Commonwealth v. Eckerd

Citations

• 174 Pa. 137
• 34 A. 305
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 860

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Evidence—Murder—Felony.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for murder, it appeared that the prisoner and the deceased had a dispute on the morning of the day when the homicide was committed. In the afternoon while the deceased was standing in his wagon in a public street, the prisoner came up and began to swear at him. One witness testified that the deceased made a motion to push the prisoner away, and to kick, but the witness did not see the deceased kick, nor did the deceased attempt to get out of his wagon, or to attack the prisoner. The prisoner, drawing a revolver and saying, ‘ ‘ Well, you are not much of a man,” fired three shots at the deceased, one entering his head just under the eye and causing instant death. The court in its charge said, “ there is no dispute as to the fact of a felonious killing,” and refused to say as requested by the prisoner, “if the jury believe that there was not a fully formed purpose to kill, but that the act was the immediate offspring of rashness and impetuous temper, the defendant cannot be convicted of murder in the first degree.” Held, (1) that the court was not in error in referring to the prisoner’s act as a “felonious killing; ” (2) that the court was not in error in refusing the instruction requested; (3) that the fact that the weapon used was a pistol, and was fired three times, raised a presumption of an intent to take life.</p> <p>Ungoverned and uncontrolled temper is no defense to crime, and it does not even reduce killing to manslaughter unless it is produced by immediate and legally sufficient provocation.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for murder the prisoner stated that at times he had “spells;” that things “would get black before him, so that he could not see where he was going,” and “ he would have to get up against the fence to holdfast to something,” and afterwards would not remember. He did not pretend that he had any insane impulse at such times. The trial judge directed the jury to