The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-15
Not Guilty, the Jury's
Verdict.
Continued from Third Page.)

| it, and whether or not the demonstration
was made as the witnesses say.
Now, something has been said about
the deliberation, the GOODNESS. One of the
witnesses said he took the pistol and put
it up there Gndicating). Well, now,
brave. courageous. calm man can appre-
bend danger, if danger exists, as well
as a timid, scary man. The law does
not excuse a timid, scary man any more
than it does brave and courageous man.
brave, cool and courageous man is bet
ter able to judge of the necessity of TAX
ing mans life than fellow that is
scared and timid. Because a man acts
cool and deliberate about it is no reason
why he should be deprived of the benefit
of the law. because the law is made for
the cool and calm and the brave as we'll
as for the timid; and therefore the fact
alone that he took that pistol that way
would not indicate anything but that he
was cool and deliberate about it.
Now the defendant says, and according
| to my recollection. most of the witnesses
put the deceased. some of them going
southeast and some of them going north
east, and some of them turned to the
West. at the time the second shot was
L
not under these circumstances the second
shot could have hit Mr.. Skinner to the
left of the arm. If you are satisfied that
| it could not, why, then, it follows as q
matter of course that you ought to find
| that the first shot hit him. But, as 7
said before in my charge, according to
the view the court has of it. it makes no
difference which shot hit him. for the
reason, as stated to you. that what is
cooling time is question of law for the
court; and, when man is put in appre-
hension of his life, the little time that
elapses between the firing of this pistol
D that manner Indicating by snap OF
| fngers) the court holds was not a suffi-
cient time for the apprehension to be re-
moved and the influence of that apprehcn-
sion to cease to act upon the man; and
all the more so if you are satisfied, as
some of the witnesses testified, that ne
mad his left hand still to his hip until
the second shot was fired.
"The State says to the contrary; that
you ought not to ind that the defendant
mas removed the burden, because it says
that a great deal of the evidence depends
upon Hocutt and Schmitz, and it says it
| has blackened Hocutt's character and has
offered men from his own county to show
| that he is man Of bad character, and
has brought two or three witnesses 20
contradict Schmitz and show that
Schmitz made statements elsewhere, and
that you ought not to remove the pre-
sumption raised by law by the testimony
of any such witnesses That is matter,
gentlemen, for you entirely. whether you
believe it or not is a question entirely
| for you. 1t is your duty to consider all
| the circumstances and consider the good
characters they proved and consider the
| bad characters proved by the State for
| them, and consider whether or not they
made those statements, and, if they did
made those statements, whether they
were telling the truth then or telling the
truth now. And after you consider al!
these circumstances it is your duty 20
give to the testimony just much
weight. and no more, as you conscientl
ously believe it is entitled to under all
the circumstances.
"The State says that you ought to be-
lieve Mr.. Fuller; that ne says he saw the
first shot, and at the time that the first
shot was made Mr.. Skinner was not IN
the attitude of drawing a pistol; that he
never saw him attempt to draw any pistol
at all. And they say that several other
witnesses of good character say the same.
Well the court tells you and has told you
about the rule of evidence, and the de-
PENDANT invokes that rule, and has asked
the court to so charge, and the court
has charged you, and it is law, that,
wherever two or more witnesses of equal
credbility (of course you must pass upon
the credibiiity) testify to the affirmative,
and other witnesses testify to the mega
tive. that is. that they did not see any
| thing. that the affirmative testimony IL
entitled 20 more weight than the mega
| tive.
| "Now, the State says that you ought
| not to find this burden is removed be-
cause they say. that, notwithstanding
| there was some demonstration there, that
he killed this man, not because he was
| in any apprehension of any danger, but
because of the blow Now, the court
charges you that while the blow removes
the presumption of malice, and. If you
believe that such blow was given, forces
you to find him not guilty upon the
charge of murder in the second degree,
the court charges you that. notwithstani-
ing that blow, that blow did not excuse
him from killing, it only removed the
presumption of malice. because the law
attributed the killing, not to the malice,
but to the excitement and the anger and
passion that was aroused by the blow.
''Now, if from the evidence you are
satisfied and you believe that the killing
was done from anger and passion, caused
by the blow, and not from any a pprehen-
sion that the deceased was about to kill
the defendant, or was doing such acts as
the defendant had reasonable ground to
think he was doing, then the defendant
would be guilty of manslaughter.
Now, there are some special charges
here that the defendant has asked me to
make, great many of them. Some of
them | will give and others I will MT
give. Those that | do not give / mark
and don't read to the jury. These l give:
The jury cannot be held accountable
TO or by any person for the proper per
Torrance of their duty. Any person