State v. Barber

• Decision Date: 23 February 1912
• Citation: 73 S.E. 771,90 S.C. 565
• Parties: STATE v. BARBER. [D1]
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

73 S.E. 771

90 S.C. 565

STATE v. BARBER. ^[D1]

Supreme Court of South Carolina

February 23, 1912

Appeal from General Sessions Circuit Court of Spartanburg County John S. Wilson, Judge.

"To be officially reported."

Charles H. Barber was convicted of crime, and he appeals. Affirmed.

J. B Gwynn and John Gary Evans, for appellant. J. Cotts, Sol., for the State.

WOODS J.

The defendant, Charles H. Barber, appeals from the conviction and sentence on an indictment charging that he "did willfully commit a breach of trust, in that he received from one Sallie Harrison the sum of one hundred dollars, good and lawful money of the United States of America, the denominations, issues, and coinage thereof being to the grand jurors aforesaid unknown, for and upon the special trust that he would pay said one hundred dollars in settlement and satisfaction of a commuted fine, which had been imposed by the court of sessions upon one Richard Harrison, and willfully and fraudulently refused to pay said fine, when commuted to the sum of one hundred dollars, by the Governor in the willful and fraudulent breach of his said trust, and fraudulently misappropriated said one hundred dollars, a trust fund, to his own use."

There are several exceptions, but the single point pressed in argument was that the circuit judge should have directed a verdict of acquittal on the ground that no evidence was introduced tending to prove the charge made in the indictment. Stated more specifically, the position taken by defendant's counsel was that the entire evidence was to the effect that the sum of $100 was paid to defendant to indemnify him as surety on the bail bond of Richard Harrison pending his appeal from the conviction of some criminal offense in the court of general sessions for Spartanburg county, and not to pay the fine imposed on Harrison, and that the bail bond has been estreated and defendant's liability fixed by the estreat. The deposit with the defendant of $100 by Mrs. Sallie Harrison came about in this way: After Harrison's conviction and sentence, his counsel, C. P. Sims, Esq., obtained from the solicitor a promise to request the Governor to commute his sentence to a fine of $100 or service on the chain gang for three months. To prevent the execution of the sentence imposed by the court pending the application to the Governor for commutation counsel for Harrison gave notice of appeal, and induced the defendant to...