Commonwealth v. Harrington

At the defendant’s trial for murder and armed assault with intent to rob, the judge took the view that a death sentence was mandatory in the event of a conviction of first degree murder, and excluded from the jury those whose beliefs as to capital punishment precluded them from finding the defendant guilty of an offense punishable by death. The defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and sentenced to life imprisonment. We hold that on the indictment before us no death sentence could have been imposed under G. L. c. 265, §§ 1, 2, and G. L. c. 279, § 5. But it was appropriate for…