Teal v. The State Of Ga.
| Decision Date | 31 March 1857 |
| Docket Number | No. 18.,18. |
| Citation | 22 Ga. 75 |
| Parties | Meshack Teal., plaintiff, in error. vs. The State of Georgia, defendant in error. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Indictment for Murder, from Campbell Superior Court. Tried before Judge Hammond, at September Term, 1850.
Meshack Teal was indicted for the murder of Robert Northcutt. The bill of exceptions sets forth, that upon the call of the case, the parties announced themselves ready for trial—a jury was empannelled, and the Solicitor General arraigned the defendant, who pleaded not guilty. The Solicitor General then read to the jury the indictment, and stated that it was founded upon a special presentment that he held in his hand.
The following witnesses were then sworn and examined on the part of the State.
Mrs. Mary Northcutt says: The transaction was in Campbell county, the 30th July, 1855, at the house of deceased, near sun set. The prisoner came up to the yard gate; he had a rifle gun belonging to decased, which he had borrowed. The deceased was sitting in a chair near the door; witness was sitting near him; deceased was nursing a child out of doors. Prisoner spoke first, and said to deceased, "Bob, come out here, I want to talk to you, " Deceased's name was Robert Northcutt. Prisoner spoke loud and appeared to be angry. Deceased turned round and said to prisoner, "Shack Teal, I want you to go away from here;" prisoner replied, "Oh, no, I want you to come out here;" deceased was singing at the time prisoner dame up; after hetold prisoner to go away, he sung on for about a half a minute; deceased made no reply, but put down the child and walked about half way to where the prisoner was standing and then walked back into the house and took down the gun At the time deceased turned back into the house, pris" oner said something which witness does not recollect. Deceased took down a shot-gun and walked out to the fence near where prisoner was standing; there was nothing but the fence between them; deceased laid the muzzle of his gun on the fence, tapping it but not pointing it in the direction of the prisoner. Deceased told prisoner he wanted him to leave there, to go away; prisoner told deceased to come outside the gate. Prisoner cursed and swore so much witness can\'t recollect what he did say. Witness went into the house to lay down the baby she was nursing; before she had time to get back again, she heard the report of the rifle; witness stayed in the house several minutes; when she came out she saw deceased some four or five steps outside of the gate, and had his gun raised, snapping it, in his right hand; witness asked him what he meant, or what he was doing; witness ran out of the house as soon as she heard the report of the gun; deceased told her that Teal had killed him; she asked him if he could get into the house without her assistance; he said he could very well. She don\'t think she saw Teal at the time she went out to where her husband was. She then went on without turning back, to Mr. Cook\'s, who lived about a half a mile off; she overtook prisoner a hundred and fifty or two hundred yards from the house; prisoner was walking in a common gait towards Mr. Cook\'s when she first saw him; when she got near him, ho broke into a run, and run twenty or thirty yards, and then turned round far enough to see witness, and then stopped and turned into a walk. She was running as fast as she could. As she passed prisoner she told him that he killed Mr. Northcutt; he said he expected he had, that he had shot him, and he expected he had killed him.
This was on Monday; deceased lived until some minutes after one o\'clock the next day. The ball did not pass through. She saw prisoner that (Monday) morning; he came up to deceased\'s house and told deceased he wanted him to go squirrel hunting with him that morning; he stayed an hour or two, may be three. Deceased told him he could not go, that he didn\'t feel well able. Prisoner asked him three or four times to go squirrel hunting; he. insisted on his going. Deceased said he would likely feel better in the evening, and if he did he would go with him. Prisoner said he would be back in the evening. Deceased was very sick; he set up a part of the time, and was in bed a part of the time in the morning; he did not leave home that day; remained at home until after the children came homo from school. The children who came home were Robert Warren Northcutt, Joseph A. Northcutt (witness sworn in the case.) and Mrs. Strickland\'s children. Deceased went down to the plantation gate, as she supposes; he only stayed a few minutes; when he came back he took up his little daughter and set down in the yard and went to singing; witness don\'t think it was more than thirty minutes after he commenced singing before Teal, the prisoner, came. This was the same time that witness spoke of in the first part of her examination. All this took place in this county.
Cross examined: Lives at the same place she did at the time Mr. Northcutt was killed, about five miles from Camp-bellton, and one or two hundred yards from where prisoner lived; prisoner was living on deceased's land; lived on the other side from Campbellton, of deceased's house; he usually passed their house coming to town. Prisoner and deceased appeared friendly on Monday morning; they talked friendly and parted friendly; deceased did not go to Emanuel Teal's mill on Monday. The first remark prisoner made when he came up in the evening was, " Bob, come out here, I want to talk to you;" deceased replied, " Shack Teal, 1 want you to go away from hero."
Joseph A. Northcutt says, that he saw prisoner in the cotton patch on Saturday before his (witness\'s) father was killed on Monday. The cotton patch belonged to his father and prisoner. That Warren Northcutt, William Strickland, William Latham and other little boys were with him; they were picking up apples and beating cider; he went down to a little apple tree, close to where prisoner was at work to pick up apples. Witness rode Mr. Latham\'s horse through the corn; prisoner said he would be damned if the horse should go back the same way; witness said if his pa was there he would go back and not ask him. Prisoner said he would make witness and pa, and all the rest of us suffer before Monday night; he spoke like he was not satisfied about it; and witness told him that they were going to start to school through there Monday morning; prisoner said he would be damned if they should. As witness came from school Monday evening, tho gate was withed up. John Strickland, Warren Northcutt, and two little girls were along; witness and the others climbed the fence; his pa went down to the gate and cut it loose, and he and Warren wont with him; after his father cut the gate loose ho went back to the house, and he and Warren went back with him, his father sat down; did not see prisoner while they were gone. About a quarter of an hour after wo got back saw prisoner coming up the road; it was about sundown. Prisoner had his father\'s gun when he came; he said when he first came up, \'\'Come-out here, Bob, I want to talk to you;" his father replied, "Go off from here, Shack Teal;" prisoner replied, "No, come out here anyhow;" his father started and went half way, and told him he was a grand rascal, and didn\'t want to have any difficulty with him. Prisoner told him he was a damned liar; his father turned round and wont back into the house, and got his gun and went to where prisoner was, and rattled his gun on the fence, and told prisoner to go off from there; "No, " prisoner said, "come out here;" his father went out and prisoner walked off pretty fast some distance, and said, "Damn you, I am a great mind to shoot you, anyhow, " and raised his gun and shot him. When his father went out he stopped and fastened the gate, and walked five or six steps in the direction that prisoner wont; prisoner went thirty-eight or forty steps and stopped, and turned round and said, "Damn you, I\'ll blow a ball through you, " and shot at him. Witness was in the yard when the gun fired; his father held his gun down in his hand, and after the gun fired he raised his gun and snapped once or twice at prisoner; thinks he snapped two or three times; his father made no attempt to shoot before prisoner shot; prisoner would have had to go fifty or sixty yards up the road to get out of sight of witness. Prisoner went towards town.
Cross Examined: Prisoner was hoeing cotton when he went to the field on Saturday; he was not in the same field that witness went to; prisoner worked the corn; he rented the land from witness's father, the deceased; the horse bit a nubbin in going through the field, was the reason why prisoner did not want him to go back the same way. William Latham asked prisoner for a muzzle to put on the horse; prisoner lent him the muzzle, and he took the horse back the same way which he came. They had carried horses...
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