Smith v. State

Citations

• 95 Miss. 786
• 49 So. 945

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Law and Procedure. Murder. Insanity. Evidence.</p> <p>Where, in a prosecution for homicide, defendant’s excuse was delusional insanity, evidence concerning his conduct in several fights in which he had been previously engaged with various persons when there was no pretense that he was not sane was relevant.</p> <p>2. Same. Same. Test of insanity.</p> <p>Where, in a prosecution for homicide, the defense is insanity, total or partial, the test of defendant’s criminal responsibility is his ability at the time he committed the act to recognize and appreciate the nature and quality thereof and his ability to distinguish right from wrong, and this notwithstanding it is claimed that his act resulted from an uncontrollable impulse called moral, emotional, impulsive, or paroxysmal insanity.</p> <p>3. Same. Misconduct of audience.</p> <p>In a prosecution for homicide, it will be presumed, in the absence of a clear showing to' the contrary, that the jury were not in-influenced by demonstrations and misconduct of bystanders which the judge attempted promptly to suppress, and that defendant was not prejudiced thereby.</p> <p>4. .Same. Excluding expert witnesses from courtroom. Harmless error. Appeal.</p> <p>In a prosecution for homicide accused was not prejudiced by the court’s error in excluding certain alienists who were to testify in his behalf from the courtroom while the witnesses other than accused and his daughter were testifying.</p>