State v. Wood
State v. Wood
Opinion of the Court
Upon the respondent’s conviction of manslaughter under an indictment in which he was charged with murder, a motion for a new trial upon the usual grounds was made and denied by the presiding Justice, and an appeal taken.
The case presented only questions of fact.
The jury saw and heard the witnesses. Notwithstanding the denial of the respondent of his firing his rifle, and his producing the same number of unexploded cartridges as he claimed he took with him that evening; and it was testified that the opening in the back of the neck caused by the bullet which was presumably what is termed a soft nose bullet, was smaller than the opening in the face, and the testimony of witnesses that such bullets always “mushroomed” and the opening of exit was always larger than the entrance; and his explanation of his flight, that he believed they were being held up by bandits or gunmen; and his claim and that of his wife and one of his companions that the other officer fired the shot from behind that killed the deceased, the jury from the evidence may have found as facts: that the respondent and a friend and their respective wives during the evening of the shooting had been on a hunting trip on which the respondent and his friend had been hunting deer with a jacklight, which is prohibited by statute; that the respondent and his friend had been summoned from their illegal hunting by their wives, because of an automobile appearing near the locus where they were hunting and which had disappeared up the road along
We think it can not be said upon all the evidence, even with the added burden of proof upon the state required in criminal cases, that the jury were not warranted in arriving at their verdict. Appeal denied. Judgment for the State.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State v. Harry Wood
- Status
- Published