ANNIE MAY WILLIAMS, ALIAS HONEY WHITT, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR
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This case reviews a conviction for manslaughter. The court affirmed the conviction, finding sufficient evidence of culpable negligence in handling a firearm that resulted in a child's death, even if the original intent was not to kill the child.
Yes, the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain the verdict of manslaughter. The accused's culpable negligence in handling the firearm under the circumstances supports the conviction.
“whether she had the pistol for the purpose of shooting 0, who was in the hall, as charged in the first count of the indictment, or had the pistol to take care of for another person, is not material since it is evident that her possession and handling of the pistol at the place and under the circumstances was culpable negligence, if not unlawful”
Establishes that the specific intent to kill was not material for the manslaughter conviction, as culpable negligence was sufficient.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe accused was indicted for first-degree murder, with charges related to premeditated design to kill one person or the child victim. The evidence sho…
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Whitfield, J.
The plaintiff in error was indicted for murder in the first degree, the charge being in two counts, one alleging in effect that the accused with a premeditated design to kill one C, shot and killed a child, Bernice McCoy; the other count alleging in effect that the accused, with a premediated design to kill Bernice McCoy, did fatally shoot her. This writ of error was taken to a conviction for manslaughter, the statutory definition of which is: “ The killing of a human being by the. act, procurement or culpable negligence of another, in cases where such killing shall not be justifiable or excusable homicide nor murder, according to the provisions of this article, shall be deemed manslaughter, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the State prison not exceeding twenty years, or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.” Bee. 539, Rev. Gen. Stats. 1920.
The only contention here is that the evidence does not sustain the verdict upon which the judgment was rendered.
It appears that the accused while sitting in a dance hall where there were a number of people, had a pistol in her lap unseen by others, which she was handling. Whether she had the pistol for the purpose of shooting 0, who was in the hall, as charged in the first count of the indictment, or had the pistol to take care of for another person, is not material since it is evident that her possession and handling of the pistol at the place and under the circumstances was culpable negligence, if not unlawful; and the discharge of the pistol killed the child Bernice McCoy who happened to be passing in front of the accused while she was with culpable negligence handling the pistol that was concealed in her lap.
As the charge of murder in the first degree included a charge of manslaughter, and as the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain the verdict of manslaughter, with no ma terial errors of law or procedure made to appear, tlie judgment is affirmed.
West, C. J., and Ellis, Terrell and Strum, J. J., concur.
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Gainer v. State, 100 Fla. 164 (Fla. 1930)…where such killing is not justifiable or excusable homi [*167] eide nor murder. Rivers v. State, 75 Fla. 401, 78 So. R. 343. A conviction of manslaughter for a death from shots caused even by culpable negligence will be sustained. Williams v. State, 89 Fla. 475, 104 So. R. 782. There being no error, the judgment of the trial court should be affirmed. Per Curiam. — The record in this cause having been considered by the Court, and the foregoing opinion prepared under Chapter 14553, Acts of 1929, adopted by…
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Sapp v. State, 913 So. 2d 1220 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…n encounter with his girlfriend’s male friend, and while holding pistol in his right hand, shot male friend during struggle for pistol; defendant’s actions “set the stage for the tragedy which ultimately and inevitably followed”); Williams v. State, 89 Fla. 475, 104 So. 782 (1925) (affirming manslaughter conviction where shotgun which the defendant was shifting from one arm to the other accidentally discharged, killing an unintended victim); Cunningham v. State, 385 So. 2d 721 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980) (finding e…
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