Dorak v. State

1. Appellant was charged by indictment duly returned by a grand jury in the Marion Criminal Court with the murder of George Wise on July 26, 1914. He was tried by a jury under plea of self-defense, found guilty of murder in the first degree, and his death decreed as the penalty. Error is here predicated on the overruling of his motion for a new trial and under this assignment the only question necessary to be determined is whether prejudicial and harmful error was committed by the trial court in giving to the jury of its own motion instruction No. 17. Said instruction reads as follows: “While…