Commonwealth v. Thomas

Citations

• 275 Pa. 137
• 118 A. 667
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 465

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Charge—Failure to reguest further instructions.</p> <p>1. Where counsel for defendant fails to ask further and fuller instructions or for corrections in the charge, although opportunity is given him, he cannot, on appeal, complain of error in the statement of facts by the trial judge either on the ground of inaccuracy or insufficiency.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Flight of accused — Charge.</p> <p>2. It is not error to charge in a murder case as follows: “When a crime has been committed, and the person accused thereof knows that he is accused, and then flies or conceals himself, such conduct is evidence of consciousness of guilt, and, in connection with other proof, may be the basis from which guilt may be inferred.”</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Reference to prisoner not testifying— Act of May 28,1887, P. L. 158 — Charge.</p> <p>3. Under the Act of May 23, 1887, the mere mention in a criminal trial of the defendant’s failure to take advantage of his right to be heard, does not constitute error. To justify a reversal, the reference thereto must be adverse.</p> <p>4. A conviction of murder will not be reversed because of a phrase in the charge alleged to have been an adverse reference to the defendant’s failure to testify on his own behalf, where the context shows that the trial judge had no such intention, and the jury could not have been misled by what he said.</p>