Salisbury v. State
Salisbury v. State
Opinion of the Court
Judgment affirmed.
Salisbury was convicted of stabbing. He moved for a new trial on the grounds, that the verdict is contrary to law and evidence, and that the court erred in refusing to charge the jury as stated in the first head-note. The motion was overruled. The evidence shows that defendant was treasurer of a company for which Vaughn had made some barrels. Vaughn, according to his own testimony, went into the company’s store to get pay for the same, claiming five and one half cents per barrel as the 'price to be paid, that being what the company had been paying for the same kind of work. Defendant informed him that the pii.ce had been cutdown to five cents on the first of the month. To this Vaughn replied that he had no notice of the change, and would have five and one half cents. Defendant said, “You are a damned fool,” and Vaughn replied, “By God, I I am not afraid of you or any other man.” Upon this defendant retired into the office, and in a little while returned with a weight in each hand and went and stood by the opening in the counter, telling Vaughn to leave the store. Vaughn refused and approached defendant, who ivas about 20 feet away, and as Vaughn came within about three feet, defendant raised one of the weights to strike him, but his arm was caught by Vaughn, and a scuffle ensued, in which defendant cut Vaughn just over the hip and slightly further up on the back. .Vaughn tripped him up and fell over him, and defendant rose and stabbed him in the shoulder as he was getting up. Vaughn had no weapon, and did not strike defendant. He was physically stronger than defendant, and in a diffi
Defendant stated: “Vaughn was claiming five and a half cents for six-hoop barrels. I told him the company was only paying five cents for six-hoop barrels. He got angry at once, and began cursing and saying I ought to have told him before. I told him it was too small a matter to get mad about, that the difference was only fifteen cents. He only got louder, and swearing said I ought to have told him before. I lost patience and said, damned fool. He then came up towards me, and swore he was not afraid of anybody. I knew from a former difficulty that he was much stronger than I, and I went into the office and picked up a paper weight and opened my knife. I came out and walked away from where he was, stopped at an opening in the counter, and asked him to go away. He started at once to where I was, and seeing he was coming up to me, I started to raise a weight to strike him; but before I got it up to strike he grabbed me. We began scuffling, and in the scuffle-I suppose I cut him over the hip, but I did not know it, though I was trying to do so. He then tripped me up, and as I fell he fell over me, and as I rose I struck him in the shoulder. When Cooper interfered, I at once stopped, and as all I did I was acting in defence of myself, as I knew that I could not cope with Vaughn in strength.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.