50 Tenn. 348 | Tenn. | 1872
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Bichard Dove was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree, for killing William Diggins. The jury found that the murder was committed with mitigating circumstances, whereupon he was sentenced to the penitentiary for life. He has appealed to this court. The case was tried at the January Term, 1871, of the Crim
The first witness introduced by the State was Virginia Holland. Defendant objected to her examination on the ground that she was his wife, but refused to examine her on voir dire, and objected to her examination by the State to prove her competency. Defendant offered to prove by evidence aliunde, that she was his wife. The court gave leave to prove that fact. Defendant then offered to prove the marriage of the witness with defendant, by reputation, cohabitation, conduct, and acknowledgment of the parties; and tendered proof of that character, but the court refused to hear such proof, and ruled that a marriage could only be shown by the certificate of marriage, the testimony of the officer who performed the ceremony, or the evidence of witnesses who witnessed the performance of the ceremony. Defendant excepted to the ruling. Witness then proved that she had been living with defendant three or four years. They were living in a house in the coaling ground of Poplar Springs Furnace, in Montgomery, at the time of Wm. Diggins’ death, which took place in 1869. Dove was working for Diggins in the coaling grounds. Dove, witness, her two children, her mother, her sister, and Diggins, all lived in the same house, it having but one room. There were three beds in the room; witness and Dove occupied one, her mother and sister another, and Diggins and her oldest child, seven years old, the third. Dove and Diggins ate supper together; they were very friendly; there was no bad feeling between them; they laughed and talked together,
Sarah Holland, the mother of the last witness, gave the same account of the transaction, and stated the character and peculiarities of Dove about as the last witness.
John W. Mathis proved that Dove was a lazy, trifling, indolent man; he was a strange man; nobody knew him; witness never knew him, though he had lived with him.
Sam. Tally, worked with Dove; he talked like any other man; he never had much to say; was very quiet. One day, when they were working, he suddenly stopped, and said, with an oath, “he would kill any man who would not work for himself, but made other people work for him.” He said Diggins did not work for himself, but made him work for him; that he would kill him before he would stand it any longer. This was some time before Diggins was killed. Diggins was not present, and they had no quarrel. He talked and acted like any other man.
The State introduced and read a paper purporting to be the return of a jury of inquest over Diggins’ body, over the objections of defendant.
Jefferson Sly, for defendant, had employed Dove to-work. He quit without cause; witness went to see him; complained of his head; acted strangely; walked the floor, and acted like a drunken man, but he had no whisky. While Dove worked for witness, he was very taciturn and gloomy; would sit by himself for
James Andrews, T. J. Sly and Jeff. Wojoten, testified to similar characteristics of Dove as the last witness.
Patsey Cozzart, a sister of Dove, testified that he was 47 or 48 years of age; was born in Alabama; went to East Tennessee, and lived there until he was 13 or 14 years of age, when he came to Nashville. He was a clerk for Mr. Norman, in the grocery business, one or two years. While engaged with Mr. Norman, he received á bad wound on one side of his head; he was not expected to live. He was deranged from the wound. He talked silly and incoherently. He stayed with witness, while he was laboring under the wound, about four months. He then left, and returned to Mr. Norman’s. Pie was not then well; he was not much better. He complained of pains in the head all the time. He received the injury about fourteen or fifteen years ago. Before receiving the injury he was as smart, active and energetic as any man. She never saw him but once after he left, and that was twelve or fifteen years ago. She saw him but a few minutes; he said his head was not well.
The counsel for the defendant announced to the. Court, that he expected to examine several physicians,
Dr. D. F. Wright testified, that he had been practicing as a physician and surgeon for twenty-seven years. He had examined the head of defendant, and found that he had received an injury to his head, apparently from a blow. It appears that there are two injuries to his head — one on the right side, just below the crown; the skull has been fractured, and a portion of the bone is depressed upon the brain. The depressed portion is fractured about the centre, and a piece of the skull bone is broken off, which protrudes through the fracture, and is now sticking down upon the brain. One of the injuries may have been the result, of concussion, resulting from the blow which caused the deju’ession. Without knowing anything of the previous history of the defendant, witness said such an injury was bound, more or less, to produce a diseased mind. Such an injury might produce disease of the mind that might lay dormant an indefinite length of time, or it might indicate its presence only in paroxysmal insanity. Its presence might only be detected by some startling crime, that would, for the first time, call attention to symptoms that only an experienced person could have noticed. Paroxysmal insanity would be the character of insanity most likely to result from such an injury. During the intervals between the paroxysms of one afflicted with that form of
The counsel for defendant then submitted to the witness a written synopsis of the facts, as proven in the case, relative to the condition of defendant’s mind, and asked his medical opinion on the hypothetical case stated. He said the symptoms there stated were the precise symptoms of one laboring under paroxysmal insanity, and that he should say the strong probability was, that he was insane at the time of the commission of the crime; that, without personally knowing the facts and the defendant, he could not put it in stronger language.
