State v. Cotton

• Citation: 12 S.E.2d 246,218 N.C. 577
• Decision Date: 11 December 1940
• Docket Number: 433.
• Parties: STATE v. COTTON.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

12 S.E.2d 246

218 N.C. 577

STATE v. COTTON.

No. 433.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

December 11, 1940

Criminal prosecution tried upon indictments charging the defendant Woodrow Cotton, and his wife, Margaret Cotton, with the murder of one Mary Lee Herndon, consolidated and tried together as both indictments relate to the same homicide.

The record discloses that on February 19, 1940, Mary Lee Herndon mother of Margaret Herndon Cotton, was found near her home in Wake County mortally wounded. She had been shot in the left side with a shot gun, and died without being able to tell how the shooting occurred.

At first, Margaret Herndon Cotton confessed to the officers that she killed her mother, and related in detail how it happened. Later, this confession was repudiated. On the stand she testified that her husband coerced her into making the confession, saying "Margaret, take it on yourself, play off crazy and I'll get you out of it. *** Say you were at the house, at the back door, that you were at the back door looking at me when the gun went off"; that she was afraid of her husband; that she heard the gun fire and heard her mother holler, "Woodrow, you shot me"; that she rubbed off the gun and put her fingerprints on it; that she did what Woodrow told her to do, "because I was scared not to. *** I didn't know what he might take a notion to do to me"; that she confessed to the coroner "because Woodrow told me to." The jury was instructed not to consider any of this evidence against the male defendant. The feme defendant was cross-examined by counsel for her husband and the solicitor, and thus twice repeated her testimony in chief.

The defendant, Woodrow Cotton, also made a confession to the officers in the presence of the solicitor that he killed his mother-in-law, and related how the shooting took place. Later, this confession was repudiated.

On motion of the solicitor, and over objection of the defendants, the two cases were consolidated and tried together. Objection and exception by Woodrow Cotton.

Motion for severance before selection of jury; overruled and exception. Motion for mistrial and severance at the conclusion of the State's evidence and at the close of all the evidence; overruled; exception.

Verdict Guilty of murder in the first degree as to Woodrow Cotton. Not guilty as to Margaret Cotton.

Judgment: Death by asphyxiation.

The prisoner appeals, assigning errors.

Clyde A. Douglass, Sam J. Morris, and R. Ben Templeton, all of Raleigh, for appellant.

Harry McMullan, Atty. Gen., and T. W. Bruton and George B. Patton, Asst. Attys. Gen., for the State.

STACY Chief Justice.

The principal question for decision is whether separate indictments against husband and wife for the same homicide may be consolidated and tried together, over objection of defenda...