Johnson v. State

1. The court instructed the jury as follows: “If you believe from the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant, Will Johnson, was the aggressor, and that he, actuated by malice aforethought, either express or implied, with a pistol shot the deceased, Will Solomon, at the time and place in the manner charged in the indictment, then the defendant would be guilty of the offense of murder, and you would be authorized in convicting him.” This charge was not without evidence to support it, nor did it contain an expression of opinion by the court that the accused was the aggressor.…