State v. Hawkins

Citations

• 89 Wash. 449
• 154 P. 827
• 1916 Wash. LEXIS 722

Syllabus

<p>Homicide — Malice— “Premeditated Design” — Evidence — Sufficiency — Burden of Proof. A conviction of second degree murder is sufficiently supported by evidence of malice or “premeditated design to effect the death,” within Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2392, where defendant started an affray by rushing up to the deceased and others and charged someone with cutting his hog, and on this being denied, with lying, and after being struck by the deceased, drew or produced a revolver which he might have had concealed in his hand, and shot the deceased while deceased was retreating after being reguested by deceased and another not to shoot, and shot again and killed the deceased while others were trying to disarm him; especially in view of the rule that, the killing being admitted, the burden of justifying the act or reducing the crime to manslaughter is upon the accused.</p> <p>Criminal Law — Appeal—Review—Instructions—Requests-—-Necessity — Homicide. Upon a prosecution for homicide, an instruction admittedly correct as far as it goes upon the subject of the deceased’s first attack and retreat, cannot be complained of as failing to state all that accused was entitled to on the subject of self-defense and defendant’s knowledge of the retreat, where no reguest was made for any instruction of that nature.</p> <p>Homicide — Self-Defense — Provoking Assault — Failure to Desist. One who starts a fatal affray by conduct provoking an assault, and was struck, is not justified in shooting his assailant in self-defense, after his assailant had retreated and he was reguested not to shoot, and where he afterwards fired again and killed the deceased while being disarmed by others; as it was his duty to retreat or at least desist.</p>