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125 Ga. 296

Smith v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided May 14, 1906

Supreme Court of Georgia · decided 1906-05-14

<p>In the trial of a criminal case, where the State relied for conviction both upon circumstantial evidence and upon direct evidence consisting of an alleged confession of defendant, and where the court charged, “Whether dependent upon positive or circumstantial evidence, the true question in all criminal eases is, not whether it be possible that the conclusion at which the testimony points may be false, but whether there is sufficient testimony to satisfy the mind and conscience beyond a reasonable doubt,” such charge was not rendered erroneous because of the failure of the court to go further and charge the law of circumstantial evidence.</p> <p>(a) It was not erroneous, under evidence such as that mentioned above, for the court, in the absence of a timely and appropriate request, to omit to charge unqualifiedly upon the law of circumstantial evidence.</p> <p>(h) Nor was it erroneous for the court, in the absence of such request, to omit to charge the law of circumstantial evidence, to be applied in the event the jury should not believe that the confession had been made.</p> <p>(o) The confession was sufficiently corroborated, and, there being evidence to support the verdict, we will not disturb the judgment of the trial court in refusing to grant a new trial.</p>

Relies on Owens v. State · Eberhart v. State · Williams v. State

Decided 1906-05-14

Atkinson, J.

¶1It will be seen from the statement of facts that there was considerable evidence strongly corroborative of the alleged confession of the defendant. The language attributed to the defendant on that occasion will bear no reasonable construction other than a direct confession that he was paid $25 to burn the house, and in fact did the burning. See, in this connection, Eberhart v. State, 47 Ga. 609; Owens v. State, 120 Ga. 299. The jury was authorized from the evidence to believe that such a confession *299had been made. The confession being direct evidence, the conviction did not depend exclusively upon circumstantial evidence; and therefore, in the absence of an appropriate request, it was not erroneous for the court to omit to charge the law of circumstantial evidence. See McElroy v. State, ante, 37. It does not alter the case that the court gave in charge section 987 of the Penal Code, as ^quoted in the headnote. Nor was it erroneous for the court, in the absence of such request, to omit to charge the law of circumstantial evidence, to be applied in the event the jury should not believe that a confession had been made. The confession was sufficiently corroborated to justify the conviction of the accused. See Williams v. State, 69 Ga. 14 (26, 27). There being evidence to support the verdict, we will not disturb the judgment of the court in refusing a new trial.

¶2 Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur.
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