111 Mich. 364 | Mich. | 1896
The respondent was convicted of murder in the first degree. A brief statement of the circumstances of the tragedy is as follows: Respondent and the deceased, Albert Johnson, were both boarders at the boarding house of Mrs. Posner, in the city of Grand' Rapids. Both were about the age of 27 years at the time
Holmes, when released by Johnson, stepped to the little hallway out of which ascends a stairway leading to the next floor above. This hallway opens from the sitting
Holmes, after this struggle, went back through the sitting room to the foot of the stairs which he had started to ascend after the first struggle, proceeded upstairs to his room a.t the head of the stairs, went to the dresser in his room, drew out the drawer, took from it his revolver, which was loaded, started back, removing the case from the revolver as he passed along, dropped the case on the floor, and as he passed back by the door of Johnson’s room, which was on that floor, stopped and looked in at the open door, then passed down the stairway into the sitting room, out through the dining room, and into the kitchen, passing several people on his way, and, arriving at the kitchen, looked around that room, and passed across the room to within a few feet of the wash-room door, where Johnson was at that time engaged in washing his hands at the bowl in the northeast corner of the room, with his back towards Holmes. As Holmes entered the kitchen, Miss Helwig said to him: “I think you boys have gone far enough with this. Don’t go near him. Your face is all blood now.” Another of the boarders, who saw what Holmes was about to do, called out to him, “Here, Holmes.” To these remarks Holmes- paid no attention, except to glance at the speaker. In passing down the stairs and through the rooms, he put the revolver in, his right-hand hip pocket, and he placed both hands in his hip pockets, and kept them in that position until he arrived in front of the wash-room door, as already stated. He then drew the revolver from his pocket, raised it, and fired three shots in quick succession. Johnson, as soon as the firing commenced, stepped off the little platform on which he was standing, and to the west, where he would be
On the trial the respondent offered testimony tending to show an hereditary predisposition to insanity, and tending to show that the treatment to which he was subjected brought on a temporary insanity, and that in all that he did after being subjected to the treatment which he received he acted automatically; and introduced the testimony of expert witnesses for the purpose of maintaining this defense. He was a witness himself upon the stand, and gave testimony tending to support this theory, testifying that while Johnson had his arm around his neck he could not breathe; that he felt a fullness in his head, and experienced a sensation of something giving way in his head; that he felt himself smothering; but could not recollect what took place subsequent to the sensation of fullness in his head.
Under our statute (2 How. Stat. § 9075), murder in the first degree is distinguished from murder in the second degree by this: In the former case there must be a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or the offense must be committed in an attempt to commit a felony; while premeditation is not requisite to constitute murder in the second degree, if the other elements exist. Under the evidence in this case, we think it must be held that whether the shooting was induced by passion caused by reasonable provocation, or whether the act was prompted by a wicked and malignant heart, and also the question whether there was such deliberation and premeditation as to constitute the offense murder in the first degree, were questions for the jury.' In People v. Scott, 6 Mich. 294, it was said:
“ When, therefore, following the statute, we hold murder in the first degree to be that which is willful, deliberate, and premeditated, and all other murders to be murder in the second degree, we should be undertaking a task which, if possible, would be exceedingly dangerous to undertake, to enumerate what facts constitute deliberation and what exclude it. Practically, a jury could rarely find much difficulty in applying the test. Where there is positive proof of previous threats, ill will, or preparation, and all of such a nature as to lead naturally and clearly to a fatal crime, questions seldom arise. It is where surrounding circumstances áre not clearly proven, and where the offense has no established antecedents, that difficulties have arisen in defining it. In all these cases the circumstances proven must be taken into account, and the jury must, from the whole facts, determine the intent and the deliberation. Voluntary manslaughter often involves a direct intent to kill, but the law reduces the grade of the offense, because, looking at the frailty of human nature, it considers great provocations sufficient to excite the. passions beyond the control of reason. But
In this case there was some testimony by Mrs. Posner tending to show threats previously made. It is true, this witness testifies that she understood the respondent meant these remarks in fun, from his action and appearance at the time; but the jury had the right to construe these statements in the light of subsequent events, independent of this testimony. Also it was the province of the jury to determine whether there had been time for the formation of a deliberate and predetermined design. The case is unlike that of Hurd v. People, 25 Mich. 405, as in that case the assault by the deceased had not been abandoned. In this case the parties had separated; respondent had gone upstairs, secured his revolver, and returned, and assumed the aggressive; and, while the jury might well have found that these acts were the result of one impulse, yet we are not, nor was the court below, authorized to say this as matter of law.
