State v. Wakefield
Supreme Court of Connecticut
Indictment for murder in the first degree, brought to the Superior Court in New Haven County and tried to the jury before Burpee, J.; verdict and judgment of guilty as charged, and appeal by the accused. The defendant and James Plew were jointly indicted for murder in the first degree, the charge being that they wilfully, deliberately and maliciously killed the defendant’s husband, William O. Wakefield, by shooting, stabbing and strangling him.
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Indictment for murder in the first degree, brought to the Superior Court in New Haven County and tried to the jury before Burpee, J.; verdict and judgment of guilty as charged, and appeal by the accused. The defendant and James Plew were jointly indicted for murder in the first degree, the charge being that they wilfully, deliberately and maliciously killed the defendant’s husband, William O. Wakefield, by shooting, stabbing and strangling him. Plew pleaded guilty to the indictment and left it to the court to determine the degree of his crime, pursuant to General Statutes, § 1140. Wakefield’s…
1Opinion of the CourtThayer, J.
The State did not claim that the defendant actually killed her husband, or that she was present aiding and abetting the person who in fact killed him. To convict her of the crime charged in the indictment, it was therefore bound to prove that, absent, she caused, abetted, counseled or commanded its commission. This, at common law, would make her an accessory before the fact, but not a principal in the crime. Under our statute (General Statutes, § 1583) one so connected with the crime is a principal and may be prosecuted and punished as such before the real principal has been convicted. The…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- State v. WillisSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1898
3Cited by17 opinions
- Rogers v. RichmondSupreme Court of the United States · 1961
- State v. PundySupreme Court of Connecticut · 1959
- State v. GarganoSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1923
- State v. TillmanSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1964
- State v. OliverSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1970
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