Baker v. State, (1939)
Court: Supreme Court of Florida
Number:
Visitors: 8
Judges: THOMAS, J.
Attorneys: John E. Mathews, for Plaintiff in Error;
George Couper Gibbs, Attorney General, and Tyrus A. Norwood,
Assistant Attorney General, for the State.
Filed: Mar. 14, 1939
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: The plaintiff in error was convicted of murder in the first degree under an indictment charging him with having been present aiding and abetting one Alvin Tyler to kill John H. Surrency. The sole question for decision is whether the verdict of the jury was supported by the evidence and was consistent with the charge of the court. We have read the testimony of the witnesses for the State and of the defendant, himself, and are convinced that the conclusion of the jury was fair and amply supported
Summary: The plaintiff in error was convicted of murder in the first degree under an indictment charging him with having been present aiding and abetting one Alvin Tyler to kill John H. Surrency. The sole question for decision is whether the verdict of the jury was supported by the evidence and was consistent with the charge of the court. We have read the testimony of the witnesses for the State and of the defendant, himself, and are convinced that the conclusion of the jury was fair and amply supported b..
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The State secured the conviction of this defendant by introducing his own confession — a statement which went into all the details of this terrible crime. The State therefore vouched for the truth of this statement which was entirely free and voluntary, and it shows that the defendant, after agreeing with Hysler and the other negro to "stick-up" and rob Mr. Surrency, when it came to the actual execution of the conspiracy, backed down, and Tyler, the other negro, over this defendant's protest, shot and killed Mr. Surrency. Under this state of facts, I do not think the jury was warranted in returning a death penalty verdict. A life sentence verdict would have been more appropriate.
Source: CourtListener
