16 So. 2d 626 | Miss. | 1944
Appellant was indicted and convicted of the murder of Robert White and sentenced to be electrocuted. From that judgment, he prosecutes this appeal. The evidence was conflicting as to his guilt. The principal ground *505 relied on for reversal, and the only one of sufficient merit to require discussion, was a part of the argument of the district attorney to the jury, which was shown by the special bill of exceptions, as follows:
"In his argument, the District Attorney said that defendant violated two laws before he shot deceased. He violated the moral law in taking the wife of deceased and living with her in unlawful cohabitation, when there is no evidence in the record to show that defendant had anything to do with the wife of deceased or ever had illicit relations with her, or ever visited her. To this argument defendant's counsel objected and asked the Court to exclude same but the court made no response and the District Attorney continued the same argument to incite the jury against defendant upon evidence not in the record nor that could be legally inferred therefrom."
This bill of exceptions was presented to and signed by the judge during the trial. There was neither direct evidence nor evidence from which it could have been reasonably inferred that the appellant had "violated the moral law in taking the wife of deceased and living with her in unlawful cohabitation." We are of opinion that the argument was such as to be highly prejudicial to the rights of appellant. In Smith v. State,
Reversed and remanded.