124 So. 480 | Miss. | 1929
delivered the opinion of the court.
In the circuit court of Coahoma county, Percy Washington, the appellant, andl Henry Taylor were jointly indicted for the murder of Lynn Coleman. On arraignment of the two defendants, the court granted a severance, and PTenry Taylor was tried and convicted of murder and was sentenced to the penitentiary for life. Afterwards, and at the same term of court, the appellant was tried ancT was likewise convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the state penitentiary; and, from this conviction and sentence, he prosecuted this appeal,
After the shooting- contest, all the parties went into the house and engaged in a game of craps or dice which continued until about dark, when Henry Taylor announced that he was broke, and left the room. In a short while the said Taylor appeared at the door of the room with Wyman’s shotgun, and pointed it at the crowd who were engaged in the game, and, with an oath, demanded that they give up his money. Thereupon the appellant discovered a convenient window and immediately disappeared through the same, while the witness, Claud Bumpus, followed suit. Henry Taylor, without making any further effort to recover the money he lost, left the house carrying* the gun with him. Wyman protested against his taking the gun away, but he disap
Frank Wyman’s wife and Willie Bumpus testified that about dark of that evening they were traveling along this graveled highway going toward the Wyman home, and that, about the time they reached the intersection of this highway and the road leading to the home of Wyman, Henry Taylor passed them going in the opposite direction; that just after passing them, Taylor met the appellant who was traveling in the same direction as the two witnesses; that Taylor turned and followed the appellant; that they passed these witnesses, Taylor being a few feet behind the appellant; that both Taylor and the appellant had guns, and, as they were passing them on the road, Taylor said, “Let’s go down there and get our money, or kill those---that appellant did not reply to this statement or give any indication that he heard it, but both of them proceeded down the settlement road toward the home of Wyman; and that about that time these witnesses heard the motor of the automobile start at Wyman’s home, and also saw the lights of said automobile turned on, and shortly thereafter they heard two gunshots..
The testimony of the two witnesses, who were in the automobile at the time the shots were fired, was that, several minutes after Henry Taylor left Wyman’s home with the shotgun, they, with Lynn Coleman as the driver, started in their automobile toward the graveled highway ; that when they had proceeded a short, distance they met Henry Taylor walking toward Wyman’s home; that Taylor had a gun and stepped to the side of the road to permit the car to pass; that, just after the car passed Taylor, two shots were fired and the car ran a short distance and headed into a ditch and stopped. It was then discovered that Lynn Coleman had been killed, having
At the conclusion of the testimony for the state, the appellant made a motion to exclude the evidence and direct verdict in his favor. This motion was overruled, and, the appellant having* offered no evidence, the cause was submitted to the jury under instructions which authorized a conviction of murder if the jury believed from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant willfully, feloniously, and of his malice aforethought killed the deceased, or aided, assisted, or abetted Henry Taylor in murdering* him.
The appellant assigns as error the refusal of the court to peremptorily instruct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty, and, in support of this assignment, contends that the evidence was wholly insufficient to support a verdict of guilty upon the theory either that the appellant killed the deceased himself, or that he aided, assisted, encouraged, or abetted his codefendant, Henry Taylor, in murdering the deceased; and we have set forth somewhat at length the facts bearing1 upon these issues for the reason that we think a mere statement of the facts, as shown by the evidence, will make manifest the insufficiency thereof to support the verdict.
There is no direct testimony to show that the appellant was at the scene of the shooting, and the only circumstances tending to show that he was at or near the scene is the fact that a few minutes before the shooting he was seen walking along* the road in that direction. There is nothing to show that the appellant had any animosity or ill will toward any one in the automobile. Only a short time before he had been engaged in a friend
Reversed, and appellant discharged.