The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-11

ant is here to answer to the law for that.
 You must take the law absolutely from the court-of the facts you are sole judges.
 "A defendant in a criminal action is presumed to be innocent until the con- trary be proved and in case of rea- sonable doubt that this guilt is not sat- isfactorily shown he is entitled to an ac- Quittal.
 s'Iet me begin by instructing you on the general construction of the law. The statute of homicide is divided into two general divisions which in turn are subdivided as I will later explain. The two chief divisions are homicide that is criminal and homicide that is not criminal.
 Criminal homicides are murder in the first degree; murder In the second degree and manslaughter in the first and second degree.
 nSuch homicides, unless excusable or iustifable is murder in the first degree, when committed from deliberation and reconciliation with a design to effect the death of the person killed. IT 1t is committed without reconciliation or deliberation, but with design to kill, it is murder in the second degree. If the homicide is committed in the heat of passion, without design to kill, but with a dangerous weapon it would be manslaughter in the first degree. All 4 lesser criminal homcides are classed as manslaughter in the second degree.
 "Homicide, which is not criminal, is classed as justifable or excusable Homicide is justlfiable when committed in the lawful defense of the slayer or his wife or child, brother or sister mas ter or servant or other person when there is reasonable ground to apprehend that crime is about to be committed against such person and there is i'm minent danger of the design being car ried out.
 "Homicide is excusable when by acci. dent or misfortune it is committed 1T lawfully correcting a child or doing some other lawful act in lawful way
 "Honlicide is also excused by nsan- ity. The law is contained in sections 20 and 21 of the penal code. Section 20 says an act done by an imbecile, idiot or insane person is not crime This language is very broad and would at first glance appear to apply to all persons of unsound mind with regard to the degree of the insanity.
 But section 21 limits section 20 as follows: "A person is not excused from criminal liability as an idiot, i'm beetle, lunatic or insane person except upon proof that at the time of commit ting the alleged crime he was laboring under such a defect of reason as eith- CT not to know the nature or quality oi the act or to know that the act was wrong
 Before murder in the first degree can be done, a distinguished jurist has said, it must appear that there was some act or deliperation and premedi- tation. This of necessity is for the con- sideraton of the jury. What may be deliberation and reconciliation In one man might fall far short in another Men differ physically and mentally Each case munst depend upon its owr facts, one case may be proved by 6 
 few sharp facts, and in still another case the jury may find in the act, il the manner in which it is done, the weapon used, the time and place, tht disposition of the victim, everything necessary to satisfy them of the pres ence of deliberation and reconciliation
 If you are satisfied that there was 2 design to effect death, but without de liberation and reconciliation, you ma, find murder in the second degree. Int defendant may be convicted under this indictment of murder in the first O. second degree or manslaughter in thu first degree.
 When it appears that the defendan committed crime and there is reas enable doubt of which degree he i guilty he can be convicted of the loves only.
 "As I have tried to impress upon vol since this trial began, the character o the victim furnishes neither excuse no justification. The general character 0 the victim is not the issue, no matte how bad he may have been he was en titled to the protection of the law.
 "The personal avenger of private O public wrongs is not recognized unde our law. Every person is under tA