State v. Woods

Citations

• 23 Del. 499
• 7 Penne. 499
• 77 A. 490
• 1896 Del. LEXIS 33

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Manslaughter; Voluntary and Involuntary— Unlawful Act—Self-Defense—Ejecting a Trespasser from Premises—Indictment—Pleading—Evidence— Verdict—Statute—Reasonable Doubt.</p> <p>1. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another without malice express or implied. It is of two kinds: (1) Voluntary manslaughter, where upon a sudden quarrel, two persons fight and one of them kills the other; or where a person greatly provokes another by some personal violence and the other immediately kills him; (2) Involuntary manslaughter, where one in committing an unlawful act tending to great bodily harm or in committing a lawful act without proper caution or without requisite skill, unguardedly or undesignedly kills another.</p> <p>2. To constitute the crime of manslaughter, the party charged must be engaged in an unlawful act when the killing occurs, and to determine this fact the jury must be satisfied from the evidence that the prisoner was doing that which he had no right to do.</p> <p>3. A person has a right to eject from his premises, anyone who is acting in a disorderly or improper manner, and to effect this he may use sufficient force to accomplish this purpose; but if he employs more than is sufficient to attain this end he becomes a trespasser ab-initio.</p> <p>4. Where the indictment charges the prisoner with causing the death of the deceased by blows and violence, it being a necessary averment, it constitutes the gist of the offense and gives notice to the accused of that with which he is charged. The facts alleged as to the killing and the manner of killing must be proved to the satisfaction of the jury beyond a reasonable doubt.</p> <p>5. Where a person is charged with a crime the offense should be alleged in the indictment, because otherwise the prisoner is not prepared and cannot make the defense that would be necessary for him to make. If he is charged with force and violence in inflicting blows-and injuries in an unlawful manner, from the effects of