Herring vs. State (199 Ga., 709; 46 S. E., 876): The nice and subtle technicalities with which some of the courts in the past surrounded the crime of perjury rendered a conviction for that offense well-night impossible. It is probable that these niceties were devised by the common-law courts, on account of the barbarous punishment which was visited upon persons convicted of this offense. The punishment has been humanely mitigated, and at the same time the class of persons competent to testify in court has been greatly enlarged. As all faith in judicial proceedings rests upon the final sanction of an oath, it is good policy, not only for this reason by for those above indicated, to facilitate, in so far as may be consistent with law and justice, convictions for his crime.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:41:52 +0000