66 Fla. 369 | Fla. | 1913
The plaintiff in error, hereinafter referred to as the defendant, upon an indictment charging him with murder in the first degree, was tried in the Circuit Court of Jackson County and convicted and sentenced for manslaughter, and seeks reversal of such judgment by writ of error.
A witness for the State testified to an ante mortem statement made to him by the deceased as to the facts relative to how, when and where and from whom he received his death wound, this ante mortem statement was objected to on the ground that no proper predicate had been laid for its introduction, but the court overruled the objection and admitted the dying declaration in evidence, and this ruling constitutes the first assignment of error. The predicate laid for the introduction of this declaration by the deceased, was in substance as follows: The physician who attended him and who reached him first within seven or eight hours after he was shot, testified that after
In Copeland v. State, 58 Fla. 26, 50 South. Rep. 621, it was held that: “To render dying declarations admissible, the trial judge must be fully satisfied that the deceased declarent, at the time of their utterance believed that his death was imminent and inevitable, and that he entertained no hope of recovery. This absence of all hope of recovery, and appreciation by the deceased of his speedy and inevitable. death, is a preliminary foundation that must always be laid to make such declarations admissible. It is a mixed question of law and fact for the Judge to decide before permitting the introduction of the declaraf tion itself. It is not necessary that such preliminary foundation should be proven by express utterances of the deceased, but it may be gathered from any circumstance or from all the circumstances of the case.” Here we have
The second assignment of error is the ruling of the trial court, in granting the motion of the State’s attorney to strike the evidence of one of the defendant’s witnesses who was introduced by the defendant to impeach a witness for the State by proving that the State’s witness had made statements in his presence that materially contradicted the witness’ testimony at the trial. The motion -granted to strike the evidence of this witness was upon the ground that there had been no proper predicate laid for its introduction. We fail to find in the record any examination of the State’s witness sought to be impeached calling his attention to this conversation sought to be proven by the defendant’s witness, nor any opportunity given the State’s said witness to explain, confess or deny such .supposed contradictory statements alleged to have been made by him, therefore there was no proper predicate laid for the introduction of such impeaching evidence and the court below committed no error in the ruling complained of.
The State introduced as a witness the County Judge of the county who acted' ás coroner in conducting the inquest over the deceased, and who testified that the testimony of the witnesses at the inquest had not been reduced
The fourth assignment of error complains of a charge given by the court to the jury at the request of the State’s Attorney. We discover nothing improper or erroneous in this charge. It stated the law involved correctly and was justified by the issues and the facts in proof. ,
The fifth and last assignment of error complains of the denial of the defendant’s motion for new trial made upon the grounds that the verdict returned was1 contrary to the law, the charge of the court and the evidence. While there is conflict in the evidence, yet there was ample to sustain the verdict returned if believed by the jury, they have settled the conflicts therein on the side of the prosecution, and we see nothing in the record that would justify us in disturbing their finding on the facts.
Finding no error, the judgment of the court below in said cause is hereby affirmed, at the cost of Jackson County, the defendant having been adjudged to be insolvent.