State v. . Freeman

Citations

• 29 S.E. 94
• 122 N.C. 1012
• 1898 N.C. LEXIS 389

Syllabus

<p>Indictment for Murder — Homicide—Aiding and Abetting — Trial—Sufficiency of Evidence— Verdict — Discretion of Fury as to Finding.</p> <p>1. In the trial of an indictment for murder it was admitted that one J killed the deceased and it appeared in evidence that, just prior to the killing, the defendants went with J to the house of the deceased where J, in the presence and hearing of the defendants, cursed and threatened the life of the deceased’s wife; that then J went into the house, got two guns of the deceased, carried them to the kitchen, met the deceased at the gate and in the sight and hearing of the defendants shot and killed the deceased as the latter approached the gate; that the defendants made no attempt, by word or act, to prevent the killing, made no outcry but, without saying anything, walked away with J; that a short time before the killing a witness had a conversation with the defendants and one of them said that J had sent for deceased to come over and compromise a difficulty between the latter and J. and that J had loaded his gun and was going to shoot deceased if he did not settle; that one of the defendants asked witness for cartridges for his pistol, saying, “j am afraid we are going to have trouble with J to-day;” that on the day of the killing J came to the house of defendant F without a gun, and the two then went away together, (F going voluntarily) and in twenty minutes witness heard two guns fired over at the deceased’s house, and when they came back J said he had killed the deceased and witness remarked, “If the deceased is killed it will go hard with all of you”; Held, that the evidence was sufficient to sustain not only a verdict of murder in the second degree, but, if believed, would have justified the jury in finding that the defendants were present, aiding and abetting J and, therefore, guilty of murder in the first degree.</p> <p>2. It is not in the discretion of the jury to render a verdict of murder in the first or second degree,