Territory v. Alcantara

Citations

• 24 Haw. 197
• 1918 Haw. LEXIS 61

Syllabus

<p>Appear and Error — exceptions.</p> <p>A general exception to the entire charge of the court given to the jury does not bring to the attention of this court any specific question of law presented to the lower court and is too general to he considered in the appellate court.</p> <p>Homicide — intent.</p> <p>In determining the criminality of the act of killing it is immaterial whether the intent was to kill the person killed, or whether the death of such person was the accidental or otherwise unintentional result of the intent to kill someone else.</p> <p>Same — manslaughter—instructions.</p> <p>On the trial of a person accused of committing the crime of murder, if there be no evidence upon which the jury can properly find the defendant guilty of an offense of a lesser degree than the one charged it is not error to instruct the jury that it cannot return a verdict of guilty of manslaughter or of any offense less than the one charged.</p> <p>Same — same—same.</p> <p>But in a prosecution for murder, where there is some substantial evidence, however weak and inconclusive it may appear to the trial court, that would tend to mitigate the homicide to manslaughter, it is error for the court to refuse to .instruct the jury concerning manslaughter. Held, in this case, that such instruction should have been given.</p>