Appeal from the Circuit Court of Lowncles.

Tried before the Hon. J. C. Richardson.

The appellant in this case, Kittie Osborne, was jointly indicted with Nelson Myrick for the murder of Neil Porter, was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for eight years.

Upon being arraigned, the appellant moved for a severance. This motion was granted, and she was tried separately and apart from her co-defendant.

It was shown by the evidence that the defendant killed the deceased, Neil Porter, by shooting him with a shot gun, and that at the time of the killing the deceased was in the defendant’s house. The State introduced in evidence confessions made by the defendant which showed the circumstances of the killing and which were the same, substantially, as those testified to by her. Upon being introduced as a witness in her own behalf, the defendant testified that on the night of the killing, after she had locked up her house'and the door leading into her room, and had gone to bed and was asleep, she was awakened and found that the door to her room had been opened and.that a man was choking her; that he also struck her on the head with a stick; that upon her trying to scream, the man told her that if she screamed he would kill her. During the struggle which ensued, her little boy Avoke up and began to scream and the man ran out; that some time after this assault had been made upon her, she heard some one coming towards her house; that she got a gun, and as she did so, a man walked into the hall of the house, and that as he proceeded along the hall she shot him, Avith a. shot gun, from the effects of which wound he died. In the course of her examination this witness was asked the question which is copied in the opinion. The solicitor objected to this question, upon the ground that it was too indefinite and called for illegal and incompetent evidence. The court sustained the objection, and the defendant duly excepted. This. Avitness Avas then asked each of the following questions: “A short time prior to the killing had not an attempt been made to break into your house at night, and did you or not get your brother’s gun to defend yourself against these attacks?” “State whether or not a short Avhile previous to the night of the killing attempt's had been made to break into your house at night, and state Avhether or not you spoke to Mr. Izzy Varner and Mr. Reid Garrett about it, and on their advice, got the gun to defend yourself?” To each- of these questions the solicitor of the State objected upon the same grounds interposed to the former question, the court sustained the objections, and the defendant separately excepted.

During the examination of Reid Garrett, as a witness for the State, he was asked the following question: “If the defendant previous to the night of the killing, and a short time prior thereto, had not made complaints to him about some one trying to bleak into her house?”

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