Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/court-of-appeals-criminal/1948/56879.html
Timestamp: 2019-10-14 18:52:39
Document Index: 640235843

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 581', '§ 151', '§ 152', '§ 163', '§ 321', '§ 486', '§ 579', '§ 225']

Osborn v State :: 1948 :: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions :: Oklahoma Case Law :: Oklahoma Law :: US Law :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Oklahoma Case Law › Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions › 1948 › Osborn v State
1948 OK CR 24
194 P.2d 176
86 Okl.Cr. 259
Decided: 03/17/1948
1. Evidence-Corpus Delicti-Burden of Proof on State. In every criminal prosecution it devolves upon the state to prove, first, the corpus delicti; second, that the crime charged was committed by the accused.
2. Same-"Corpus Delicti" Defined. The "corpus delicti" means, when applied to any particular offense, the actual commission by some one of the particular offense charged.
3. Same-Weight of Extrajudicial Admissions in Supporting Conviction-Question for Jury. A conviction cannot be had upon a defendant's extrajudicial admissions alone, unless the state proves in some way the corpus delicti, independent of the defendant's admission. Direct and positive proof is not essential
to establish the corpus delicti, and it may be proved by circumstantial evidence. When it is proved by circumstantial evidence, the question should be submitted to the jury along with other questions of fact in the case, as to whether or not the state has established the corpus delicti beyond a reasonable doubt.
4. Same-Establishment of Corpus Delicti in Murder Case. Where a dead body is found with marks of violence upon it, or other circumstances that indicate that deceased came to his or her death by unnatural or violent means, proof of such fact, independent of defendant's confession, establishes the corpus delicti in a murder case.
5. Same-Conviction Based Upon Defendant's Voluntary Confession. Where the corpus delicti is established by independent evidence, a conviction based upon defendant's voluntary confession is warranted.
6. Same-Murder-Copy of Death Record Filed by Examining Physician with State Bureau of Vital Statistics Competent Prima Facie Evidence of Cause of Death. In prosecution for murder, a copy of the death record of the deceased filed by examining physician with State Bureau of Vital Statistics, and duly certified by State Registrar, is competent prima facie evidence of what caused the death. 63 O. S. 1941 § 581.
7. Limitation of Prosecutions-Accused Entitled to Discharge Where Charged With Offense not Barred by Limitation. As a general rule an accused is entitled to a discharge where he is charged with an offense which is not barred by limitation, but is convicted of a lesser included offense which is so barred.
8. Same-Prosecution for Murder not Limited-Manslaughter Must Be Commenced Within Three Years. There is no limitation of time within which a prosecution for murder may be instituted, 22 O. S. 1941 § 151, but a prosecution for manslaughter must be commenced within three years after its commission. 22 O. S. 1941 § 152.
9. Same-Limitations Do not Run While Defendant Is not "Inhabitant of or Usually Resident Within State." A limitation of the time within which a prosecution for manslaughter may be instituted, is tolled during the period when the defendant is not an inhabitant of or usually resident within the state. 22 O. S. 1941 § 163.
10. Same-Unnecessary for Prosecution to Prove Defendant Was not Inhabitant or Usually Resident Within State for Period Tolling Statute. The statute of limitations does not negative a single element of the crime with which a defendant may be charged. It does not put in issue the guilt of the defendant.
It therefore is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the defendant was not an inhabitant or usually resident within the state for a period of time which would have tolled the statute of limitations.
11. Same-Accused Must Have Been an Inhabitant or Usually Resident Within State During Time of Commission of Crime to Commencement of Prosecution. A defendant is not entitled to his discharge on the ground that limitation has barred the commencement of a prosecution for manslaughter, merely because information charges the offense to have been committed at a time more than three years prior to the filing of the information, but in order for the accused to be entitled to a discharge, the record must affirmatively disclose that during the period of time from the alleged commission of the crime to the commencement of the prosecution, the accused was an inhabitant or usually resident within the state.
12. Trial-Refusal to Give Requested Instructions not Erroneous Where Subject Matter Substantially Covered by Instructions Given. It is not error for the trial court to refuse requested instructions where the subject matter contained in the requested instructions is substantially covered in the instructions which are given by the court.
13. Manslaughter-Judgment of Conviction for Manslaughter in First Degree Affirmed. Record examined, instructions approved, and judgment of conviction for manslaughter in the first degree is affirmed.
