The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-11-20
frailty of human nature, con.
siders sufficient to palliate the degree
Of crime, the crime is manslaughter.

lrallty OF human nature, con.
siders sufficient to palliate the degree
Of crime, the crime is manslaughter.
AS applied to the case at bar: If you
find the defendant killed w. D. Duff,
but did SO without malice, and such kill
ing was unlawful, and without justifica-
ton, you should find the defendant
guilty of granddaughter.
If you do not find the defendant
guilty of manslaughter, you should re-
turn verdict of not guilty.
The claim and defense ia made that
the defendant was mentally unsound
and irresponsible at the time the acts
complained of were committed. If YOU
find the defendant shot and killed DR..
Duff, as charged, and if from the evil
dence submitted you further find that
such killing was caused by, and was the
result of mental disease or unsoundness.
which dethroned the defendants reason
and judgment with respect to that act,
which destroyed his power nationally to
comprehend the nature and conse.
quences of that act, and which, over
powering his will, irresistibly forced him
to its commission, then he is not amen.
able to legal punishment.
But if the jury believe from all the
evidence and circumstances that the
defendant was in possession of a ration.
al intellect of sound mind, and allowed
his passions to escape control, then,
though passion may for the time being
have driven reason from her seat and
usurped it, and have urged the defen-
dant with force at the moment irresist.
Idle to the commission of the homicide
ne cannot claim for such acts the pro-
lection of insanity.
Whether passion or insanity was the
ruling force and controlling agency
|. which led to the acts complained Of
} In other words, whether the.defendan.' .
acts were the insane acts of an unsound
mind, or the outburst of violent, reck.
less,and uncontrolled passion in a mind
! not diseased ,-is,the practical question
which you are called upon to determine
according to your best judgment upon
the evidence before you. If YOU be.
lieve that tie homicide was the direct
i result or offspring Of insanity, you
should acquit the defendant. If YOU
find that it was the direct result or off.
: spring of passion, unless it was An in
sane passion, it would not be justiH.
cation or excuse for any such act.
, 1t is not necessary, in order 10 en-.
title the defendant to an acquittal on
the ground of insanity that the evi.
dence show him to have been generally
insane, or insane upon all subjects. II
, is sufficient if upon the particular mat.
tiers to which the acts complained Of
may be referred he was insane and
/, could not control himself. Neither il
it necessary that at all times, or fol
some particular or considerable length
+ of time it should be shown the defen.
dant was insane. 1t is sufficient if al
, the particular time of the acts com
planned of he was mentally unsound.
On the other hand, if upon some mat
tiers the defendant was laboring under
delusions,or was mentally unsound, bu
g that these delusions had no connection
with the alleged criminal act; or if suct
!, delusions had no connection with ths
homicide, or were the direct cause of it
8 and yet the defendant could have con
trolled his acts and RETAINED from per
petrating them, he could not, under
e such circumstances, rely on such insan
= |ity as defense. Or fit be shown tina
at times the defendant was laborips
g under decisions, or was afflicted with
] insa nifty, but that at the time of The
, alleged killing he was sane; or if to some
degree he was mentally unsound bu
was able to control his acts if he hac
desired to do so, then, in either event
he should be held accountable for hi:
t acts.
In other words, the alleged insanity
and the alleged crime must be connect
ed, anG the crime be the offspring o,
the insanity, and beyond the power Of
the defendant to control, in order tc
have the effect of generating the de.
PENDANT from punishment.
Even if you are satisfied from the evi
dence, or even if you should find that to
some extent he was of unsound mind
still, if at the time he did the shooting
} he was in such mental condition as to
know that the acts he was doing were
wrong, and that he knew and realized
what would be the consequences Of such
acts, and that he had the power to re-
sist and restrain himself, he would be
held under the law as responsible fol-
such acts.
If, however, he was in such mental
condition as not to know the right OF
wroDu IF his acfS. mr. If bo. ala ro+