American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-04-17

III caSesnlu SNtuS cOnsITuctiOl 10 our
Act of Assembly:
. ''Our State adopts the common law
definition fmurder, aud it is distinguish
able into two degrees; defining the FIRST
degree specjgl}y, by certain enumerated
cases; and gcasrdlysby the words ''other
kind of wilful, deliberate and premedi-
tate6 killing" 4 careful study cf our
jurisprudence on this subject, clearly re.
veals the fact that such terms IS de-
h6erate purpose, or deliberate and pre-
meditated intent to kill, are sometimes
substituted for the words of the statute;
yet our reported iurisprudence.is very
uniform in holding that fhe true criterion
OF the first degree is the intent to take
life-the deliberatiou and prenieditation
required by the statute are not on the in
tent, but upon the killing. 1t is deli6>
Grafton ard premeditation enough to form
the intent to kill-and MT upon the in
cent after it has been formed An intent
actually formed, even for a momegt be-
fore it is carried into act, is enough"
And his honor, Judge NoalpA3n. in
the cafe of the Commonwealth VS. Kelly,
lst, Grant, 491, in delivering the opin
ion of the Court, declares what is the
proper construction of our act, and gives
instructions to the Judges below IN charg
ing juries in reference thereto;
:! BY the act of 1874, (and now by act
Of 1861 murder by means of poison, or
by lying in wait. or ans other wi'iul, de-
liberate and premsditated killing, is mur-
der in the first degree v hen the crime
was not committed in the attempt to per-
petrate either of the felonies mentioned
in the act in which specific intent is not
an element, the Legislative will is most
carefully expressed to limit the capital
offence to cases where it is the result of
a wilful, deliberate, wicked purpose.
Poisoning and lying in wait are cnumer-
ated, and "auy other wilfai and deliber
ate killing" is plac ed along side as
equally henious, because equally the re
suit of the wicked settled purpose, and TO
be followed by precisely the same pun
ishmcnt
The collccation of those varieties in
which the crime may occur, serves to
show that all belong ia the samo species
that they sprung from the same root
which is oiH, deliberate purpose It
must here bo remembered that this dspo-
sition of mind, leading its victim Into
murder. all aware of its wicked pursuit
and intent upon the result, is the dis.
tinghishing trait between murder in the
first and second degree. 1t is a positive
element, and its presenc mus be proved +,
according to law, beyond the possibility
of reasonable doubt Ifit be not provd
there IS no capital offence Ii is ossen>
tial to its grade as is killing itself, and
cannot'be supplied by any other ingredi-
ent. If it be not proved, and the killing
be with malice, but upon a sudden quar-
rel, or on great provocatiou, it is by the
act of Assembly deemed to be murder in
the second degree. If not found to be
long to the first class, it is presumed to
belong to the second and this should
be carefully presented to the jurors mind
in all such trials and he should consci
cntiously act upon it, regardless of any>
thing but duty"
Then, gentlemen of the Jury, your
inquiry would naturally be what length
of tine does the law declare necessary for
delibcration In addition to what has
already been said, Judge Lewis, in his
Criminal Law, gives us the spirit of the
authorities on that point. He soys "If
the defendant has time to think and in
tend to kill for montE as well as an
hour, or day, it is deliberate, willul
aud premeditated killing-constituting
murder in the first degree. To kill a
person wilfully is the same as killing him
on purpose-it must be deliberate but
the law fixes no time to deliberate to
constitute murder. 1t is not required
tha. he shall ponder ever the crime for
any period of time. To deliberate is to
reflect with a view to make q choice and
If it appeared that the party did reflect,
though but fof minute before he acted
it is unquestionably a scfficieBt delibera,
ton within the act of Assembly. To
premeditate, is to think Of the matter
before hand. 1t is to conceive of thing
before it is executed. The word "pre-
meditation" would seem to imply some
thing more than deliberatiou, and may
mean that the party had not only deib
erated, but had framed in his mind the
plan of destruction No time is too short
fos wicked man to form in his mind a
scheme to murder, and to contrive the
manner Of accomplishing it."
Then, gentlemen, under the statute,
when it appears from the whole evidence,
that the crime was, at the moment, Ge
liberately or ihtendedly executed, the
killing is murder 1t is sufficient if the
circumstances of wilfulness and dehi6era-
ton are proved, though they arose and
were generated at the period of the trans.
octiou IF intention to kill existed, and
if the jury are satisfied beyound all pos
slble doubt, that defendant did the act
and that the weapon used was sufficient
TO prod uce death in tho manner it was
used by the prisoner, and the act was de-
liberately premeditated, then it is murder
in the fr-t degree for the law in the
absence of circumstances aud evidence
that the bow was atruck with intent tc
do great bodily harm, will presume an
intent ia kill from the use Of deadly
weapon. Andif deadly weapon be used
by the defendant, the proUocafion must
be very great to reduce the grade Of crime