State v. . Shirley
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Murder, tried before Jones, J., at Spring Term 1870, of Edgecombe Court. Tlie prisoner was charged with shooting his wife, at their home, which was also the home of a son-in-law of theirs. It appeared that the prisoner and the deceased were sitting outside of the door, and the son-in-law and his wife, inside, by the fire. A child of the son-in-law had a fall, and cried, and the prisoner became vexed at, what he thought, the negligence of the child’s parents.
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Murder, tried before Jones, J., at Spring Term 1870, of Edgecombe Court. Tlie prisoner was charged with shooting his wife, at their home, which was also the home of a son-in-law of theirs. It appeared that the prisoner and the deceased were sitting outside of the door, and the son-in-law and his wife, inside, by the fire. A child of the son-in-law had a fall, and cried, and the prisoner became vexed at, what he thought, the negligence of the child’s parents. He continued to grow more angry, and after awhile, cursed and threatened the son-in-law. The latter then went out of doors, and offered…
1Opinion of the CourtPeabsoN, C. J.
If the prisoner discharged the gun on purpose, it is murder; if it went off accidentally, as if by a jerk or a sudden motion in a scuffle with the deceased, wbo had interfered to prevent him from going out of the house, or pushed him back to prevent his shooting Harris, it is not-murder. The offence cannot be murder unless there was an intent to kill, although the killing without an intent to do so, would not be homicide by misadventure, and excusable, but would amount to manslaughter, because of the prisoner’s violence and want of care.
There is error in the instruction, “ If one is about to…
2Cited by5 opinions
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