State v. McDowell, No. 20837
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | PER CURIAM |
| Citation | 272 S.C. 203,249 S.E.2d 916 |
| Docket Number | No. 20837 |
| Decision Date | 13 December 1978 |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Earl A. McDOWELL, Appellant. |
Page 916
v.
Earl A. McDOWELL, Appellant.
[272 S.C. 204] J. D. Todd, Jr., Albert O. Taylor, Jr., and Harvey G. Sanders, Jr., Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann, and Jack L. Bloom, Greenville, for appellant.
Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod and Asst. Atty. Gen. Brian P. Gibbes, Columbia, and Sol. William W. Wilkins, Jr., Greenville, for respondent.
[272 S.C. 205] PER CURIAM:
Appellant Earl A. McDowell was convicted of the murder of his sixteen year old son, Charles Mel McDowell, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal appellant raises five exceptions by which he seeks to
Page 917
have his conviction and sentence reversed. We affirm.During the evening of May 4, 1977 the appellant, a licensed veterinarian, was called at home by two of his clients and was required to return to his office to treat the clients' animals. Treatment of the animals was completed and the clients left the office. Appellant proceeded to leave the office through the rear door but was met by his son who asked to come in and discuss a matter with the appellant. Once inside the office Mel demanded forty dollars from the appellant. The demand was refused. Thereafter an altercation occurred.
The appellant testified he was attacked by Mel. The appellant then pulled a handgun which he routinely carried with him when he returned to his office at night and fired a shot over Mel's head. The bullet lodged in a doorway where it was later recovered by the police.
The appellant then fired a second shot which struck Mel in the head. This bullet passed through Mel's head and fragments of it were found lying on the floor of the office.
A third shot was fired which also struck Mel in the head. The appellant stated to the police at the time of his arrest that the third shot was fired after Mel had fallen to the floor. At trial, however, appellant testified the third shot was fired in rapid succession to the second shot while Mel was standing. The third bullet remained lodged in Mel's head and was recovered by the examining pathologist. The pathologist testified that in his medical opinion the third bullet did not exit the skull because at the time of the third shot Mel's head was resting against a hard, flat object.
[272 S.C. 206] After firing the third shot, appellant walked outside to Mel's car. He took a blanket out of his son's car and carried it back into the office.
Appellant then drove his son's car to a night club in Greenville frequented by the son, left the car in the parking lot...
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Smart v. Leeke, No. 87-7737
...(1981); State v. Linder, 276 S.C. 304, 278 S.E.2d 335 (1981); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 251 S.E.2d 764 (1979); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 249 S.E.2d 916 (1978); State v. Atchison, 268 S.C. 588, 235 S.E.2d 294, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 894, 98 S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 (1977); Stat......
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Griffin v. Martin, No. 85-6581
...S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 (1977) (simply following Bolton as binding authority, without exposition of the rationale); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 207, 249 S.E.2d 916, 918 (1978) (Id.); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 345 n. 1, 251 S.E.2d 764, 765 n. 1 (1979) (Id.); State v. Linder, 276......
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Smart v. Leeke, No. 87-7737
...(1981); State v. Linder, 276 S.C. 304, 278 S.E.2d 335 (1981); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 251 S.E.2d 764 (1979); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 249 S.E.2d 916 (1978); State v. Atchison, 268 S.C. 588, 235 S.E.2d 294, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 894, 98 S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 In State v. ......
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State v. Prather, Appellate Case No. 2018-000753
...to testify on reply that the murder victim's head was resting against a hard, flat object at the time the third shot was fired. 272 S.C. 203, 206-07, 249 S.E.2d 916, 917 (1978). The defendant argued the State was required to introduce the pathologist's testimony during its case-in-chief, an......
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Smart v. Leeke, No. 87-7737
...(1981); State v. Linder, 276 S.C. 304, 278 S.E.2d 335 (1981); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 251 S.E.2d 764 (1979); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 249 S.E.2d 916 (1978); State v. Atchison, 268 S.C. 588, 235 S.E.2d 294, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 894, 98 S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 (1977); Stat......
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Griffin v. Martin, No. 85-6581
...S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 (1977) (simply following Bolton as binding authority, without exposition of the rationale); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 207, 249 S.E.2d 916, 918 (1978) (Id.); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 345 n. 1, 251 S.E.2d 764, 765 n. 1 (1979) (Id.); State v. Linder, 276......
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Smart v. Leeke, No. 87-7737
...(1981); State v. Linder, 276 S.C. 304, 278 S.E.2d 335 (1981); State v. Crocker, 272 S.C. 344, 251 S.E.2d 764 (1979); State v. McDowell, 272 S.C. 203, 249 S.E.2d 916 (1978); State v. Atchison, 268 S.C. 588, 235 S.E.2d 294, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 894, 98 S.Ct. 273, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 In State v. ......
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State v. Prather, Appellate Case No. 2018-000753
...to testify on reply that the murder victim's head was resting against a hard, flat object at the time the third shot was fired. 272 S.C. 203, 206-07, 249 S.E.2d 916, 917 (1978). The defendant argued the State was required to introduce the pathologist's testimony during its case-in-chief, an......