Commonwealth v. White

Citations

• 271 Pa. 584
• 115 A. 870
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 763

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Charge—Words and phrases — \Scrutinize\ — Evidence.</p> <p>1. On tbe trial of an indictment for murder, where three witnesses testify for defendant to establish an alibi and their testimony, consequently, is of the utmost importance to all parties concerned in the case, it is not reversible error for the court to charge the jury to give such testimony careful and close “scrutinizing.” The fact that the judge did not so instruct as to all the testimony is immaterial.</p> <p>2. The several definitions of the word “scrutinize,” contain no suggestion of criticism or suspicion.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Reputation—Remoteness as to time.</p> <p>3. While it is true that evidence of good character of a defendant must relate to a period at or about the time the offense was committed, still, if the evidence for defendant shows good character for four or five years prior to the crime, the Commonwealth, in rebuttal, may show that defendant bore a bad reputation from a period twenty years before the crime continuously down to the date of the crime.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Change of venue — Evidence—Discretion of court — Abuse.</p> <p>4. An application for a change of venue being within the discretion of the trial court, a refusal to grant such change is not ground for reversal, where there is no evidence of abuse of discretion.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Degree—First degree — Evidence.</p> <p>5. A conviction of murder of the first degree will be sustained on an indictment for wife murder, where there is evidence that the prisoner was the last person seen with his wife on the day that she disappeared; that he made a number of false and conflicting statements as to her absence; that her body, with marks of violence thereon, was found eight weeks later in the prisoner’s barn, which he kept locked; that she was dressed in the same clothes she had on when last seen, and that there were indications that death occurred about the time of her disappeara