more than raise a suspicion of guilt....’ Sorrell v. State, 249 Ala. 292, [293], 31 So.2d 82, 83 [ (1947) ].'' Ex parte Bell, 475 So.2d 609, 613 (Ala.), cert denied, 474 U.S. 1038, 106 S.Ct. 607, 88 L.Ed.2d 585 (1985).' “Ex......