Brown v. Commonwealth
Brown v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ernest Brown v. Commonwealth
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Homicide—Murder of Convict Guard—Punishment—Code of 1919, Section 5051.—The jury has no option in a prosecution of a convict for the murder of his guard under section 5051 of the Code of 1919, to fix any less punishment than electrocution. 2. Homicide—Murder of Convict Guard—Code of 1919, Section 5051 —Essential Element of the Offense.—In a prosecution of a convict for the murder of his guard, it is essential for the Commonwealth to prove that, at the time of the homicide, the accused was a convict. 3. Homicide—Murder of Convict Guard—Code of 1919, Section 5051 —Identity of Defendant as Convict.—In a prosecution of a convict for the murder of his guard, accused was indicted as Ernest Brown, alias “Fern,” and the indictment charged that he had previously been convicted of a felony in the circuit court for the county of Surry, and that, at the time of the homicide, he was undergoing his punishment as a member of the State convict road force. The Commonwealth introduced a certified copy of a judgment and order of condemnation of Ernest Brown, alias “Fern,” from the circuit court of Surry county. The trial court certified the facts, not merely the evidence, and. among them, that Ernest Brown was in custody at the time of the homicide,, and that the certified copy of the order of the circuit court of Surry county, above referred to, was the paper under which he was held in custody. Held: That this identified the accused as the convict under the judgment of Surry county.