State v. Blocher

Defendant was indicted for the second degree murder of her stepchild, a three-year-old girl, and convicted of voluntary manslaughter. She appeals, alleging that (1) the evidence was insufficient to go to the jury, (2) an instruction and verdict on a lesser included offense was erroneous, and (3) the instruction based on the statute saying that a witness is presumed to tell the truth denied her the presumption of innocence. ①

The child died on September 15, 1971 at a hospital in Salem, Oregon to which she was taken after she evidenced severe illness at her home on the evening of September 10.…