The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-10-08

when 1t t. strong ard satisfying
the jury should consider u netta*
charging nor beiittiing its force Il
should have It's just ara fair s~4Ea'
with the 5ury, and II. when Il IL al
.ah-n as a whole and fairly AL cA1.-
dtdiv wetShed. it c~nrviuces the @G8r1-
cd Judgment. Tia Jury should set - 81
such conviction the jury vii make
such t4~r ard reasonable Inference
from tho circumstances proven -
their satisfaction and b.goat 4 reason
able doubt. as The guarded Judgment
II q ~rcasouat.s maj wd.id or tT @r3.f
make under like ciTcuma arec- Ih''
tue rule is. that tho cir uuasia1tt
and evidence must b. suen as =
produce "a moral certa NJ Of guilt
and - exclude every other reasonable
hypothesis.
In a case Of death hy poisoning- II
Is not necessary 10 prove inc p~rf@u-
lar substance or kind OF poison used.
nor 10 give direct and positive proof
Of what Is the quantity which ~oaId
DESTROY life. nor s IL necessary 10
prove that such a quantity was founi
in the bodv Of the deceased II i
sufficient If the fury are satisfied from
all the circumstances and beyond a
reasonable doubt that the alleged
: death was caused by poison admins
tered BIZ the accused And upon this
4Aad -
inquire whether the prisoners or
either of them had opportunity Of ad-
ministering poison TO the deceased
whether they or either OF them had
poison in possession or poNer 10 al
minister the same. ana II they or
either Of them had opportunity or ad-
ministering poison or power 10 do so
and did so, whether it was done Tor
an honest purpose Of relieving the de-
ceased Of pain or Tor an
purpose u take his life. In passing
upon these inquiries. every part OF the
conduct and language Of tee prisoners
or either Of them in relation to the
subject which aDncars in the evidence,
are material parts Of the res gestae,
and should be considered by the jury.
Yet in such case, unless it appears De
yond a reasonable doubt from the eVi-
dence to the jury that the deceased
died from. the effects Of poison, and Of
poison Unlawfullv and knowingly at-
ministered to the deceased by the
prisoners for the purpose of effecting
his death, their conviction can not be
sustained.
You are further Instructed that
when the substance Of the crime, OF
the corpus deficit. has beer proved In
a prosecution for homicide. II the
circumstances indicate that the &C
cused perpetrated the alleged crime,
facts tending. even though remoteIY.
TO snow a nlOIlNe. are dQiiitSSibAS IN
evidence, though the jury should ex-
ercisa great caution III attaching i'm
p~ortance to such proof. And all evil
dence Of whatsoever nature tending
to throw light upon the relations ex-
listing between the accused and the
deceased. is competent to be consider
ed by the jury.
A homicide h. poison is murder in
the first degree if the act is commit
ted |wilfully, knowingly and with delib-
crate purpOse to take life. The adj
ministration Of poison without Grim
inal intent, but heedlessly and incau-
~tiously, whereby death is caused,
would not be murder in the first de-
gree, but woufd be m~anslaughter. The
statute refers to poison Intentionally
used as such, and does not include
murder by noxious substances not
used for the purpose of poisoning, or
by harmless drugs that by accident
or mistake in the manner OF their use
may produce death, or murder by
poison administered without knowl-
Of its presence or dangerous ma
ture. And the previous relations Of
the parties and the professional char
acter of the male prisoner may be
shown as bearing upon the question
of the intent with which poison IS adj
ministered, If it is found to have been
administered. And while, in a pros
~ecution for homicide by poison, the
symptoms and appearances during the
last illness become controlling facts in
determining whether the death was
from poison or from disease, the
charge is not made out unless the
prosecution negatives everything but
poison as the cause Of death; and this
could only be Ion by showing affir-
nlatively that tie combined symptoms,
and the certain facts with which they
are associated, are Inconsistent with
any other disease or ailment-
By the use of the word ''NilfuI' Is
intentional as distinguished
from accidental Deliberate means,
the II Of the homicide was
and reflection: deliberate means not
or rash. 'Premeditated" or
"premediately' means planned. con
trived or schemed beforehand; it
means to mediate or deliberate be-
concluding to 90 the act; to con-
trive by previous meditation: thodght
beforehand. for any length of time
however short.
If the State has satisfied you from
the evidence and beyond a reasonable
doubt that the death of Charles r
Strange resulted from the adn1inlstra-
ton Of poison. and that the prisoners
Intentionally and with reconciliation
and dcliberatiOn administered the poi
son for the purpO of taking the
life Of the deceased. and his death re-
therefrOrn, the offence would
murder in the first degree. If the
State has failed to satisfy YOU be-
yOund q reasonable doubt that the
death of the deceased was actually
caused by poisoning. it would then
be your duty to acnuit the prisoners.
The State contends that the prison.
ers acted in concert and entered into
i CONSPIRACY to take the life OF
r. strange. To hold one Grim
inally responsible for a homicide
which is found to. have been commit
ted must have been done in further
4nce thereof, and it must have been
the common object or purpose.
person can be held guilty OF a nom
eide unless the act is either actually
or c~onstructively his or her act, and
t cannot be his or her act in either
;ense, unless, committed by MS
Or her own hand, or by some one
acting in concert with him or her IN
'u~rtherance of a common object or
o as distinguished from some
acting Independently or in oppo-
sition 10 him or her, as the case may
3e. A conspiracy between two or
persons-for it takes two or
more persons to make out the charge
~,,-r 10 rbnu-n hN- III -