Case Name: Grantham v. The State of Georgia
Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1890-03-01
Citations: 84 Ga. 559
Docket Number: 
Parties: Grantham v. The State of Georgia.
Judges: 
Reporter: Georgia Reports
Volume: 84
Pages: 559–560

Head Matter:
Grantham v. The State of Georgia.
March 1, 1890.
Criminal law. Verdict. Before Judge Eort. Schley superior court. April term, 1889.
Grantham was tried for assault with intent to murder Mose Porter, and was convicted of stabbing. He moved for a new trial on the grounds that the verdict was contrary to law and unsupported by the evidence. The evidence showed that, while Porter was nailing up a gate, the defendant approached him, cursed him and told him he was going to kill him. Defendant (who was the larger man) had a pocket-knife in his hand ; Porter had only a pine gate-latch about two feet long, three inches wide and an inch thick. Defendant struck at Porter with the knife, not cutting him hut cutting his shirt. Porter then struck defendant on the head, and defendant then cut Porter a number of times in his side and shoulders. Porter caught him and held him; others came up, and they were separated, after which defendant said he would kill “any dam nigger that set dogs on his hogs.” Some boys had set dogs on defendant’s hog by direction of their employer. Porter testified that he did not do so but was with the boys who did. The defendant introduced testimony to the effect that Porter admitted, after the difficulty, that he “ was to blame some in it himself,” and said, in response to a suggestion from defendant’s father, that he was willing to pay half the costs of warrants which had been issued against him and defendant, and wanted to settle. It appeared that the cases were dismissed for want of prosecution and that the whole of the costs were paid by the defendant. He stated that Porter put the dogs on one of his hogs and neai'ly killéd it; that he went to Mrs. Baisden, for whose husband Porter was working, and asked her who did it, and she said Porter did it; that Porter heard him and came “like he was going to raise a fuss ” with him; that he went to Porter thinking he would get him to take the hog and pay for it; that when within about ten feet, he asked Mose. what made him tear up the hog so, and Porter said, with an oath, because he wanted to, and gathered the gate-latch with both hands; that defendant saw he was going to be struck, put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his knife, and before he could open it Porter struck him and nearly knocked him down, and when he got straight he cut Porter, who had hold of him and was saying he would kill him. All this was denied by Porter in his testimony.

Opinion:
Simmons, J.
There was sufficient evidence in this case to warrant the verdict of the iury. Judgment affirmed.
Hinton & Cutts, by brief, for plaintiff in error.
C. B. Hudson, solicitor-general, for the State.