Stone v. State

• Court: Florida Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: COCKRELL, J.
• Citation: Stone v. State, 57 Fla. 28, 48 So. 996 (Fla. 1909)
• Decision Date: 02 March 1909
• Parties: STONE v. STATE.

48 So. 996

57 Fla. 28

STONE v. STATE.

Florida Supreme Court

March 2, 1909

Headnotes Filed April 20, 1909.

In Banc. Error to Circuit Court, Walton County; J. Emmet Wolfe Judge.

Hester Stone was convicted of murder in the second degree, and brings error. Affirmed.

COUNSEL

Daniel Campbell & Son, for plaintiff in error.

Park M Trammell, Atty. Gen., for the State.

OPINION

COCKRELL J.

Hester Stone was indicted in the circuit court for Walton county for murder in the first degree, by cutting to death with a knife one Nancy Campbell. She was convicted of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Upon her arraignment at the spring term, 1908, she was granted at her instance a continuance to the then ensuing fall term, and upon being put to trial at that term she moved a further continuance upon the ground of the absence of a witness, and the refusal of this continuance constitutes the first assignment of error. We find no abuse of discretion in the denial of the motion.

The testimony she expected to procure was the evidence of one A. H. Hilson, the committing officer, to the effect that the principal state witness had made at the preliminary hearing a statement different from that given by her at the trial. No proper predicate was laid for the impeaching evidence, there were numerous other witnesses present at the preliminary hearing, who might have been called, have the proper predicate been laid, and the necessity of an adjournment to another term to secure Hilson's presence is not sufficiently shown. Other objections might be urged and multiplied.

The court gave the statutory definition of murder in the second degree, and this is assigned for error. There was no error here. Our statutory definition of manslaughter is reached by...