State v. Robinson
| Decision Date | 23 March 1938 |
| Docket Number | 3. |
| Citation | 195 S.E. 824,213 N.C. 273 |
| Parties | STATE v. ROBINSON et al. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, Haywood County; H. Hoyle Sink, Judge.
Harley Robinson and Wendell Reed were convicted of manslaughter, and they appeal.
New trial ordered.
The intentional killing of a human being with a deadly weapon implies malice and, if nothing else appears, constitutes murder in the second degree.
When implication of malice, making defendant guilty of second-degree murder, is raised by admission or proof of the fact of killing, defendant has burden of showing facts and circumstances sufficient to reduce homicide to manslaughter or to excuse it.
Criminal prosecution, tried upon indictment charging the defendants with the murder of one Ratcliff Robinson. The defendants pleaded not guilty and relied upon a plea of self-defense. The defendant Wendell Reed further pleaded that he merely undertook to prevent a felonious assault.
The evidence for the state tends to show that the deceased Ratcliff Robinson, aged 31 years, died on July 20, 1937, as the result of an injury to his head received on the night of July 17, 1937, in an altercation with the defendants Harley Robinson, aged 52 years, first cousin of the deceased, and Wendell Reed, aged 26 or 27, stepson of defendant Harley Robinson.
Harley Robinson and his wife, the mother of Wendell Reed, and Wendell Reed lived on Robinson's farm on Beaver Dam creek, about 3 miles from Canton. He worked for the Champion Fibre Company in Canton. The deceased, Ratcliff Robinson worked for and on the farm of Harley Robinson, but resided at Pearson Clark's about a quarter of a mile away. Harley Robinson's house was located several hundred yards from the community public highway. A private road connected the house with the highway.
On the afternoon of July 17th Wendell Reed and Ratcliff Robinson were at the highway where the private road enters, drinking whisky which Wendell Reed had hidden near there. The two were together in the neighborhood until the time to do the evening chores about the house of Harley Robinson. Between 7 and 7:30 o'clock Harley Robinson, Wendell Reed, and Ratcliff Robinson were engaged in an altercation at the junction of the said private road and highway. The brothers of Ratcliff Robinson testified that they saw Harley Robinson hit him on the head with a pistol; that on their approaching Harley Robinson and Wendell Reed, who had Ratcliff Robinson down on the ground, got up off him. The brothers examined the head of Ratcliff Robinson and saw one bruise. He then left there going in the direction of Pearson Clark's. The brothers went fishing and on returning about 11:30 that night were informed by Harley Robinson that some one was lying in the road near his rye stacks, and offered the suggestion that it might be Ratcliff. He was found near there in an unconscious condition, taken to the doctor that night, then to the hospital next morning, and died Tuesday night.
Through a deputy sheriff the state offered declaration of Harley Robinson as to the facts and circumstances under which the altercation took place, and, among other things, that he had not seen Ratcliff Robinson after the altercation until he saw him lying in the road and that he did not disturb him and did not know then it was he.
The state contended below that after the altercation, which the brothers of Ratcliff Robinson witnessed in part, the defendants later met the deceased and beat him up and left him lying in the road.
