Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

110 Miss. 400

Wells v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court

Decided October 15, 1915

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1915-10-15

Hon. E. L. Biuen, Judge. John Wells was convicted of murder and appeals. The facts are fully stated in the opinion of the court: This conviction ought not to be allowed to stand, even if there were no errors committed by the trial court except in the admission of the statement made by the wounded man. The statement of John Cassiono, as testified to by Joe Lauderdale, a policeman, was clearly hearsay.

Decided 1915-10-15

Cook, J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2Appellant was convicted of the crime, of murder, and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary for the term of his natural life.

¶3*402Among other assignments of error is the action of the trial court overruling’ appellant’s objections to the admission of certain evidence whereby it was shown that the deceased a short while before his death, identified appellant as the person who inflicted the fatal wound. There can be no claim that the statement of deceased was, in any sense, a dying’ declaration, but it is said here that deceased accused appellant of the crime, and that appellant did not deny the charge. The record shows that appellant denied the statement of deceased, that he was the person who shot deceased, and this denial immediately followed the charge.

¶4The sole question before the jury was the identity of the murderer, and the admission of this evidence was highly prejudicial.

¶5Reversed and remanded.

/110/miss/400 · .json · Public domain