Case Name: Ex parte DONOHOE
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1929-03-06
Citations: 14 S.W.2d 848
Docket Number: No. 12517
Parties: Ex parte DONOHOE.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 14
Pages: 848–848

Head Matter:
Ex parte DONOHOE.
(No. 12517.)
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
March 6, 1929.
Storey, Leak & Storey, of Vernon, for appellant.
A. A. Dawson, State’s Atty., of Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
CHRISTIAN, J.
This is an appeal from an order of the district judge denying bail. Appellant is charged by complaint with the murder of Herman Walden. The body of deceased was found in a pasture near an oil camp. There were shotgun wounds in the breast. Near the body were some empty 12-gauge shotgun shells. The body was rigid and stiff and looked like it had been in the position in which it was found for some time. The state introduced in evidence various circumstances tending to identify appellant as having committed the homicide. Touching the facts immediately attending the homicide, the record is silent. Without giving intimation as to their cogency if passed upon by a jury, this court does not feel warranted in concluding that on the evidence at hand a jury would probably inflict the death penalty. We do not deem it necessary to set out the facts in detail.
Bail is a matter of right, unless the evidence is clear and strong, leading a well-guarded and dispassionate judgment to the conclusion that the offense has been committed, that the accused is the guilty agent, and that he would probably be punished capitally if the law is administered. Ex parte Alford, 97 Tex. Cr. R. 410, 261 S. W. 1031; Ex parte Powell, 107 Tex. Cr. R. 648, 298 S. W. 575. The burden is on the state to show that the accused is not entitled to bail; otherwise, he is entitled to bail as a matter of right. Article 1, § 11, Constitution of Texas; Ex parte Powell, supra.
The judgment denying bail is reversed, and bail granted in the sum of $10,000.
PER OURIAM. The foregoing opinion of the Commission of Appeals has been examined by the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals, and approved by the court.