JONES, J. The defendant was charged by information filed in the district court of Kay county on April 6, 1946, with the crime of murder allegedly committed on March 18, 1929; was tried, convicted of manslaughter in
the first degree, and pursuant to the verdict of the jury was sentenced to serve 25 years in the State Penitentiary.
The sheriff of Kay county testified that he was notified in the month of January, 1946, that the defendant
had been arrested in Phoenix, Ariz., and had given a statement to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in which he confessed to having killed the deceased Stanford in Newkirk in 1929. The sheriff, pursuant to the call from Phoenix, went to Phoenix, Ariz., and returned the defendant to Newkirk. At Phoenix, Ariz., the sheriff was given a, long typewritten statement by the authorities there which was allegedly signed by the defendant, detailing the facts surrounding the death of the deceased. This statement was offered in evidence by the county attorney, but upon objection being interposed by counsel for defendant that it was hearsay, the objection was sustained. However, the sheriff testified that on the return trip to Newkirk, he discussed the alleged crime with the defendant in which the defendant said that he and Barney Buchanan were in Bell Plain, Kan., and decided to go to Wichita and get a couple of guns and highjack George Stanford who was a whisky dealer in Newkirk. That in accordance with their plans, they drove to Wichita, got two 22 caliber pistols, one an automatic and the other a single shot. That they then hitchhiked to Oxford, Kan., where they stole an automobile and drove it to Newkirk. The defendant Osborn and Buchanan each had a pistol when they went to Stanford's house. A conversation occurred between Stanford and Buchanan, and the defendant heard a shot and saw Stanford walking back toward his house. That Buchanan jumped into the automobile and they left Newkirk in a hurry. That they abandoned the car which they had stolen and hid their pistols.
The county attorney also placed a witness on the stand who identified a written statement taken from the defendant in question and answer form which was subscribed and sworn to by the defendant before the deputy
court clerk of Kay county. In this written statement, the defendant, among other things, swore that he was a brother-in-law to Barney Buchanan. That in the early part of 1929, he and Buchanan were in Bell Plain, Kan.; that they were acquainted with a bootlegger living in Newkirk by the name of George Stanford. That they had bought liquor from him. That he and Buchanan had a conversation in which they decided on the morning of March 18, 1929, to go to Newkirk and highjack the deceased, Stanford. That they hitchhiked to Wichita, Kan., where Buchanan obtained two 22 caliber pistols. That they then caught a ride to Oxford, Kan., where Buchanan stole an automobile. That they drove the automobile to Newkirk to the house of deceased, which was out in the northeast part of town. That the house faced south. That it was after dark when they arrived. That Buchanan hollered for Stanford and he came out. That Buchanan told him he wanted some whisky. That Stanford went in the house and then came out again. That while Stanford was in the house, Buchanan got over on the edge of the seat next to the house. That the door of the automobile was open. That a conversation occurred between Buchanan and deceased and a shot was fired by Buchanan. That they then drove away in a hurry and returned to Bell Plain, Kan., where they borrowed the car of defendant's mother, took the stolen car back to Udall and abandoned it and returned to Bell Plain, Kan. That the guns were hidden in a hay stack. That later the guns were returned to the house of Buchanan's brother in Wichita where he had borrowed them. That he first learned of the death of Stanford when he read it in the paper. That he mentioned it to Buchanan and Buchanan told him to shut up and not say anything about it. That shortly after that he left for California.
"The 'corpus delicti means, when applied to any particular offense, the actual commission by some one of the particular offense charged.
"The judgment in a murder case will not be reversed on appeal as not sustained by the evidence, unless there is no substantial evidence tending to show the guilt of the defendant, or unless it fails so far to support the verdict that the necessary inference is that the jury acted
from partiality or prejudice, or was controlled by undue influence. * * *
See, also, Brown v. State, 9 Okla. Cr . 382, 132 P. 359; Choate v. State, 12 Okla. Cr. 560, 160 P. 34, L. R. A. 1917A, 1287.
"(b) To prove the corpus delicti is a simple matter. If a dead body is found with marks of violence upon it,
or other circumstances that indicate that deceased came to his or her death by unnatural or violent means, proof of such fact, independent of defendant's confession, establishes the corpus delicti in a murder case. * * *"
"In action on life insurance certificate, copy of insured's death record certified by State Registrar is competent prima facie evidence of what caused insured's death (St. 1931, §§ 321, 4514, 4516 [12 O. S. 1941 § 486, 63 O. S. 1941 §§ 579, 580] )."
