People v. Simpson

The respondent was convicted of murder in the first degree. The case comes up on exceptions before sentence. The first exceptions discussed by counsel relate to the admissibility of certain dying declarations, and it is claimed that this evidence was not competent because not made under the solemn belief of impending death.

It is incumbent upon the prosecution, before offering what is claimed to have been dying declarations, to show that they were made under a sense of impending death. It is not necessary to show that the injured party so stated at or about the time, or that any person in his…