Willingham v. State
| Decision Date | 04 June 1901 |
| Citation | 30 So. 429,130 Ala. 35 |
| Parties | WILLINGHAM v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Appeal from circuit court, St. Clair county; John A. Pelham, Judge.
Oden Willingham was convicted of murder, and he appeals. Affirmed.
The evidence for the state tended to show: That the deceased and the defendant lived at the house of one Allen Russell. That in the afternoon, about 3 or 4 o'clock, the deceased came to the house of Allen Russell with a gun, and offered to trade it to Russell for a yearling. That Russell declined to trade until he had seen his wife. That a conversation between the deceased, Westbrook, and Russell took place in Russell's house in the room which was occupied by the defendant and his wife, both of whom were sick. The defendant's wife was the daughter of Allen Russell. The defendant said to Russell that he had no need for a gun, as he had two. That thereupon Thomas Westbrook replied that he did not like to have outsiders meddling with his business. That after this, and during the same conversation, the defendant's wife said that she knew Allen Russell's wife would not consent to the trade, and thereupon the defendant, with an oath, said he did not like for outsiders to be meddling with his business. Thomas Westbrook, the deceased, then left the house in company with George Wait but in a few minutes he returned, very much excited and cursing. That he cocked his gun, and started in the room where the defendant and his wife were lying. George Wait took the gun from the defendant, and carried him off from the house. Later in the day, about dark, the deceased returned to the house, bringing his gun with him. He went into the supper room where Allen and his wife and daughter were eating supper. He sat down to the supper table, with his gun behind him. Upon his being taken to task by Russell's wife and daughter for cursing in the presence of the defendant's wife and another daughter of Allen Russell, he denied having done so, and replied that whoever said he cursed in their presence during that afternoon told a d_____ lie. That thereupon the defendant came to the door of his room, which was about 15 or 20 feet away, and said, "Why, Mr Westbrook, I heard you curse." That the defendant thereupon got up from the table with his gun in his hands and remarked that if it had not been for George Wait in the early part of the afternoon he would have shot the top of Oden Willingham's head off. That the defendant then replied he had better come out of the room and do it. That he started to the door, pointing his gun at the defendant. That Allen Russell tried to prevent him from going out of the room, but Westbrook ran away from him, and started down the steps, still pointing his gun in the direction of the defendant. That as he stepped upon the last step, the defendant fired upon him, and killed him.
The evidence for the defendant tended to show that he did not fire upon the deceased until he was going from the dining room with a gun pointed towards him, and that just as he was on the last step, with the gun pointed at the defendant, the defendant fired.
During the examination of Allen Russell as a witness for the defendant, he was asked the following question by the defendant: "If, when George Wait interfered to keep Westbrook from going into the said room [where the defendant was in the afternoon] with his gun cocked, if Westbrook did not draw his gun on said Wait, and then threaten to shoot him?" The state objected to this question, the court sustained the objection, and the defendant duly excepted.
During the examination of George Wait as a witness for the defendant, and after he had testified that in the afternoon when the deceased had the talk with Allen about the exchange of his gun, and had made the remarks to the defendant about his not liking his interfering with his business, that he took the gun away from Westbrook, the defendant asked the witness Wait the following question: "If, when he attempted to take the gun from Westbrook, if Westbrook did not draw his gun on witness, and threaten to shoot him?" The state objected to this...
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Smith v. State
... ... point no error is shown by the bill of exceptions. This court ... has heretofore adhered to a strict rule of exclusion in ... respect to the attendant circumstances of threats made ... previous to the occasion of the act charged. Harkness v ... State, 129 Ala. 71, 30 So. 73; Willingham v ... State, 130 Ala. 35, 30 So. 429; May v. State, ... 167 Ala. 36, 52 So. 602. But it is evident that the ... strictness of the rule must of necessity be relaxed in some ... cases. Linehan v. State, 113 Ala. 70, 21 So. 497; ... Gunter v. State, 111 Ala. 23, 20 So. 632, 56 ... ...
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Dunn v. State
...principle that the particulars of a previous difficulty are incompetent as evidence. Harkness' Case, 129 Ala. 71,30 So. 73; Willingham's Case, 130 Ala. 35, 30 So. 429; Gordon's Case (Ala.) 36 So. 1009. The evidence which the defendant attempted to elicit from Dr. Upchurch, as to the physica......
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Ezzell v. State
... ... [68 So. 582.] ... res gestae of them, yet certainly it was error to permit the ... state, as here, to show that on several previous occasions ... defendant was in town with a gun. Harkness v. State, ... 129 Ala. 71, 30 So. 73; Willingham v. State, 130 ... Ala. 35, 30 So. 429; May v. State, 167 Ala. 36, 52 ... Charge ... 1, refused to defendant, if not bad as argumentative, is ... covered by given charges 8, 14, and 22 ... Charge ... 2 refused to defendant was covered by given charge C ... Charges ... ...
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Cooke v. State
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