The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-04-30

Henry St. John.
Ben Turner. ..............P ineville
J. w. Miller. ...............B oyce
Judge Blackman's Charge to the
jury in the Butler-Hayes MUIR
der Case.
Gentlemen of the Jury:
The accused stands indicted for the
willful killing and numbering of B. NJ.
Hayes, in this parish, on or about the
10Th day of January, "A. D., 1890. The
defendant pleads that he is not guilty
OF the alleged crime, and thus the issue
is made up between the State and ac-
cused, which issue you are empannelled
and sworn to try and to decide.
tits my duty to give you, in charge,
the principles of law that are applicable
to the case, and to these principles you
are to conscientiously apply the evidence
that you have heard here on the trial,
and from the law and the evidence you
are to reach conclusion and pass judg-
ment upon the guilt or innocence OF the
accused.
The law defines murder to be the un-
lawful and felonious taking the life of a
human being by person in sound men,
DRY and discretion and with malice afore-
thought, either expressed or implied.
Malice, aforethought, in the law means
an intention existing in the mind ante
rior to or proceeding the act, to cause
the death Of, or do great bodily harm to
any person.
Thus malice is said to be expressed
when this intention to cause the death
or do great bodily harm to any person,
exists in the mind previous to the act
and this intention has been expressly
declared before the preparation Of the
deed Such intention is common
ly expressed by threats deliberately
made to either kill, or do some
great bodily harm, to particular per-
son or persons against whom there
exists some grudge or previous ill will
Malice implied means this When an
unlawful and attrocious deed has been
perpetrated, or some person has been
killed, or great bodily harm has been in
flicted, without any just cause or provo
cation, showing that the person who
did the deed had a wicked and deprav
ed heart, fatally bent on mischief,
setting at defiance the laws Of God and
man.
The law writer's have not fixed any
definite period or length of time for the
existence of malice previous to the per-
petration OF the deed, for this could
not in reason be done. This state OF
mind may exist for year, month, a
day, an hour, or for an instant, the only
question being, did malice exist at the
instant of the deed, if so it makes nc
difference in the law whether it was for
a long or short period, it being sui,
ficient that it did exist. From
this definition, gentlemen, you will
see that malice aforethought is an
essential ingredient Of murder, the non
existence of which at the time of the
homicide will not authorize conyic.
ton for this crime under the law. From
the evidence, the acts, and circumstan
ces surrounding the homicide in this
case; from the conduct, the previous
good will, ill will, Or grudge, or un
friendliness, if any existed in the mine
of the accused at the time OF the homi
eide; or from previous threats, if any
were made; or from the atrocity or un
justifabie killing, if such was the case
you are to determine whether there die
exist in the mind or heart of the ac
cused this condition which the law de
fines to be malice, if so, then the &C
cused is guilty as he stands charged il
this indictment.
But if in your judgment, after fairly
and impartially weighing all the evi
dence and circumstances, you come tt
the conclusion that such condition o
mind and intention did not exist pre-
yious to or at the time of the homicid,
then he is not guilty of the crime O
murder under the law, but may or ma,
not be guilty of another offense defined
by the law.
i Gentlemen, manslaughter is included
in the crime Of murder as the greater in
cludes the less.
Manslaughter is defined to be the un
lawful and felonious killing of anothe
without malice aforethought, and i
usually committed in hot blood on
sudden passion, on sudden provoca
ton, and differs from the crime of muir
der in this, though the act which cause
death be unlawful, "yet the malice afore
thought, which is the essence of muir
der, is presumed to be wanting"
| Should you find, gentlemen, that tn
accused is not guilty of the charge in tn
indictment, that is murder, you are thel
to determine under the law and the evi
dence whether the accused is guilty o
not guilty of manslaughter.
Gentlemen, the law gives the right t
every man to defend himself, and if h
be in the peace of the State, and no
provoking or bringing on difficulty a
the time it occurs, he has the right t
repel force by force, and has the right t
take the life of his assailant, if Their
exist at the time all imperative necessit
for him so to do, to save his own life q
prevent some great bodily harm from be
ing inflicted on him, provided there i
no apparent safe way for him to escap
by retreating from his adversary. Til
right of self defense does not "depen'
exclusively upon the reality or immi
nency OF the danger apprehended, bu
whether at the time the accused had
reasonable ground to believe himself il