Commonwealth v. Rusic

Citations

• 229 Pa. 587
• 79 A. 140
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 537

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law — Murder—Charge of court — Reasonable doubt.</p> <p>1. On a trial of an indictment for murder, where the undisputed testimony establishes that the accused shot his victim by deliberately holding his pistol so close to her head as to leave deeply stained powder marks upon her skin, and where the court’s charge as a whole is a correct and adequate presentation of the law, leaving the jury absolutely free to reach their own conclusion, it is not error for the court to say, in the course of its instructions: “If there is a reasonable doubt that he did the shooting, he is entitled to an acquittal. But in the light of all the testimony, can there bo a reasonable doubt of his guilt?”</p> <p>2. On the trial of an indictment for murder, where the fact of a deliberate and intentional killing is shown, the inability to prove the motive does not disprove the crime.</p> <p>Practice, O. & T. — Amendment to record — Expiration of term.</p> <p>3. The court of oyer and terminer has the power to amend the record of a trial of an indictment for murder so as to make it conform to the truth, even after the term has expired.</p>