People v. Hammill
Court Of Oyer And Terminer New York
The prisoner was brought to trial under an indictment charging the murder of his wife on the first day of January, 1855. He was a laboring man of an unusually powerful frame and of great physical strength. On the evening of January 1st, 1855, he was discovered in his house in the act of stamping upon his wife, who, on being raised from the floor, was found to be dying, and survived for a few moments only. No one before this discovery had witnessed the scene.
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The prisoner was brought to trial under an indictment charging the murder of his wife on the first day of January, 1855. He was a laboring man of an unusually powerful frame and of great physical strength. On the evening of January 1st, 1855, he was discovered in his house in the act of stamping upon his wife, who, on being raised from the floor, was found to be dying, and survived for a few moments only. No one before this discovery had witnessed the scene. His wife’s person exhibited marks of the most brutal violence, the head and chest being covered with bruises and blood. She had…
1Opinion of the Court
The court charged the jury as follows:
*225Gentlemen.—The case now to be committed to your hands is an unusually painful one. The prisoner is not a man who has been familiar with vice or hardened by crime. Though in the humble walks of life he is proved by men of the highest standing who have known him well, to have sustained the most irreproachable character for honesty, integrity and industry, and on all occasions, except when infuriated by intoxication, for kindness, and attention, and affection to all his family. With that single exception, no better character in all these respects, or for…
2Cited by3 opinions
- People v. RogersNew York Supreme Court · 1872
- Kenny v. . the PeopleNew York Court of Appeals · 1865
- People v. MoettNew York Supreme Court · 1880