The general rule seems to be that where one is charged with an offense which is not barred by limitation, but is convicted of a lesser included offense which is so barred, that he is entitled to a discharge. 22 C. J. S.2 Criminal Law, § 225.
In Coleman v. Territory, supra, Justice Tarsney of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory cited and discussed all of the leading American cases and text books on this subject of limitation, and came to the conclusion as stated in his opinion [5 Okla. 201, 47 P. 1081] :
"In this case the question is clearly presented whether, when the prosecution has established the commission of the offense by the accused, it was also its duty to establish by evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, its right to have the accused punished for such offense, by facts showing that he was not entitled to the benefits of the statute of limitation, or was it the duty of the defendant to establish by facts, to the satisfaction of the jury, his right to exemption from punishment by virtue of that statute? When the defense consists, not in confession and avoidance, but in the traverse of some essential fact relied on by the prosecution, and where such fact is an essential element of the offense, the burden of proof is unquestionably upon the prosecution, and it must establish such fact beyond a reasonable doubt. In determining upon which party lies the burden of proof and the degree of proof, we think a clear distinction may be drawn between cases where the defense traverses the material elements of the crime, and those which are exculpatory, or in the nature of confession and avoidance, and keeping clearly in mind this distinction will aid materially in construing apparently, conflicting authorities. * * * The defense of the statute of limitations traverses no element
of the crime charged. It is essentially an extrinsic defense. It does not put in issue either the guilt of the defendant, or the existence of any of the essential elements constituting his guilt of the offense charged. He simply asserts that by virtue of an extrinsic condition, not relating to the commission of the offense, but recognizing its commission, namely, a statute of repose or limitation, he is not now subject to punishment for the crime which he admits having committed. We can see no reason why the rule relating to the defense of license, authorization by the state, autrefois acquit, autrefois convict, pardon, provocation, or compulsion should not be the rule as to this defense. In fact, we think the rule applies with more reason and justice to this defense than to the others. It is not inequitable, oppressive, or substantially prejudicial to the safeguards which should surround the defense of one accused of crime, that if his defense does not deny the commission of the acts charged, or traverse any of the material elements of the offense, but is based upon facts wholly extrinsic, and peculiarly within his knowledge, and more readily susceptible to proof by him than by the prosecution, he should be held to establish such defense to the reasonable satisfaction of the jury. In the case at bar, as shown by this record, the prosecution. by the exercise of reasonable diligence, were not able to establish or prove that the defendant had a fixed, definite, habitation or residence within the territory. If such fact existed,-if the defendant did, in fact, during the disputed time, have a fixed, permanent residence within the territory,-that fact was peculiarly within his knowledge, and would be easily susceptible of proof by him; and we think it would be a sound rule only which would require him to make such proof."
In Rea v. State, supra [3 Okla. Cr. 281, 105 P. 386], this court held:
"The statute of limitations does not negative a single element of the crime with which a defendant may be charged. It does not put in issue the guilt of the defendant. It therefore is not necessary for the prosecution
to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offense committed is not barred by the statute of limitations."
In Davenport v. State, supra, this court stated [20 Okla. Cr. 253, 202 P. 25]:
In Crain v. State, supra, [70 Okla. Cr. 45, 104 P.2d 454], Judge Barefoot of this court, after reviewing the authorities, cited with approval the cases of Coleman v. Territory and Davenport v. State, supra, and stated:
In the instant case, the defendant offered no evidence but rests his proposition solely upon the ground that the state failed to prove that the prosecution, in so far as manslaughter was concerned, was not barred by limitations. We think the ruling of Judge Tarsney in disposing of a similar contention applies forcefully to the conclusion which we have reached in this case. If the defendant during the disputed time was an inhabitant or usually resident within the state, such fact was peculiarly within his knowledge and would be easily susceptible of proof by him, and we think it would be a sound rule which would require him to make such proof. It would present an almost insurmountable obstacle to the state to require that the state should show the whereabouts of the accused during all of the time from the date of the crime until his arrest. We do know from the evidence in the record that the defendant, at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, lived in Kansas. That after the