People v. Montgomery
Court Of Oyer And Terminer New York
The prisoner was indicted by the grand jury of the county of Monroe, for the murder of his wife, Mary Montgomery, at the city of Rochester, in said county, on November 13, 1870. He was tried for the said crime at a court of oyer and terminer held in Rochester, in May, 1871, and was found guilty. A motion for a new trial was denied ; and a certiorari was issued to the end that exceptions taken on the trial should be examined in the supreme court before sentence.
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The prisoner was indicted by the grand jury of the county of Monroe, for the murder of his wife, Mary Montgomery, at the city of Rochester, in said county, on November 13, 1870. He was tried for the said crime at a court of oyer and terminer held in Rochester, in May, 1871, and was found guilty. A motion for a new trial was denied ; and a certiorari was issued to the end that exceptions taken on the trial should be examined in the supreme court before sentence. On the trial, the killing was conceded. The defense was. the prisoner’s insanity at the time the crime was committed. He was a young…
1Opinion of the Court
E. D. Smith, P. J.,
delivered the charge to the jury, in which, after instructing in reference to the crime charged, he proceeded as follows :
But, gentlemen, it is essential to the nature of the crime, that the party accused possesses a sound mind and memory at the time. He must be possessed of his senses, and of mind and intelligence sufficient to know the nature and quality of his acts. It is the essence of the definition of premeditated design, that the person must have sufficient mind to understand what he is doing. The act must be performed by a person capable of reasoning and…
2Cases cited31 opinions
- Freeman v. PeopleNew York Supreme Court · 1847
- Beaubien v. CicotteMichigan Supreme Court · 1864
- People v. BodineCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1845
- The People v. . McCannNew York Court of Appeals · 1857
- The People v. . EastwoodNew York Court of Appeals · 1856
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