Nicholas v. Commonwealth

STEWART, Judge.

Virgil Nicholas, tried under an indictment charging him with the wilful murder of Virgil Dowdy, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison for twenty-one years. He admitted the killing but claimed self-defense as a justification. No contention is here made that the Commonwealth’s evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict; therefore, we deem it unnecessary to set forth the facts relative to the slaying. The chief ground urged for reversal is that prejudicial error was committed when the jury was allowed to separate during the trial. We think this…