Drs. T. T>. Johnson and J. M. Larkins were asked their opinions on the same hypothetical state of facts, and they fully concurred in the opinion given by Hr. Wright.
After charging the law correctly as to the several grades of homicide, the Circuit Judge proceeded to instruct the jury on the defense of insanity, as follows:
*362 “The law presumes a man to be sane, until the contrary is proven. ' The evidence of the insanity of defend-|nt must be as clear and satisfactory to overturn the presumption of the law in favor of sanity, as it is required to be, to overturn the presumption in favor of innocence. If the testimony leaves only a doubtful question, whether he was insane at the .time of the killing, the presumption of the law turns the scale in favor of the sanity of defendant. In such case the law holds the defendant responsible for his acts. If the evidence leaves it doubtful iu your minds, whether the defendant killed the deceased, then you should acquit; for there you find a reasonable ground for doubt, whether the defendant committed the homicide; and in such case, the testimony is not sufficient to overturn the presumption of innocence. But where it is admitted, or clearly proven, that the defendant committed the homicide, but it is insisted he was insane at the time he did it, and the evidence leaves the question of sanity in doubt, then you should find him guilty; for the other presumption arises, namely: that every man is presumed to be sane until the contrary is proven; or, in other words, where evidence of sanity on one side, and of insanity on- the other, leaves the question in an even balance, or so nearly poised that you have reasonable doubt of the insanity of the defendant, he is in that ease to be considered sane, and therefore responsible for his acts. The proof of insanity at the time of committing the homicide, ought to be as clear and satisfactory in order to acquit on the ground of insanity, as the proof of committing the act ought to be to find a sane man guilty.”
1st. This cause was transferred from the Circuit Court of Montgomery county, to the Criminal Court of that county, under the provisions of the Act of 1870, e. 95, establishing a Criminal Court for Montgomery county. It is insisted that the transcript of the record from the Circuit to the Criminal Court, is not properly authenticated. It is certified by the Circuit Judge, and not the clerk of the Circuit Court. The tenth section of the act requires the Circuit Court to certify to the Criminal Court, transcripts of the entry and finding of all indictments and presentments now pending in the Circuit Court, which shall be transcribed upon the records and minutes of said Criminal Court, and said entry of record shall give to said Criminal Court full and complete jurisdiction of said criminal, matters. The third section requires the Circuit Court to transfer all bills of indictment and presentment to the Criminal Court, for trial and proceeding therein; and section four makes the clerk of the Circuit Court the clerk of the Criminal Court. After the transcript from the Circuit Court was entered upon the record and minutes of the Criminal Court, and after the bill of indictment was transferred to the Criminal Court, the defendant was arraigned upon the indictment, and put in his plea of not guilty. We do not doubt that a transcript, certified by the clerk of the court, or by the judge thereof, after its entry on the records of the Criminal Court, gave that court full jurisdiction of the case; and if any doubt had existed as to this, the objection ought to have been taken before pleading. But we think the Criminal Court
2d. It is insisted that, as tliere was a prosecutor marked on the indictment, it was error not to arrest tlie judgment. The indictment is marked, “no prosecutor necessary,” evidently because there was the return of the jury of inquest. But it is immaterial whether the return of the jury inquest was a valid or an invalid return. If the former, no prosecutor was necessary; if the latter, the omission to mark a prosecutor was cured by section 5242 of the Code.
3d. It is said the court erred in requiring the defendant to submit his hypothetical case to the medical experts, before the State’s rebutting evidence on this question of insanity was given to the jury. The court followed the usual practice of requiring the defendant to adduce all his evidence before the State should be called on to bring its rebutting evidence. If the defendant had applied to the court, affer the State had finished its rebutting proof, to examine the medical experts, with the additional evidence of the State before the jury, and the application had been refused, it would have been error. But no such application was made, nor was the defendant in any way damaged, as the State introduced no rebutting evidence which made it necessary to re-examine the medical experts.
4th. It is assigned in error, that the court refused to allow the defendant to show the incompetency of the witness, Virginia Holland, by proving her marriage with the defendaut by reputation, conduct and acknowledgment of the. parties. The refusal of the judge to hear the evi
5th. It is insisted that it was error in the court to refuse to allow witnesses, to the question of sanity, to express .an opinion as to sanity of defendant, after having stated facts upon which their opinion was based. This question arose in the case of Gibson v. Gibson, 9 Yer., 329. Upon examination of the authorities, which were not found very satisfactory, the court laid down the following propositions: “First — -Attesting witnesses, and they only, are trusted to give their opinion merely, and without cause or reason assigned, of testator’s sanity. Second — Physicians may state their opinion of the soundness of a testator’s mind, but they must state the circumstances or symptoms from which they draw their conclusions. As to all others, their opinions, considered merely as opinions, are not evidence. But having stated the appearance, conduct or conversation of testator or other particular
6th. It is insisted that the judge trenched upon the province of the jury in charging them as follows: “But the plea of insanity is put in for the defendant. He admits that he killed the deceased, but says that his mind was so much diseased at the time of the killing that he was incapable of committing the crime of murder, he being insane.” The obvious meaning of the judge was, that the plea or defense of insanity was put in for the defendant, and not that the defendant had put in a formal plea of insanity to the indictment. The residue of the statement was evidently intended to instruct the jury, that, in relying upon the defense of insanity the killing was necessarily admitted. We can not well see how the jury could have been mislead, or how they could have misunderstood the true meaning and purport of this language. We, therefore, think, this assignment of error, is not well taken.
