Franklin County MsArchives Court.....Slave, Peter 1839
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/ms/msfiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com December 8, 2005, 8:54 pm

Source: Reports Of Cases Argued And Determined In The High Court Of Errors And Appeals Of The State Of Mississippi
Written: 1839

Peter, a Slave, v. The State.

pages 433-434

Where a prisoner in custody makes confessions without any compulsion or 
promise of advantages, it seems they are admissible in evidence.

A special appointment of foreman is not necessary, when the record shows that 
the indictment was found and returned into court by the whole panel.

The name of the prosecutor must be marked on the indictment.

Where the appellant court reverses the judgment of the court below, for want 
of form in the indictment, the indictment will he considered sufficient prima 
facie evidence of guilt to remand the prisoner.

ERROR to the circuit court of Franklin county.
Vannerson and Baker, for plaintiff in error.
Collins, Attorney-General, contra.

Mr. Justice TROTTER delivered the opinion of the court.

This was an indictment for murder, found in the circuit court of Franklin 
county. There are numerous errors assigned as grounds for reversing the 
judgment of the court below, none of which, however, we deem it necessary to 
notice, except the following:

1. That the court below improperly admitted the confessions of the prisoner.

2. That the juror whose name is endorsed upon the bill of indictment as 
foreman of the grand jury was not appointed or designated as such by the court.

3. That the name of a prosecutor is not endorsed upon the indictment.

4. The grounds in support of the first objection, are disclosed in the bill of 
exceptions. A witness was introduced to prove certain confessions made by the 
prisoner of his guilt, and his testimony was objected to on the ground that 
the prisoner, at the time of making the confessions, was in custody, and 
surrounded by an exasperated crowd, and that he was under the influence of 
hope of being benefitted by the confessions. But it is not stated that the 
witness to the confessions, or any one else, at the time placed any particular 
motive of temporal advantage or punishment before the mind of the prisoner. 
The witness simply told him to tell him all he knew concerning the murder of 
the deceased. He then, without any compulsion, or any promise, made his 
statements. It is impossible to decide upon the force of this objection under 
this bill of exceptions. The statements made by the prisoner are not embodied 
in the bill. It merely avers that they were such as tended to establish his 
guilt. But it does not appear whether they were naked confessions of guilt, or 
whether they disclosed facts which proved the confession to be true. The rule 
is well settled on this subject, and it must appear clearly in the court, in 
order to exclude them, that the confessions were superinduced by promises of 
temporal advantage, or threats of temporal punishment. 2 Starkie. 27. But it 
does not appear that such was the case here.

2. It is objected that there was no foreman of the grand jury. To this we 
answer, that the record shows that the indictment was found and returned into 
court by the whole panel of the jury, and this is sufficient.

3. The third and last objection has been already decided by this court, and 
held to be fatal. The name of the prosecutor must be marked on the bill of 
indictment.

The judgment of the court below must, therefore, be reversed, the indictment 
dismissed, and, as the indictment is merely defective in point of form, and 
affords prima facie evidence of the guilt of the prisoner, he must be remanded 
for further proceedings.


Source: Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Errors and 
Appeals of the State of Mississippi, by Volney E. Howard, Reporter to the 
State; Vol. III; Containing the Cases for December Term, 1838, and January 
Term, 1839. NEW ORLEANS: E. JOHNS & CO., STATIONERS’ HALL, 1839.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ms/franklin/court/slave40gwl.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/msfiles/

File size: 4.4 Kb