People v. Murray

Citations

• 10 Cal. 309

Syllabus

<p>In an indictment for murder, it is not necessary that the indictment should specifically aver that the killing “was willful, deliberate, and premeditated.” It is sufficient, to charge the crime in the words of the statute.</p> <p>The rule is well settled, that the reputation of the deceased can not be given in evidence, unless, at the least, the circumstances of the case raise a doubt in regard to the question whether the prisoner acted in self-defence. It is no excuse for a murder that the person murdered was a bad man; but it has been held that the reputation of the deceased may sometimes be given in proof to show that the defendant was justified in believing himself in danger, when the circumstances of the contest are equivocal. But the record must show this state of case.</p>