7th. The last and most important error assigned is, as to that portion of the charge already quoted, in which the judge, among other things, said: “The proof of insanity must be as clear and satisfactory, in order to acquit
We have had no case in our own State where the exact question involved in the present one has arisen; but we consider the principle which must govern the decision as having been laid down in the case of Coffee, Ridley & Short v. The State, 3 Yer., 283, and followed ever since in subsequent cases. These cases were determined in 1832, and separate opinions were given by Judges Catron, Green and Peck. The cases had been tried before Judges Stuart and Kennedy, of whom Judge Catron said: “They are gentlemen of decided talents, accurate and extensive information on the criminal law, and great experience.” They had charged the juries, “that the law presumed the defendant innocent, and that presumption stood until the fact of killing was clearly made out by proof; and if they entertained a reasonable doubt as to the fact of killing by the defendant, they should acquit him; but if the fact of killing by the defendant be proved, the law presumed
In such case, he says: “If, from this whole body of evidence, they are convinced of the killing, but are not convinced that it was done with malice, they ought not to find the defendant guilty of murder.” Judge Green said: “There is no reason in saying that a jury must acquit upon a doubt as to the fact of killing, and yet upon a stronger doubt as to the equally important fact of malice, they must convict. It is admitted that if this state of the mind (doubt) exist as to the fact of killing, an acquittal must follow. But not so as it relates to the malice. And why? Because we are told there is a legal presumption to afford the mind a resting place. In answer to that proposition, it has already been shown that this legal presumption, which was prima facie evidence of the fact, has been opposed by
Is there any sound reason upon which it can be held that a doubt as to the malice in the killing shall operate as an acquittal, but that a doubt as to the sanity of the defendant at the time of the killing shall not so operate?
“If any person of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kill any reasonable creature, in being, and
Assuming that this interpretation of the words “sound memory and discretion” is sufficiently accurate, it may be safely stated that no person can be guilty of murder who has not sufficient discretion or discernment to distinguish between good and evil, and who has no consciousness of doing wrong. The law presumes every person to have this sound memory and discretion. Therefore, when the defendant was put upon his trial for murder, it was not necessary for the State to adduce proof of bis sanity. The presumption of law stood for and supplied the proof.
If he relied on the defense of insanity, the burden of proof was upon him to show that he was not of sound memory and discretion, unless the proof of the State showed that he was not of sound memory and discretion. To warrant a conviction, it must appear that the accused was capable, at the time of the killing, of distinguishing between good and evil, and had a consciousness of doing wrong. If he was thus sane, he could act willfully, deliberately, maliciously and premeditatedly. "We have seen, that, to justify a conviction for murder in
It is impossible to read the evidence in this case and not feel shocked by the enormity and atrocity of the crime, if we assume that the defendant was -of sound memory and discretion. An old, quiet, inoffensive man is brutally cut to pieces with an axe while he is sleeping peacefully in the room with the defendant and his family. No provocation had been given, there was entire friendship and cordiality between them when they retired to bed. Yet the jury found that the murder was attended with mitigating circumstances, and the defendant was sentenced to hard labor for life in the penitentiary.
We have searched the record in (vain for any semblance of a single mitigating circumstance. We are forced to the conclusion that the jury doubted whether the defendant was sane, and being instructed by the court that such doubt would not justify an acquittal, they gave the defendant the benefit of this doubt as a mitigating circumstance by way of saving him from the gallows. It has been earnestly and ably pressed upon us in argument, that the doctrine charged by the Criminal Judge ought to be adopted from considerations of public policy. It is conceded that the doctrine ought not to be carried to the extent of subjecting defendant to capital punishment, about the soundness of whose memory and discretion the juries may have doubts. This, it is admitted, would be too shocking to humanity to be tolerated. But t is insisted that the peace of society, and the prevention of the repetition of such horrible tragedies by defendants
The force of this argument is much strengthened by the facts proven as to the violent character of this defendant. To turn him loose might be to subject some other innocent victim to the same fate with Diggins. But this is not the tribunal to which the consideration of public policy, can be appropriately addressed.
Our duty is discharged in declaring that the defendant has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment, for life contrary to law.
We reverse the judgment, and remand the case for a new trial.
The argument that it was intended to urge, was, that the established law of England recognized this lule, and that policy forbade a departure from it — not that a new rule should be adopted upon such considerations now.
The obstacle lies in the fact that the defense of present insanity is never put in when the fact of insanity at the time of the offense will answer the purpose.