State v. Morahan

Citations

• 23 Del. 494
• 7 Penne. 494
• 77 A. 488
• 1895 Del. LEXIS 50

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Manslaughter; Voluntary and Involuntary— Unlawful Act—Cause of Death—Maltreatment of Wound —Misconduct of' Deceased—Death from some other Cause than Wound. '</p> <p>1. Manslaughter, voluntary and involuntary defined.</p> <p>2. Manslaughter may arise from an unlawful act or from a lawful act done without proper caution or without requisite skill. To establish this offense, it is necessary for the State to prove that the act of the prisoner which produced the wound was unlawful, and that the wound so produced was the cause of death.</p> <p>3. If the deceased staggered up against the prisoner and there was an unintentional collision and the prisoner used so much force as was reasonably necessary to get rid of contact with the body of the deceased, he did only what he had a right to do! But if the prisoner intentionally came into contact with the deceased or used unreasonable violence, then his act was unlawful.</p> <p>4. But even though the act was unlawful, if death resulted from some other cause than the wound, the prisoner cannot be convicted. It is well established law that where the wounds are adequate or calculated to produce death, it is no excuse to say that had proper care and attention been given, recovery might have followed. If death ensues from a wound given in malice, but not in its nature mortal, but which being neglected or mismanaged the person dies, this would not excuse the person who gave it and he would be held guilty, unless he could make it clearly and certainly appear that maltreatment of the wound or the misconduct of the wounded man, and not the wound itself, was the sole cause of his death. If, however, such maltreatment or misconduct only increased the danger of the wound, or accelerated the death, it would be no excuse.</p>