State v. Ireland

Citations

• 72 Kan. 265
• 83 P. 1036
• 1905 Kan. LEXIS 340

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Criminal Law — Verdict—Sufficiency. Under section 239 of the code of criminal procedure (Gen. Stat. 1901, § 5684), a verdict is sufficient which finds defendant guilty of the principal acts that constitute the offense and then states the section of the crimes act in which the offense is defined, so that the court can determine from the verdict the grade or character of the offense.</p> <p>2. -Murder and Manslaughter Defined. Neither murder nor manslaughter is defined by the statutes of Kansas. These terms, as used in the crimes act, have the same meaning as at common law. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.</p> <p>3. -Instruction Defining an Offense — -Words of Statute Not Imperative. It is no objection to an instruction defining an offense that the exact words of the statute are not used, where the instruction in plain language defines the offense and states the essential elements thereof.</p> <p>4. - Prosecution for Assault — Instructions—Homicide. In a prosecution under sections 38 and 42 of the crimes act (Gen. Stat. 1901, §§2023, 2027), where the jury are instructed in regard to murder and manslaughter, it is unnecessary to instruct upon the different degrees of murder or manslaughter.</p>