State v. Burton

Citations

• 63 Kan. 602
• 66 P. 633
• 1901 Kan. LEXIS 194

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Murder — Competent Testimony. It is competent, in a trial for murder, for the state to show that the accused, who was a single man, endeavored to induce a woman, to whom the deceased was engaged to be married, to break the engagement. Such conduct is some evidence that the deceased was an obstacle in the way of the desire of the accused to marry the woman, and goes to the question of motive.</p> <p>2. - Instruction Construed. In a criminal case, an objection was sustained to a question after it had been answered by the witness. The court instructed the jury that only such evidence as had been admitted and permitted to stand should be considered. Held, that the answer will be treated as having been stricken out.</p> <p>3. - Character and Reputation — Exception to Rule. Information conveyed before the killing to a party on trial for murder, who justifies on the ground of self-defense, that the deceased was a violent and turbulent man and accustomed to go about armed, is admissible, whether the informant gained his knowledge from general reputation of the deceased or from personal observation of his specific acts. The rule that bad character in the respect mentioned can be established only by general reputation of the deceased in the community has no application to the admission of such testimony. It is competent for the purpose of determining the state of mind of the accused at the time of the homicide, and whether he was induced to believe, in good faith, that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm at the hands of the person killed.</p> <p>4. - Threats by Deceased. It is competent for a defendant on trial for murder to prove threats by the deceased against him, when the former justifies the homicide on the ground of self-defense.</p>