State v. . English

Is the voluntary confession of a third party, made to officers of the law, that he killed the deceased, detailing the circumstances, competent evidence in behalf of the defendant charged with the murder ?

The admissibility of confessions of a third party in criminal actions has been bitterly assailed and warmly defended by courts and text-writers. The numerical weight of authority excludes such testimony. About one hundred years ago it appears in S. v. May, 15 N. C., 328, that a defendant was charged with stealing a slave. At that time this was a capital felony in North Carolina, and the…