Thornton v. State
| Citation | 209 Ga. 51,70 S.E.2d 733 |
| Decision Date | 12 May 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 17820,17820 |
| Parties | THORNTON v. STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
1. The remarks made by an attorney for the prosecution in a preliminary statement to the jury were not such as to require the court to declare a mistrial.
2. The evidence relating to a separate and distinct crime, being a part of the res gestae, was admissible.
3. The motion to declare a mistrial, by reason of an answer of a witness for the State given upon cross-examination, was without merit.
4. The evidence was sufficient to authorize the verdict.
John Henry Thornton was indicted for murder, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty without a recommendation.
An attorney for the prosecution in a statement to the jury preceding the introduction of evidence said: 'This defendant with an abandoned and malignant heart took a pistol, after shooting the deceased in this indictment, went up the street and shot John L. Teamer out of his bed.' Subsequently, during the trial, there was evidence that, after the accused shot the deceased, he immediately went to the home of the deceased, which was just around the corner, and shot at the husband of the deceased three times while he was in bed, and returned to the house where the homicide occurred within five minutes and stated, 'I have got both of them.'
By the first ground of the amended motion exception is taken to the denial of a motion for mistrial, made at the conclusion of the above quoted remarks by the attorney; and the third ground is an exception to the admission of evidence as to the shooting at the husband.
Harris, Henson & Gower, Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.
Charlie O. Murphy, Frank S. French, R. A. Garland, Paul Webb, Sol. Gen., and Wm. E. Spence, Atlanta, Eugene Cook, Atty. Gen., Rubye G. Jackson, Atlanta, for defendant in error.
ATKINSON, Presiding Justice (after stating the foregoing facts).
1. As to the statement made by the attorney, it was proper to state to the jury in a general way the character of evidence that he expected to present to establish guilt. See Thomas v. State, 144 Ga. 298(3), 87 S.E. 8. His statement that the shooting at the husband was done with an 'abandoned and malignant heart' was not improper, in that, such act being part of the res gestae, the animus and mental attitude of the accused was a proper subject for the jury to determine, and not an improper deduction for an attorney to insist upon.
2. Though the evidence related to a...
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