Commonwealth v. Johnson

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Horace Stern,

James Morris Johnson, tried by a jury, was found guilty, of murder, in. the first degree with penalty of *141death. His motion for a new trial was overruled and he now appeals from the judgment and sentence imposed upon the verdict.

A Reading Railroad passenger train travelling from Allentown to Philadelphia was derailed on the night of May 9, 1948 near Valley Forge Station in Montgomery County. The engineer and fireman were killed. An investigation disclosed that a section of the track had been tampered with and . a number of spikes and tie plates removed from…