State v. Way

Citations

• 38 S.C. 333
• 17 S.E. 39
• 1893 S.C. LEXIS 67

Syllabus

<p>1. Continuances on the ground of the absence of witnesses are within the discretion of the trial judge; a refusal of the defendant’s motion for continuance, in a murder case at the second term, where witnesses subpoenaed failed to appear, and the prosecuting attorney refused to admit that they would testify to what was expected of them, is not reviewable error.</p> <p>2. Homicide — Weapon.—The trial judge correctly charged that no provocation will excuse one of the crime of murder where the weapon used indicates an intention to take life, unless such provocation is accompanied with unlawful violence or an apparent intention to do great bodily harm.</p> <p>3. Ibid. — Self-Defence—Charging Juries. — In charging the request by the solicitor, that “when self-defence is pleaded, it must be proved by a preponderance of evidence.” the judge did not err in failing to add that, upon the whole testimony, the defendant was entitled to every reasonable doubt, such instruction having been afterwards sufficiently charged.</p> <p>4. Ibid. — .Charging Juries. — Having passed upon the several requests to charge, the judge said : “I will endeavor to present to you as succinctly as I can the law applicable to the present case.” Held, no error.</p> <p>5. Ibid. — Ibid..—Correcting Charge. — In the charge, “If two persons meet and hot words follow, and that is followed by a combat which is calculated to stir the blood and arouse the passions, and in the midst of that struggle one takes the life of the other, the law would say that such killing was manslaughter,” the use of the words, “combat” and “struggle,” was not calculated to mislead the jury; and if so, the judge should have been requested at the time to remove the ambiguity.</p> <p>6. Charging Juries — Facts..—In saying to the jury, “I cannot do anything towards brushing away the sophistries of counsel,” the judge referred to no particular counsel, and committed no error prejudicial to defendant.</p> <p>7. Ibid. — There was no e