Bacon v. State

Citations

• 22 Fla. 51

Syllabus

<p>1. An accomplice is a competent witness, and a conviction may be had upon Ms uncorroborated testimony if it satisfies the jury beyond a reasonable doubt.</p> <p>2. There is no such inflexible rule of law as that no person can be convicted on the testimony of an accomplice unless corroborated by other evidence. It is a question for the jury who pass upon the credibility of an accomplice, as they do upon that of every other witness. The statements of the accomplice should be received with great caution, and courts should always so advise the jury; but if the testimony carries conviction and the jury are convinced of its truth, they should give to it the same effect as would be allowed to that of a witness who is in no respect implicated in the offence.</p> <p>3. The good character and reputation of a defendant among his neighbors in the community in which he resides, or has recently resided, is of value, especially in doubtful cases, and sometimes will create a doubt, when without such evidence none would exist. Such evidence, however, is intended for the consideration of the jury, and it is for the jury alone to determine whether, when considered with the other evidence in the case, it creates a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt.</p> <p>4. The defence of alibi is decisive when duly substantiated. It must include and cover the entire time when the presence of the accused was required to commit the criminal act charged. The evidence to support it should be carefully considered, and must be such as to satisfy the jury that the crime could not have been committed by the person thus proving an alibi.</p> <p>5. Under ordinary circumstances a new trial will not be granted, on motion of a defendant convicted in a criminal case, on the ground that a co-defendant tried at the same time and acquitted was a material witness for the convicted defendant. Under some circumstances, as when the Judge believed the verdict to be against truth, and against the weight of ev