State v. . Maxwell

The defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree of Charlie Shepherd and from sentence of death by asphyxiation appealed to the Supreme Court, assigning error.

The defendant testified in his own behalf: "After I started back home I came on back up this way and saw Charlie over there in the garden with his mammy. I had not seen Charlie anywhere or at any time that day. I hadn't seen him before then. I didn't know he was working over there. When I saw him I went over there to ask him about this racket they had and asked him did he hit that boy with an axe, and on the spur of the moment…