49 So. 513 | Miss. | 1909
delivered the opinion of the court.
This is an appeal from a conviction of murder in the court below. The evidence against appellant was entirely circumstantial. The giving by the court, at the request of the state, of the following instruction, is assigned as error: “The court instructs the jury, for the state, that circumstantial evidence is legal and competent evidence, and whenever circumstantial evidence arises high enough in the scale of belief to generate full conviction in the minds of the jury of the guilt of the defendant to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt, the jury should act upon such evidence as readily as they would upon any other kind of evidence.” This instruction, taken by itself, is clearly erroneous. It is elementary law that a conviction may be had on circumstantial evidence alone when by it guilt is proven'beyond a reasonable doubt; but it is also elementary that, before such evidence can be said to prove guilt beyond a reasonable
We find, however, that at the request of appellant, the court granted the following instructions: No-, á: “The court instructs the jury that in this case the state relies exclusively upon circumstantial evidence to convict the defendant, and in such case, before the jury is warranted by the law in finding a verdict of guilty as charged, every circumstance testified about by witnesses material or necessary to show to the jury that tire accused is so guilty as charged must be established by testimony so satisfactory that it leaves in the minds of the jury no reasonable doubt of the truth of such circumstances.” No. 6: “The court instructs the jury that the law presuming the accused to be innocent puts on the state, throughout the whole trial, the burden of proving beyond all reasonable doubt the truth of each and every fact and circumstance material and necessary to show the guilt of the accused of the crime charged; and, if the state in this case has failed to prove the truth of any one such fact or circumstance, the jury must find the accused not guilty.” No. 9: “The court instructs the jury that each necessary link in the chain of evidence must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain a verdict of guilty in a case resting entirely on circumstantial evidence, and that in this case the hypothesis of • guilt must be compared with the facts proven, and with all of them; and, if any of the material facts or circumstances established be inconsistent with the hypothesis of guilt, you must find the defendant not guilty.” No. 10: “The court instructs the jury that, unless they shall believe beyond every reasonable doubt that the evidence -produced upon the trial shows the defendant’s guilt to the absolute exclusion of every other reasonable hypothesis, they should find the defendant not guilty.”
The instructions for the state and the defendant, therefore, when read together, correctly announce the law of circumstantial evidence; for by them the jury were charged that, before they could convict the defendant, each circumstance necessary thereto
One objection made to the instruction now under consideration is that the court ought not to have told the jury that “circumstantial evidence is legal and competent evidence.” This is true. The jury have no concern with the competency and legality of the evidence submitted to them by the court, and it is improper for the court to intimate to them that they have. But so doing does not constitute reversible error, unless it appear that the party complaining has been prejudiced thereby.
The appellant requested the following instruction: “The court instructs the jury that’ they should consider the good character of the defendant, if proven, in arriving at their verdict in the
After a careful investigation of the other matters complained of, we find no reversible error therein.
Affirmed.