State v. . Murphy
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Appeal from Lane, J., at March Term, 1911, of TaNCEy. Indictment for murder. There was evidence tending to show that on 21 December, 1910, the prisoner, openly and in the presence of several witnesses, shot John Simmons, the deceased, in the back, with a pistol, and killed him, and that the killing was deliberate and premeditated.
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Appeal from Lane, J., at March Term, 1911, of TaNCEy. Indictment for murder. There was evidence tending to show that on 21 December, 1910, the prisoner, openly and in the presence of several witnesses, shot John Simmons, the deceased, in the back, with a pistol, and killed him, and that the killing was deliberate and premeditated. There was evidence on the part of the prisoner tending to show that the killing was not deliberate, of premeditated purpose ; second, that the mind of the prisoner was, at the time, so affected by disease that he was incapable of committing crime; third, that the…
1Opinion of the Court
Horns, J.,
after stating the case: Our statute, dividing the crime of murder into two degrees, concluded with the direction that the jury before whom an offender is tried “shall determine, in their verdict, whether the crime is murder in the first or second degree.” This portion of the law now appears in Revisal, sec. 3271, and contains peremptory requirement that before sentence of death may be pronounced the trial jury shall determine, in their verdict, that the prisoner is guilty of murder in the first degree. We have held in several cases that although a verdict, as expressed, may not be…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- State v. . PottsSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1888
- Burkhart v. GladishIndiana Supreme Court · 1890
- State v. . BanksSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1907
- People v. VincentCalifornia Supreme Court · 1892
- State v. . KaleSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1899
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by62 opinions
- State v. LocklearSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1988
- State v. KirkleySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1983
- State v. MashSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1988
- State v. PropstSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1968
- State v. BaldwinSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1970
57 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.