Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

96 Miss. 169

Matthews v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court

Decided October 15, 1909

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1909-10-15

Neom the circuit court of Warren county. Hon. JohN N. Bush, Judge. ■Matthews, appellant, was indicted, tried, convicted of the murder of one Harrison Warner, sentenced to the penitentiary •for life, and appealed to the supreme court. The facts are sufficiently apparent from the opinion of the court. Counsel discussed the testimony and contended that it was utterly insufficient to support the conviction.

Decided 1909-10-15

Whiteielu, O. J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2The conviction in this case rests exclusively upon the testimony of a little negro boy about seven years of age. He made two diametrically opposite statements in the court of the justice ■of the peace as to how the killing occurred, and he made a state*170ment to three or four other witnesses, which statement was indirect conflict with his testimony on the stand, as to the vital thing involved. We cannot, under the peculiar circumstances, of this case, consent to this conviction, on the testimony of this-single witness, this seven year old boy, evidently very ignorant., when that testimony is contradicted by his own statement', made-to many witnesses, and also made in the committing court. Iflow the jury could have failed to entertain a reasonable doubt of the truth of his statement, it is impossible to see.

¶3Their verdict on the facts- as contained in this record is manifestly wrong, and the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded. ' Reversed.

/96/miss/169 · .json · Public domain