But while we fully realize that this question was, in this case, a question of fact, as did the trial judge, as shown by his general charge, we feel compelled to hold that he fell into a grave error in giving the people’s fifth and seventh requests. ’ The requests read as follows:
“Seventh. If, at the time the respondent shot Johnson, he thought of his purpose to kill deceased, and had time to think that he would execute it, and did so, and formed fully in his mind the conscious design of killing, and had time to think of the weapon he procured for that purpose, and that he would use it, he is guilty of murder in the first degree.”
These instructions, particularly the seventh, instead of permitting the jury to decide whether there was such premeditation and deliberation as to raise the offense to murder in the first degree, gave it, as a rule of law, that if he had time to think he would kill deceased, and thought of his purpose to kill him, and formed in his mind the conscious design of killing, and had time to think of the weapon he procured for the purpose, and thought he would use it, this would constitute murder in the first degree. All these elements might exist, and the respondent be guilty of no greater offense than manslaughter. In answer to the criticisms of this charge the learned counsel for the people say in their brief:
We do not think it possible to say that the seventh instruction would be likely to be so interpreted by the jury. Fairly construed, this instruction could not fail to impress the jury with the view that, if the respondent was responsible for his acts at all, they were bound to find him guilty of murder in the first degree; for the facts embodied in the request can scarcely be said to have been in dispute. In a case of the supreme importance which this case has, we cannot hold an erroneous instruction to be cured by the general charge, unless it appears clearly that it could not have worked a prejudice with the jury; and, if we were to speculate as to this instruction, we should be led to quite the contrary opinion, as there was certainly ample room for a finding of the offense of manslaughter in this case, or of murder in the second degree.
“Our own Supreme Court, in discussing the subject of insanity, says: ‘ Unfortunately for the administration of
We think this instruction is open to the criticism made by respondent’s counsel. It is argumentative, and well calculated to impress upon the jury the view that the defense of insanity offered was unworthy of consideration. The province of the court was to define what in law constitutes such a degree of insanity as excuses an act which, but for the fact of the clouded- faculties, would constitute a crime. This the court did in other portions of his charge, but, in dealing with this question, fell into the error, as we think, of impressing his own views of the case, reinforced by argumentative language taken from a decision of this court in another case. When the question of insanity is to be submitted to the jury, the testimony which is offered to support the claim should be treated with the same respect as that offered to establish any other fact; and, if insanity is made out in the particular case, it cannot concern the jury that evil-disposed or ignorant persons are sometimes found who have formulated theories inconsistent with the true rule; and, as the jury naturally attend to the instructions of the court with a view to receiving aid in determining questions of fact it cannot be doubted that the use of this language was or at least might have been, interpreted as intended by -the court to apply to the defense made in this suit, and to characterize the testimony of the medical witnesses for the defense. The fact that a portion of this language is
“It is no more correct for the court than for counsel to read law reports to a jury. There are in all reports discussions which may include references to facts, real or supposed, and law questions in or out of the record, which cannot be taken literally, and just as they stand, as guides to a jury in some other case, and with different facts. Between this case and that there are very serious differences as to the alleged cause and manner of the accident, and the supposed duty and negligence, that need not be dwelt upon, because the citation would have been improper in the way resorted to in any case. Precedents are for the use of courts, who are supposed competent to extract their principles; and not for juries, who cannot be expected to discriminate in their use. It is the office of a trial court to formulate the legal rules to guide the jury in the case before them with as little extraneous combination as possible.”
“ While the opinion of experts maybe based on their observation and experience in similar cases, yet the principle is well settled that such witnesses cannot, on their direct examination, be questioned concerning the particular cases which have happened to come within their observation, and which have no connection with the case in hand. The reason for the rule is manifestly to prevent the introduction of innumerable side issues, which might render the trial of a cause interminable, distract the attention of the jury from the real issue, and render the costs in the case unnecessarily burdensome and enormous.”
See, also, 1 Grreenl. Ev. § 448.
None of the other questions raised are likely to arise on a new trial.