Brown v. State

Decided October 15, 1891

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1891-10-15

From the circuit court of Coahoma county. Hon. G-eor&e Winston, Judge. Appellant was convicted of the murder of one Lewis Hence, and his punishment fixed by the jury at imprisonment for life. A motion was made to set aside the verdict and for a new trial, assigning, among other grounds, that the jury was improperly influenced by certain conduct of the bailiff in attendance during the trial.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1891-10-15

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Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently January 2016

4 state decisions

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Cooper, J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2¥é are not prepared to affirm that no injury resulted to the appellant from the suggestion of the bailiff to the jury that his personal desire was, that they should not longer delay their decision, as he wished to be relieved of further waiting, and by his officious intermeddling in pointing out an instruction (by which the jury was told that it was within its power to find the defendant guilty of murder, and award the punishment of imprisonment for life, instead of capital punishment) upon which, in the opinion of the prosecuting attorney, they would agree upon a verdict.

¶3It is to be hoped that the zeal of the bailiff was abated by his being retired, under the order of the court, to1 the common jail, and that, in his reflections there, it has occurred to him that one on trial for his life has rights which even a bailiff must respect.

¶4Judgment reversed.