Gresham v. State
Gresham v. State
Opinion of the Court
The conviction in this ease rests' alone upon the testimony of one J. A. Johnson, who testified that he was a man without any business. In one place witness testified that he bought a pint of whisky from appellant. In another place he said “it was a bottle of whisky or a hot- *662 tie of Coca-Cola, one or the other, I got from Bill Gresham.” Witness further testified that he was in a very bad mental condition; that he used cocaine nearly all of the time; that .the cocaine had .affected his memory badly and caused him to imagine things that had never happened; and ■ that he had used cocaine for 15 years. He -further testified that he had no positive recollection of buying anything from appellant.
We do not -believe that any conviction upon such evidence as this should be allowed to stand. If the witness did not know as to whether or not it was a bottle of whisky or a bottle of -Coca-Cola which he purchased from appellant, we do not see how the court or jury, without some other evidence, could determine that appellant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judgment of the lower court is reversed, with directions to dismiss this case, unless some more reliable testimony can be produced as to appellant’s guilt.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.