Stovall v. State
Mississippi Supreme Court
Stovall v. State, 94 Miss. 373 (Miss. 1908)
47 So. 479
Whitfield
Stovall v. State
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of - the court.-
On the facts in this case this killing was most manifestly murder or nothing. If the killing was -accidental, the defendant was guilty of no offense. If it was not accidental, he was guilty of murder beyond all controversy.
The giving of a manslaughter instruction in such a case was manifestly error, and for this error the judgment is reversed, and the case remanded. Virgil v. State, 63 Miss, at page 320.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Abraham Stovall v. State of Mississippi
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Criminal Law and Procedure. Homicide. Murder. Accidental killing. Manslaughter instructions. Where a defendant charged with murder Is either manifestly guilty as charged or wholly innocent of the crime, a state’s instruction authorizing a conviction of manslaughter is fatally erroneous.