Commonwealth v. Washington

Opinion by

Van der Voort, J.,

The instant case arises on direct appeal following the conviction, after jury trial, of the appellant, Jacob P. Washington, on two charges of assault and battery with intent to murder. The victims of the assaults were the wife of the appellant and a female friend of the wife. It was not disputed that appellant participated ,in a vicious knife assault on both women; his main claim on appeal is that he should have been found “temporarily insane” at the time of the assaults, and thus not guilty of the crimes charged.

The record shows that on February 15, 1973, the wife…