Burt v. State

Citations

• 72 Miss. 408

Syllabus

<p>1. Ceijixjstal Law. Construction. Reasonable doubt. Conscientious belief.</p> <p>An instruction that, while the law requires that the jury, in order to convict, must believe accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, this requirement is met if the jury conscientiously believes him guilty, is erroneous. Brown v. State, ante, 95; Taylor v. State, 52 Miss., 84, distinguished.</p> <p>2.Same. Threat. Remonstrance by third party. When incompetent.</p> <p>A witness who has testified to a threat by accused against deceased, should not be permitted to testify that he remonstrated with him therefor, the remonstrance having evoked no reply.</p> <p>3.INSTRUCTION. Value of circumstantial evidence.</p> <p>An instruction for the state which announces that the law makes ^ no distinction between circumstantial and positive evidence, unaccompanied by any caution as to the care to be used in applying such evidence, is misleading and erroneous.</p> <p>4.Same. Weight of evidence. Singling out facts.</p> <p>Instructions for defendant which single out facts in evidence and inform the jury that they alone are not enough to warrant conviction, are erroneous because they are on the weig’ht of evidence.</p>