People v. Donguli

Vanclief, C. The defendant was convicted of the crime of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to imprisonment in the state’s prison for a term of eleven years. Defendant appeals on the judgment roll alone, containing no bill of exceptions; and the only points made relate to the propriety of certain instructions given to the jury. It does not appear that any instructions were requested by either party, and those given appear to have been given by the court of its own motion, and in the absence of any part of the evidence, seem to be correct.

1. The defendant contends that the court erred in givthe following instruction:—

“ I instruct you that a reasonable doubt is that state of the case which, after entire comparison and consideration of all the evidence, leaves the minds of the jurors in that condition that they cannot say they feel an abiding conviction, to a moral certainty, of the truth of the charge. I instruct you further, under this head, that in [609]a legal sense a reasonable doubt is a doubt which has some reason -for its basis; it does not mean a doubt from mere-caprice or groundless conjecture. If you should, entertain a reasonable dovM, then you should be able to give some reason, founded upon the evidence or want of evidence, in this case, for such doubt. And you are not at liberty, under the lazo and your oath, to go outside of this case to hunt for or find a reason for doubting the guilt or innocence of the defendant, or the existence or non-existence of any fact or circumstance necessary to a conviction or acquittal of the defendant, but you must loolc only to the evidence in this case. A doubt, to justify an acquittal, must be reasonable, and arise from a candid and impartial consideration of all the evidence in the case. Therefore, if after a careful and impartial consideration of- all the evidence which has been submitted to you in this case, you can say and feel that you have an abiding conviction of the guilt of the defendant, and are fully satisfied of the truth of the charge, then you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt, and should convict.”

The only part of this instruction objected to is the part italicized. It is said that “it would exclude from the consideration of the jury a doubt founded upon a knowledge of natural laws inconsistent with the hypothesis contended for by the prosecution.”