Souther v. The Commonwealth
Virginia Supreme Court
48 Va. 673 (1851)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
The commonwealth (plaintiff) produced trial evidence showing that Souther (defendant) killed his slave, Sam, through cruel and excessive whipping and torture. Souther sought to chastise Sam for getting drunk. With the assistance of two other slaves, Souther mercilessly tied up, whipped, cobbed, burned, kicked, and choked Sam, until, at last, the slave died. There was evidence from which it could be inferred that Souther merely intended to punish Sam and not kill him, but it could also be properly inferred from the severity and length of the whipping and torture that death was intended. A jury convicted Souther of second-degree murder and sentenced him to five years in prison. On appeal, Souther argued that the evidence supported only a conviction for manslaughter because he had the right to beat his slave as punishment and did not intend to kill him.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Field, J.)
Concurrence (Leigh, J.)
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