Commonwealth v. Breyessee

Citations

• 160 Pa. 451
• 28 A. 824
• 1894 Pa. LEXIS 827

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Self-defence.</p> <p>Life may be lawfully taken in self-defence; but it must appear that he who takes it was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, and that no other way of escape from the danger was open to him.</p> <p>Murder — Killing of person not intended.</p> <p>Where a deliberate purpose is formed to kill one person and the defendant fires a pistol at him for that purpose, the fact that the ball misses its intended victim, and kills another person, does not relieve the murderer.</p> <p>Murder — JSvidence—Credibility of defendant — Charge of court.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for murder it is proper for the court to charge that the extent to which the prisoner was contradicted by the witnesses, the character of the testimony given by them, the reasonableness of his own testimony, and its consistency with the established facts in the case, were all proper subjects for consideration in determining the credit to which his testimony was entitled.</p> <p>Verdict — Practice, oyer and terminer.</p> <p>The verdict as recorded is the verdict of the jury, and the form prepared in the jury room, though handed to the clerk, is no part of the record, and has no significance.</p>