Underwood v. State
Underwood v. State
Opinion of the Court
Underwood was jointly indicted with Sparkey Dominy and Cecil Sapp, for the offense of arson, and was tried separately. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. The defendant filed his motion for new trial containing the general grounds, and excepted to the overruling of this motion. The evidence consisted of a full confession by defendant and a like confession by Dominy, defendant’s accomplice in the crime, both agreeing in the details
In a prosecution for arson it is not only necessary that there be proof of a burning, but it must also be shown that the burning was the result of some criminal agency, for “When a house is consumed by fire, and nothing appears but that fact, the law rather implies that the fire was the result of accident, or some providential cause, than of a criminal design.” Phillips v. State, 29 Ga. 105; Sutton v. State, 17 Ga. App. 713 (88 S. E. 122, 587), and cit. It “is well settled that the corpus delicti can not be proved by the extrajudicial confession of the accused, but must be shown by evidence aliunde the confession or incriminatory admission.” A confession uncorroborated will not justify a conviction; yet “proof of the corpus delicti, either by direct or circumstantial evidence, may be sufficient corroboration of a confession and may authorize a verdict of guilty” Sutton v. State, supra. We think the confession was sufficiently corroborated to justify the conviction of the accused.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.