Case Name: AHEARN v. STATE
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1915-10-27
Citations: 179 S.W. 1150
Docket Number: No. 3691
Parties: AHEARN v. STATE.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter
Volume: 179
Pages: 1150–1151

Head Matter:
AHEARN v. STATE.
(No. 3691.)
(Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
Oct. 27, 1915.
On Motion for Rehearing, Nov. 24, 1915.)
Homicide <&wkey;49 — MuEDEB—Manslaughter.
That decedent called accused a bastardly son of a bitch did not raise the issue of manslaughter, on the theory that the language was insulting towards accused’s mother, though accused testified that he shot decedent because of the insulting remark.
[Ed. Note. — Eor other cases, see Homicide, Cent. Dig. § 73; Dec. Dig. &wkey;349.]
¿Appeal from Criminal District Court, Dallas County; Robt. B. Seay, Judge.
Robert Ahearn was convicted of murder, and he appeals.
Affirmed, and motion for rehearing overruled.
W. W. Nelms, of Dallas, for appellant. C. C. McDonald, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

Opinion:
PRENDERGASt, P. J.
Appellant appeals from a conviction of the murder of Robert Burns, his punishment being assessed at 25 years in the penitentiary.
We have carefully read the statement of facts. We think the testimony, without any doubt, is ample to sustain the conviction. There is but one question .to be discussed. Appellant claims that the evidence raised, and the court should have submitted, man slaughter. We are clearly of the opinion that the appellant's contention cannot be sustained.
Appellant was a waiter in an all-night restaurant. Just after .midnight the deceased, Bums, with a companion, went into the restaurant to get a meal. They sat down at the eating counter. One of the state's witnesses, Mr. Conner, among other things, testified: That the head waiter directed appellant to wait on Burns and his companion. Appellant said, "Bet them sons of bitches get out of here; I am not going to give them two orders." Burns said, "F-k them, Boband appellant replied, "You cannot f-k me, you son of a bitch; you haven't got enough money — " That appellant then went right in front of Burns, the narrow counter, about two feet wide, only separating them, and said to Burns: "God damn you, if you want to start something, crack down." That other 'words passed between them, and appellant whipped out a sixshooter, and pointed it in the face of the deceased, when another one of his companion waiters told him to put up the gun and have no trouble. Very soon he snapped the pistol once in deceased's face, and then immediately fired at him three times in succession ; one ball striking him in the temple, going into his head and brains, which resulted in his death very soon afterwards. It appears that each used epithets towards the other; each calling the other, with profane language, a son of a bitch.
Appellant himself testified that during the wordy profanity and indecent language, one towards the other, the deceased, Bums, said to him, " 'You G — —d d-n bastardly son of a bitch, if you will come outside, .1 will kill you;' and I said, 'Burns, there is no use for any argument or any trouble;' and he said, 'Yes, G-d d-n you, you bastard ;' " and that when Burns said that it made him mad, he lost control of himself, and shot and killed him. He says, "I shot him because he called me a bastardly son of a bitch." Mr. Fox testified he asked appellant why he shot deceased, and he replied, " T shot him because he said I was a son of a bitch;' he didn't say anything else." The testimony of several other witnesses shows that appellant was very mad with Bums at the time.
Appellant claimed that this language was insulting towards his mother, which raised the issue of manslaughter. This court, in a ease very similar to this (Fitzpatrick v. State, 37 Tex. Cr. R. 33, 34, 38 S. W. 806), expressly held that, where the deceased in that instance said to the appellant, "You G-d d — r-n mother-f-g son of a bitch," did not raise manslaughter; that "this was merely an insult to the defendant himself, and not in the nature of a slander or insult towards a female relation." Also in Trevino v. State, 72 Tex. Cr. R. 91, 161 S. W. 108, this court expressly held that, where the deceased said to the appellant that he "was the son of a whore and disgraced," this was no insult towards his mother, and did not raise manslaughter. This court has also repeatedly in a large number of cases held that to call another "a son of a bitch," or "a G-d d-n son of a bitch," is no insult to the appellant's mother, and does not raise manslaughter.
The judgment is affirmed.
<@=»For other oases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes