State v. . Trott

The defendant’s motion to dismiss the action and his first prayer for instructions assail the evidence on the ground of its insufficiency to warrant a verdict of murder in the second degree or of manslaughter. It is earnestly argued that the fumes of drink had stupefied the defendant’s brain to such a degree that when he left the cotton mill he was asleep; that he was incapable of forming an intelligent estimate of the speed with which the ear was moving or of doing anything to prevent the collision; that in fact he knew nothing of Michael’s alleged recklessness and should not be charged with…