Sullivan v. State
| Decision Date | 23 November 1922 |
| Docket Number | 1 Div. 245. |
| Citation | 94 So. 473,208 Ala. 473 |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
| Parties | SULLIVAN v. STATE. |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Mobile County; Claude A. Grayson, Judge.
George W. Sullivan was convicted of murder in the first degree, and he appeals. Affirmed.
Herbert U. Feibelman, of Mobile, Irwin C. McRae, of Calvert, and C M. A. Rogers, of Mobile, for appellant.
Harwell G. Davis, Atty. Gen., for the State.
The appeal presents for review the sufficiency of the record ( Howerton v. State, 191 Ala. 13, 67 So. 979) to sustain a sentence to the penitentiary for life. The verdict of the jury was:
"We, the jury, find the defendant, Geo. W. Sullivan alias Wash Sullivan, guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment, and further find that he be imprisoned for life in the penitentiary."
The rule of the requisites and sufficiency of the record of judgments is:
"The sentence of a court in a criminal case, operating to deprive a citizen of his liberty, and condemning him to involuntary servitude, is irregular and erroneous, when it is in itself so vague and indefinite that it may operate as a pretense of authority for prolonging the term of servitude beyond that to which the law gives sanction." Bradley v. State, 69 Ala. 318.
In a word, the sentence must follow the verdict, be clearly expressed, and must not be ambiguous. In the instant case the minute entry of the sentence, among other necessary recitals concluded:
"*** It further appearing to the court that the jury found you guilty of murder in the first degree, and fixed the punishment at imprisonment for life in the penitentiary, it is therefore considered by the court, and is so ordered and adjudged, that the defendant, George W....
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Jiles v. State
... ... Hill v. State, 21 Ala. App. 310, 107 So. 789) ... The ... judgment and sentence were rendered and pronounced by the ... court pursuant to the verdict of the jury finding the ... defendant guilty of murder in the first degree and ... "fix(ing) his penalty at death." Sullivan v ... State, 208 Ala. 473, 94 So. 473. The minute entry of the ... court shows a judgment against defendant of his guilt of ... murder in the first degree and his sentence by the court in ... accordance therewith, and the statutes having application ... Carmichael v. State, supra ... ...
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Carmichael v. State
... ... judgment and sentence were rendered and pronounced by the ... court pursuant to the verdict of the jury finding "the ... defendant guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in ... the indictment," and fixing "the penalty at life ... imprisonment" for a term of life. Sullivan v ... State, 208 Ala. 473, 94 So. 473. The minute entry of the ... court shows a judgment and sentence by the court in ... accordance with the verdict; a judgment of guilt is ... sufficiently implied in the sentence. Ex parte State, 202 ... Ala. 694, 81 So. 656; Talbert v. State, 140 Ala. 96, ... ...
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Keene v. State
...in this case) such defect does not render a judgment void, but such judgment is considered only erroneous and irregular. Sullivan v. State, 208 Ala. 473, 94 So. 473; Bradley v. State, 69 Ala. This being so, habeas corpus is not the proper remedy since this writ is not available against irre......
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Cherry v. State
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