The prisoner, who brings these writs of error, has been before the court on a former occasion. Commonwealth v. Phillips, 11 Pick. 28.
The principal objection to the validity of the first judgment which the prisoner seeks to reverse, and the only one assigned for error, is, that the defendant was charged with breaking a shop in the night, and stealing therefrom, without averring that it was a shop not adjoining a dwellinghouse. This was fully considered, and decided recently, in the case of Devoe v. The Commonwealth, (ante, 316,) in which it was held that this is not ai error which invalidates the judgment.
Another error was assigned at the hearing, namely, that as two prior convictions were recited in the indictment on which the conviction and judgment of the municipal court were had. at
Another writ of error is brought by the prisoner, to reverse a judgment against him at the May term, 1836, of the municipal court, awarding an additional punishment of one day’s solitary imprisonment and seven years’ hard labor, in the state prison.
The success of this attempt to reverse the judgment for additional punishment depends mainly, indeed wholly, on his success in reversing the judgment of 1825. If that judgment had been reversed, so that upon his conviction at May term 1832, he could be regarded only as a second comer to the state prison, there would have been good ground to contend that the judg ment for additional punishment as such second comer, could not be upheld. He was indicted in May 1832, for an offence alleged to have been committed in March 1832. At that time, St. 1832, c. 73, was in force, having been passed on the 29th of February 1832. By this statute, it was provided, that no convict should thereafter be sentenced to additional punishment, unless it should be alleged and proved, that he had been, at two several times before, sentenced to the state prison, and twice discharged therefrom. This statute, however, was repealed by St. 1833, c. 85, and the former law, in respect to second and third comers, restored. The last provision was substantially reenacted by the “ act to amend the revised statutes,” which was in force, when the judgment now under consideration was passed. But as we have now decided, that the judgment of 1825 was a valid judgment, and as there was a previous uncontested conviction, and sentence to the state prison ; then in May 1832, vhen the prisoner was convicted, and in March 1832, when the offence was committed, he did stand chargeable with two valid
The St. of 1833, besides restoring the provisions of law relating to second and third commitments to a state prison, also provided, that upon a third conviction and sentence, the convict might be sentenced for his life, or for any term not less then seven years.
The fact, that the prisoner was rightly sentenced as a third comer, also answers one other objection to this judgment, which was, that as the punishment exceeded the term of seven years, by one day, it was erroneous, inasmuch as second comers were not liable for any term exceeding seven years.
The sentence, then, for seven years and one day, was not excessive or illegal.
The court are therefore of opinion, that the judgment for additional punishment on information, rendered at the municipal court, May term 1836, was not erroneous, and that the same ought to be affirmed.
Judgments affirmed.
