State v. McGee

[ 588] Defendant-appellant was convicted of the deliberate murder of John Manor and his punishment was assessed at death.

The grounds of his appeal are (1) unconstitutionality of the law of Missouri that makes the test of responsibility for crime, where insanity is pleaded, to be knowledge that the act was wrong; (2) failure of the court to instruct on the law of self-defense; (3) prejudice created by defendant’s attempt to escape while the jury was deliberating on its verdict; and (4) improper consideration by the jury of parole laws and practices.

Defendant and Manor were convicts confined in…