State v. Jackson

Citations

• 32 S.C. 27
• 10 S.E. 769
• 1890 S.C. LEXIS 9

Syllabus

<p>1. There being but thirty-one jurors present, of whom twelve were out in their room on another case, the prisoner charged with murder, moved that a sufficient number of additional jurors be drawn to make a full panel. This motion was refused, and the names of the nineteen disengaged jurors were put in the hat, when the prisoner demanded that the court await the return of the other jury. This, too, was refused, and after the prisoner had accepted two jurors and before he had challenged any, the other jury returned to the court room and their names were then placed in the hat. A jury was obtained before the prisoner had exhausted his peremptory challenges. Held, that in these matters the Circuit Judge committed no error of law. State v. Stephens, 13 S. C., 285, approved and followed.</p> <p>2. The defendant was properly not permitted to prove either by himself or by another witness a conversation which occurred between them six days before the homicide, at a time when the deceased had fired at defendant, and as to his reasons for not returning the fire.</p> <p>3. Whore the judge instructs the jury properly as to the law of self-defence, and then charges that if all the necessary elements of self-defence are not present, and yet the accused in sudden heat and passion, on a sudden quarrel, believing that his life was in danger, fired the fatal shot, it would be manslaughter and not murder — the defendant, on trial for murder, has no ground of complaint.</p> <p>4. Where the deceased had fired at the prisoner six days before and had followed that act up with threats against the prisoner’s life, the prisoner was not warranted in taking the life of the deceased, unless deceased had at the time of the homicide made some demonstration of an intention to execute his threats.</p> <p>5. There being no evidence of any other act of violence than that which occurred a week before the homicide, the charge of the judge that any shooting by the deceased would not justify the homici