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183 N.C. 793

111 S.E 779

State v. . Pasour

Supreme Court of North Carolina · decided 1922-05-03

Appeal by defendant from Bay, Jat tbe November Special Term, 1921, of GastoN. Tbe indictment charged tbe defendant with tbe murder of Eli Pasour, bis father. Tbe State prosecuted only fo'r murder in tbe second degree •or manslaughter. The defendant admitted that he shot and killed the deceased with a pistol, and introduced evidence tending to show self-defense. Other circumstances relevant to the exceptions are stated in the opinion.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Tbe jury returned a verdict for murder in tbe second… · Decided 1922-05-03

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently June 1965

4 state decisions

2019221930194019501960decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Adams, J.

¶1 Both before and after he had introduced evidence, the defendant moved to dismiss the prosecution as in case of nonsuit, and duly excepted to the court’s denial of his motion. The exceptions, therefore, require a consideration of the entire evidence. C. S., 4643; S. v. Killian, 173 N. C., 792. The defendant admitted that he fired the fatal, shot, but testified that he acted in self-defense. The intentional killing of a human being with a deadly weapon implies malice, and, nothing else appearing, constitutes murder in the second degree. "When this: implication is raised by an admission or proof of the fact of killing the burden is on the defendant to show to the satisfaction, of the jury facts; and circumstances sufficient to excuse the homicide or to reduce it to-manslaughter. S. v. Capps, 134 N. C., 627; S. v. Barrett, 132 N. C., 1005; S. v. Quick, 150 N. C., 820; S. v. Yates, 155 N. C., 450; S. v. Orr, 175 N. C., 773; S. v. Brinkley, ante, 720. For these reasons the defend-, ant’s own testimony necessarily forestalled his motion to dismiss the action.

¶2 A witness for the State was permitted to testify, over the defendant’s-objection, concerning statements made by the defendant’s brother, Morris-Pasour, relative to certain marks or “scratches” on the body of the-deceased. The defendant’s exception, which was duly entered, is without merit. The evidence was competent in contradiction and impeachment of Morris’s preceding testimony. The other exceptions require no discussion. Dr. Wilkins properly indicated the brother that admitted the killing, and evidence as to any peculiarity of the deceased a short time before his death, so far as the record discloses, was irrelevant and remote. Besides, the proposed answer of the witness is not shown.

¶3 Upon examination of the exceptions and the record, we find

¶4 No error.

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