Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

42 Ala. App. 497

Leonard v. State

Alabama Court of Appeals

Decided November 17, 1964

Alabama Court of Appeals · decided 1964-11-17

Decided 1964-11-17

CATES, Judge.

¶1Found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and given nine years imprisonment, Leonard appeals.

¶2Leonard undisputedly shot his son-in-law, Wesley White. He claims that he did so in self defense.

¶3No lights were on about ten o’clock at night. Mr. and Mrs. White were in bed.

¶4Leonard came up to the screened front porch of the White home. He said that he wanted to talk to White. White, who was drunk, got out of bed, took up a shotgun, cursed Leonard and ordered him away two or three times.

¶5There is no evidence that Leonard obeyed. Next White shot. Leonard, who had a 22 target pistol, shot four times quickly. One bullet went into White’s skull.

¶6There was testimony of an earlier threat on Leonard’s part against White’s life.

¶7By reducing the charged offense to voluntary manslaughter, the jury, in effect, rejected construing Leonard’s using a deadly weapon as making out murder.

¶8Whether Leonard was on territory or in imminent circumstances where he could stand his ground — as in peril or in defense of his daughter — resolved itself into a matter of charging the jury. No complaint of the trial judge’s charging or not charging is pressed here.

¶9We have carefully reviewed the whole record sent up and conclude the judgment below is due to be

¶10Affirmed.

/42/alaapp/497 · .json · Public domain