Smith v. State

Citations

• 90 Miss. 111
• 43 So. 465

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law and Procedure. Affidavit. Absent witness. Effect of admission. Instructions. Testimony of accused. Credibility. Witness. Gross-examination. Evidence. Comment on failure of accused to testify.</p> <p>Upon the second trial of an accused charged with homicide, the defendant being the only witness to the killing in his behalf,- it was error: —</p> <p>(а) To permit the state to show that the defendant’s absent witness was present but not introduced by,him at the former trial, the state having agreed that the witness if present would testify as shown in an affidavit read to the jury; and</p> <p>(б) To allow the state to ask defendant when testifying in his own behalf, whether he had testified in his previous trial; and, without reference to whether the trial be a first or other one,</p> <p>(c) To instruct the jury at the instance of the state that they should, in weighing the evidence, take into consideration defendant’s interest in the result of the trial; and</p> <p>(d) To allow the state to show on cross-examination of a witness that he claimed a reward for arresting the accused.</p>