77 Ga. 419 | Ga. | 1887
A citizen of Alabama was traveling through Georgia, going to Florida. In passing a county town, he was noticed
Kidnapping is defined in §4367 of the code, and seems to be a close neighbor to this transaction. The very least that could be made out of the facts would be a gross case of false imprisonment. Code, §4364; 63 Ga. 513.
The statute authorizes the jury in certain cases (and this is one of them) to give exemplary damages, by way of deterring the defendant from repeating the tort, or committing similar torts. Code, §3066. But here, as it would seem, the jury attempted to teach the plaintiff by sad experience not to bring any more such actions. We think they looked exactly to the contrary of the direction in which they should have looked. Their object seems to have beqn to discourage men from asking legal redress for grave injuries, instead of making the violators of law smart for injuries inflicted. It is plain that, although this arrest may have been justifi
The case, in any view of it, not being one for nominal damages only, it was error even to suggest to the jury that a finding of one cent was legally possible under the evidence.
Judgment reversed.