King v. State

Citations

• 74 Miss. 576

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Law. Evidence. Bes c/estm.</p> <p>The declarations of a defendant, made some hours after the homicide for which he is on trial, are not admissible as a part of the res gestee.</p> <p>2. Same. Examination of witness. Practice. Discretion..</p> <p>Witnesses in rebuttal should be confined to matters in rebuttal, and not allowed to repeat their evidence in chief; but this matter is largely in the discretion of the court.</p> <p>3. Same. Murder. Sudden encounter. Instruction.</p> <p>Murder may be committed in a sudden encounter, and if previous recent threats to kill deceased or do him g'reat bodily harm are proved to have heen made hy defendant, an instruction, asked hy defendant, which directs the jury to disregard the evidence of such threats, and which ignores the idea that the purpose to kill may have been pursuant to the malice indicated by the threats, is properly refused.</p> <p>4. Same. Onus probcmdi. Reasonable doubt.</p> <p>It is not the law of homicide that if no excuse or justification of the killing is shown by the state’s evidence, the defendant is guilty of murder unless he has by his evidence proved excuse or justification; nothing- more in such case is required of a defendant than to raise a reasonable doubt of his guilt from the whole evidence.</p>