People v. French

The defendant, John French, after a bench trial, was found guilty of the murder of Michael Gales, a 16 year old boy, and he was sentenced to serve a term of not less than 14 nor more than 20 years in the penitentiary.

On appeal, he contends (1) that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed the decedent without justification since the evidence showed that he acted in defense of his person, (2) that he was not guilty of murder because the evidence, at best, established only the commission of voluntary manslaughter, and (3) that the testimony of the State’s witnesses is so…