Commonwealth v. Harman
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The prisoner, a married woman of about thirty, in very destitute circumstances, who it was alleged had been for some time previous . deserted by her husband, was indicted for the murder of her infant child, Elizabeth Harman, at the time about nine months old. It appeared, that at 6 a. m., on the 11th of August, she had taken the child away from the house where she then lived, and that at 9 a. m. she returned, saying that she had given it away.
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The prisoner, a married woman of about thirty, in very destitute circumstances, who it was alleged had been for some time previous . deserted by her husband, was indicted for the murder of her infant child, Elizabeth Harman, at the time about nine months old. It appeared, that at 6 a. m., on the 11th of August, she had taken the child away from the house where she then lived, and that at 9 a. m. she returned, saying that she had given it away. She was seen shortly after she left, jvith a shovel, going towards a stream near which the remains of the child were subsequently found. In consequence…
1Opinion of the CourtGibson, C. J.
We consider the evidence to be inadmissible. The nature of the transaction in the magistrate’s office was such as to exclude it. “ If you do not tell the truth, I will commit you,” was the language used to her; language sufficient to exclude any confession induced by it. The administering of an oath by the magistrate, under such circumstances, was a gross outrage upon the accused; any information drawn by it, or subsequently given on its basis, is inadmissible. Here there was an interval of only a night and part of a day between the evidence as thus extracted, and that *271now sought to be…
2Cited by63 opinions
- United States v. Oscar E. HydeCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1971
- Commonwealth v. NewSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1946
- Commonwealth v. LibonatiSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1943
- Commonwealth v. SparduteSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1923
- Commonwealth v. MaloneSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1946
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