Commonwealth v. Deitrick

Citations

• 218 Pa. 36
• 66 A. 1007
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 449

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Accidental tailing — Burden of proof.</p> <p>The burden of proof in homicide cases, where the defense of accidental killing is set up, does not shift, but rests on the commonwealth to show that the killing was willful and intentional.</p> <p>On the trial of a homicide case it is reversible error for the court to charge “that the burden is upon the defendant to convince you beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing of the deceased was purely accidental, before he should be acquitted upon that ground.”</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Erroneous instructions — Appeals.</p> <p>In a murder case where clear error appears in the instructions to the jury upon the vital and controlling defense set up, the appellate court cannot judicially say that no harm was done the defendant and that, therefore, no reversible error was committed.</p>