Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-09

i
from a true verdict.
Neither You nor l are responsible for the
penalty imposed BY the law You simply de-
clare by your verdict whether the defendant il
guilty or not guilty of the crime charged
| under your sworn duty while /, as the mouth
piece of the law. declare the consequences un
der my sworn duty.
Whatever impression may have been made up.
on Your minds prior to hearing the evidence in
TINS case, II any was made by rumor, or by
feaol ag newspapers news you should ,; a
disregard and base your delibera' ons
| and your verdict solely and exclusively upon
the evidence. 1t is also your duty to
exclude from your minds the considera-
ton of any and all matter that has
purpose OF impeaching or Of affecting
| the credit of any witness, save and except to
| the extent that 1t may serve to present before
you the witness to whom it related. and may en-
| able you to judge of the credit to which the
witness is entitled. To enable the jury To
judge of the weight to which the testimony OF
| any witness is entitled, it lie common practice
and 1t Is right and proper. after calling the at
| tentlon OF the witness to the matter in proper
manner. upon cross xamination up on the den ial
by him to receive evidence tending to show
his bias and evidence of prior contradictory
| statements. The court has therefore admit;
the evidence OF John Humphrey and John
r -. brign n1,;vo with reference to the
by Mr.. Holbrook. about which he was
cross-examined. indicating his expectation of in
huence upon the mind Of some mem-
Der OF the jury by his evidence as to the num-
Der OF shots. The court has also ad-
mitted. after cross-examination of Mr..
Walker in relation to it. evidence of a state
ment claimed to have been made in the pres
ence OF John II. Sumner and Warner Green,
IN which he gave q different version OF
the number of shots and made state
mn, ~lxv
OF the jury. and prophesying the outcome of
the trial In neither of these instances was the
matter which incidentally. directly or indi-
rectly, referred to the jury admitted
ior any other purpose than to
enable the jury to Judge of the
Partially. bias or interest of the witnesses You
should not allow this matter to affect your
consideration Of the evidence in this case
IN the slightest particular, except in so
i lar as in your Judgment, you may con
on the tina" part Of M Enb0 IN 1 sSs
one instance and Of Mr.. Walker in the other.
with such effect upon their credulity as you
may consider it causes. With these preliminary
remarks We will consider the nature of the
crime charged in this Indictment and endeavor
to define and apply the law relating to it
MURDER AND MANsLAUGHrER. "f
The crime charged in the indictment is MUIR
der. The charge of this crime also embraces
that Of the lesser. crime of manslaughter.
So that upon the trial of
party under an indictment charging
the crime OF murder you will readily
understand that ordinarily it Is possibl" that
any one of three verdicts may be rendered-one.
the verdict OF guilty, AZ indicted if the dence
justifes the conclusion that the defendant
committed murder; another, the verdict
of guilty of manslaughter,if the evidence iusti-
hes such a verdict; and another. the verdict
OF not guilty If the evidence fails ~ satisfy and
and convince you that either the crime of
murder or that OF manslaughter has been
committed.
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human
being by person of sound memory and dis
cretion, with malice aforetLouSht.
Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a
human being by person of sound memory and
discretion. without malice.
The essential difference between the two
crimes is this-that in murder malice must be
established by the evidence, for that is the es-
sence of the crime, while in manslaughter that
element is presumed to be wanting.
Malice may be expressly indicated by evil
dence of declarations, which evince a malig-
nant disposition and purpose. Malice may be
implied from circumstances and they may be
as forcefu and indicative of its existence as the
most direct expressions by word or mouth
1t need not be solely directed to the deceased
1t does not mean only an expression of
hatred or ll-will to an individual
but it means any wicked or mischievous
intention of the mind prompt
ing to an act. 1t is not necessary to make out
the crime Of murder to show that the prisoner
had any enmity to the deceased Evidence of
the absence of ill-wil cannot furnish an acc used
person with any defense. when it is proved
that the act of killing was intentional and done
without any justifable cause. Malice Is pre-
sumed or implied when a man commits an I'M
lawful act. unaccompanied by circumstances jus
tifying its commission. 1t is then presumed
that he has acted advisedly and with an intent
to produce the natural consequences of
such an act. Inasmuch as a wound from
a pistol ball fired into the body OF
human being is calculated to and may
cause death. revolver is held to be
a deadly weapon, and when a wound ia made
by such or a similar deadly weapon which may
and actually does cause death, il made without
such provocation. or under such circumstances
as reduce the crime to manslaughter. or under
circumstances as fail to indicate that any crime
has been committed, such act is deemed ma
icious, and the killing is murder.
ELEMENTS OF MALICE AFoRETHoUGHT
Malice aforethought. therefore, may mean
that evil impulse which prompts the execution
Of an unlawful act upon another that may
and does result in death. 1t may exist as the
result OF deliberation and generalization for
minutes, hours, days, or any length of time
before the act that is its climax and
chief expression is committed, and 1t
may cAibt LUZ uo apprcCldUie lenRtn OF
time before. 1t may be as slow in
forming as would consume weeks in deliber-
alton and premeditation, and it may be as
quick in conception and purpose as the fash Of
thought. Fermentation and deliberation
may be elements of malice afore-
thought" but they are not essential
to its existence. and malice afore-
thought in the sense Of the law fire.
quently does exist without either delibera-
ton or generalization. There is no
particular period during which it is neces-
sary that malice should have. existed.
or the prisoner should have. eontem-
plated the homicide If, for example, the in
tent to kill or to do other great bodily harm is
executed the instant it springs into the mind,
the offence is as truly murder as if it had ex-
listed there for a longer period
An unlawful killing is a killing without iusti-
fable or excusable cause; such killing, if ma
licious. is murder, and, if without malice, is
granddaughter. II one kill another by
pure accident and without carelessness or
negligence he is held bameless under the kind
charity of our law. Out under the mosaic law
the congregation should judge between the
slayer and the reveuger OF blood and deliver the
slayer to the city Of his refuge, where he
was compelled to remain until the death of
the high priest-to come out WAS at
the risk of his life.) II one kill an
other by an act of carelessness or
negligence, or in the heat Of sudden
passion excited by recent reasonable provo
cation, or under circumstances of an actual
but not reasonable apprehension of serious
bodily harm, or loss of life at the hands
OF the person killed and Uitbout mo l;co