State v. Howard

A grand jury of Jackson County, Missouri, returned an indictment in the circuit court of that county charging the appellant with murder in the first degree for the killing of his wife, 'Maxine R. Howard. His trial in that court resulted in his conviction of murder in the second degree and he was sentenced to imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of forty years.

No question is raised as to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction. Appellant contended that he was insane when the deceased was killed, and, also, that he killed her in self-defense.

The trial court…