Commonwealth v. Davis

The defendant was indicted for murder in the first degree, and was convicted of murder in the second degree. His appeal under G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, presents an insubstantial argument that the evidence did not warrant a finding of malice aforethought and an application for the exercise of our powers under G. L. c. 278, § 33E. After some soul-searching because of inadequacies in the presentation of the defendant’s case in this court, we affirm the conviction.

The case, like all murder cases, is tragic. But here we have some specially tragic features. A “quiet man” comes to the United States…