State v. West

Defendant was indicted for murdering his father. He was convicted as charged, without capital punishment, and was sentenced to the penitentiary for life.

In arguing the ease to the jury, the district attorney said:

“There are four verdicts you may render, guilty as charged, which means hanging; guilty as charged, without capital punishment, which means life imprisonment in the penitentiary, guilty of manslaughter, which ordinarily means twenty years in the penitentiary. Under the laws of Louisiana, a defendant under seventeen years of age with the exception of a few crimes, among them murder,…