On the other hand, the defendants offered evidence tending to show that the only altercation took place after 8 o'clock. Defendant Harley Robinson testified: "I knew Ratcliff Robinson; I had known him all of his life. Prior to July 17th, Ratcliff Robinson was working with me and was taking his noon meals with me; he was doing farm work. He did the milking, and fed, and plowed corn and such as that. He spent his nights over at Mr. Pearson Clark's. I live about 200 yards from the old home place of Ratcliff Robinson. His mother did live there, she is dead now; that is the old home place. * * * This was on Saturday; I come in from work about 5 o'clock. As I went home I left the highway going up home; as I passed over the hill Ratcliff Robinson, Wendell Reed and Reed Robinson were sitting by the side of the road. * * * It was about 7 o'clock when I next saw Ratcliff, when he drove his cows to the milk gap. He milked that evening, then he fed the hogs. He came on through the yard and spoke a few words and he said, 'I got your rye all up', and I said, 'That is fine', and he said, 'I must go', and I said, 'Don't hurry, go in and spend the night', and he said, 'I have to go to town, I am going with Reed and Paul Sorrells and Canie to get a haircut', and he went on. * * * The next time I saw him was about an hour later. * * * Wendell Reed was with him at that time. It was about 8 o'clock, probably five minutes after, I think it was about 8 o'clock when he left the house. It was getting dusk when I got to the road. I had started across to the far end of my field to look after a cow and calf. * * * I saw Ratcliff standing in the middle of the highway. * * * I saw the light of a car coming and I said to the boys, 'Boys, you had better look out and get out of the way, you might get run over.' When I said that to the boys Wendell moved out of the way and Ratcliff stood still where he was, and as the car passed it couldn't go down the right hand side, its right of way, it cut to the left and it looked like it nearly hit him and I said, 'Boy, you are a fool'. He didn't say anything and he grabbed up a rock and here he come into my face and he said, 'I am going to burst your G-d-brains out,' and I said, 'Rat, what is the matter with you, I didn't mean to make you mad'; and he said 'By G-, I am going to get you,' and Wendell come up about that time and he said, 'Rat, that is nothing to get mad about, let's forget about it', and he dropped his rock down, and I said, 'I am in a hurry, I am going to see about my cow, I must go', and I started to make a step toward the road and he ran in front of me and grabbed me by the shirt collar and said, 'You are not going anywhere', and he grabbed his knife and felt of the knife like he was feeling how sharp it was and he began to whet his knife, and I knew I was going to get cut and the thought struck me maybe I could back off and go back home, and when I started backing off it made him that much madder and he gritted his teeth and here he come and I got into the wire fence that comes down my lane; this happened at the mouth of my lane, in eight or ten feet of the road, and when he got me into the fence, he said, 'I am going to cut your G-d-g-out, you s. o. b.,' and he drawed back to strike me and I gave into the fence and he struck me, cut me across here and hit the seam of my pants and I gave the knife a shove and I felt that I was cut and I dropped on my right knee and got a rock and I think he thought he had cut me down; he stood there looking and I started to raise up and here he come at me with the knife and when he got in reach of me I hit him somewhere above the ear in the side of the head with a rock and knocked him down and he caught on his left elbow and he reared up and come at me again and the second time I struck at him I struck over him. I don't think I hit him that time, and he whirled around and I thought I could catch him and take the knife away from him, and directly we fell and he fell kind of on top of me, and I still held on to the hand he had the knife in and I called Wendell; * * * and Wendell come and broke the blade off of the knife trying to get the knife and Wendell took hold of me by the shoulder and by the time I got about half straight he come at me with the butt of the blade and down I come and he struck me two or three licks in the face and I come up with him on my back and he slid off and he jumped back about to where he first cut me and he opened the little blade of the knife and said, 'G-d-you, I will get you,' and I got a rock and hit him again in the top or back of the head, I don't know which, and I knocked him to his knees that time, and when he come the next time he come at such an angle and I thought I will not hit you any more, I will catch you and maybe I can hold you; and we got to scuffling and Wendell took the knife away from him. * * * I hit him because I didn't want him to cut me all to pieces, to save my life, I didn't want to do it, I had to do it, and I told him I didn't want to; I had no ill will, malice or grudge against him; he and I have always been friends. * * * I knew the general reputation of Ratcliff Robinson as to whether he was a dangerous and violent man; when he was under the influence of whiskey he didn't have any friends; he didn't respect anybody. I wouldn't say that he was under the influence of whiskey on this occasion, I didn't smell any on him; I couldn't swear he was drinking; he was either crazy mad or drunk, I don't know which."
The testimony of Wendell Reed as to the altercation was substantially the same as that of Harley Robinson, differing only in matters of detail. He further testified:
Verdict: Guilty of manslaughter.
Judgment As to Harley Robinson, not less than 3 nor more than 7 years, and as to Wendell...
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