Case shot

“ The truth must come out. Be calm. Now," he continued, after the first storm of remorse had spent itself and we were all outwardly composed again, "we have said nothing whatever of the most mysterious feature of the case, the firing of the shot. The murderer could have thrust the weapon into the pocket or the folds of this coat"—here he drew forth the automobile coat and held it aloft, displaying the bullet hole—"and he or she (I will not say which) could have discharged the pistol unseen. By removing and secreting the weapon afterward one very important piece of evidence would be suppressed. ”

“ The coroner’s jury did—in spite of the coroner—but it may come before another jury yet, Mullins! I remember the case perfectly; the medical evidence was that the shot had been fired at arm’s length. That isn’t the range at which we usually bring ourselves down! Then there was nothing to show that the man ever possessed a pistol, or even the price of one; he was so stony it would have gone up the spout long before. The very same point crops up in the case of this poor boy. Who says he ever had a revolver in his life? ”

“ The jury should have been permitted to determine the credibility of the evidence, as above detailed, and, if true, whether the effect of the conduct of the deceased in shooting, as he did, into the saloon, and considering all the circumstances of the case was such as naturally tended to and did excite in the mind of the plaintiff in error a sudden passion, either of rage or fear, and under the influence of which he fired the shot and killed the deceased willfully and unlawfully, but at the same time without malice. ”

“ The fact of the ball having entered the brain in this peculiar manner he deemed worthy of note, since it would produce not only instantaneous death, but an utterly motionless one. Further, from the position of the bullet-hole and the direction taken by the bullet, it was manifestly impossible that the shot should have been fired by the man himself, even if the condition of the hair about the wound did not completely demonstrate the fact that the shot was fired from a point some three or four feet distant. ”

“ Another juror said that those favoring an acquittal based their arguments largely on the fact that most of the evidence in the case was circumstantial, and that there was no absolute proof that Mrs. McDonald fired the fatal shot at all, and that if she did it was not shown that it was not in self-defense. ”

“ Even the sportsmen, whom you would think would depend entirely on their skill, are superstitious. Near Billiers we came across one of them who was busily engaged in searching for the pellets with which he had killed a fine hare. After a good deal of difficulty he found three or four. He then proceeded to fill some new cartridge-cases, putting one of the used shot into each case; for this, he said, was an absolutely certain means of killing every time that he raised his gun to his shoulder. ”

“ In suicide or accidental discharges of a shot-gun the muzzle is so near the body that the charge of shot acts very much as would a single bullet of the size of the bore of the gun, and near wounds thus inflicted, while necessarily large, have about them a minimum laceration and disturbance of tissue, so that perhaps only by their size could one say, viewing the wound alone, that the weapon used had been a shot-gun. ”

“ THE FIRST QUESTION the Defendant raised through his final appeal was whether or not he murdered the Deceased torturously or cruelly, the Supreme Court entertained an opinion that: For a gun is destructively powerful by nature, it may be used to cause lethal danger to either human beings or animals. The facts that the Defendant shot the Deceased’s head―one of the most essential parts of the body―and that the bullet shot came into her left temple and went out of her right temple, indicated the Defendant’s intent to have her died immediately. ”

“ Every pawnshop, every store where a pistol could be bought, is investigated, and under proper circumstances the requisite evidence to show deliberation and premeditation may be secured.
These investigations are naturally conducted at the very outset of the preparation of the case.
The weapon, in seven trials out of ten, is the most important thing in it. By its means it can generally be demonstrated whether the shooting was accidental or intentional—and whether or not the killing was in self-defence. ”

“ If they were taken literally, the Court reasons, the very evidence establishing the presumption would cause it to vanish. Ante, at 401, n. 6. I find no such contradiction. It seems to me quite possible to prove that a deadly weapon was used without proving the circumstances surrounding that use. The victim, for example, is found dead of a gunshot wound and the defendant is shown to have been the only person with access to the victim, and to have been in possession of the gun that fired the fatal shot. ”

“ Moreover, Orfila has observed that it is not so much the situation as the direction of the wound which gives evidence for or against the presumption of suicide. The question has been raised whether it were possible to have a gunshot wound without external evidence. There has been recorded more than one case where a [599] bullet entering through the open mouth has penetrated the brain without passing through the vertex of the skull and has killed instantly without leaving any external mark. ”

“ A portion of clothing may be carried into the wound and lead to death from hemorrhage, or death may occur from many secondary causes, such as tetanus or sepsis. Accidents so frequently occur from weapons discharged in sport, not loaded with ball or shot, that it is worth while to bear this in mind. It has been observed, for instance, that persons attempting [618] to commit suicide have forgotten to put a bullet in the pistol, nevertheless the discharge of the weapon into the mouth has sufficed, from the wadding alone, to produce a considerable laceration and hemorrhage (Taylor) . ”

“ Gun shot wound claims were always considered as easy cases, much more so, than injury or disease claims, and an examiner who was lucky enough to draw from the files a bundle of the former class of claims had an advantage over his fellow clerks, who drew the latter class, because these gunshot wound cases required very little work to complete them, while the other classes would require three or four times as much work, and often covering from one to seven years time in which to obtain the necessary evidence to establish the claim. ”

“ The testimony all concurs in showing this to be the state of facts, and the almost universal consensus of public opinion of the United States seems to justify the act. On that occasion a second, or two seconds, signified, at least, two valuable lives, and a reasonable degree of prudence would justify a shot one or two seconds too soon rather than a fraction of a second too late. Upon our minds the evidence leaves no doubt whatever that the homicide was fully justified by the circumstances. ”

“ The trial court charged the jury that if the defendant was in the lawful pursuit of his business at the time the fatal shot was fired, and was attacked by the deceased under circumstances denoting an intention to take life or do great bodily harm, he could lawfully kill his assailant, provided he used all means 'in his power' otherwise to save his own life or prevent the intended harm, 'such as retreating as far as he can, or disabling his adversary without killing him, if it be in his power' ”

“ Thus, upon the trial of a person for maliciously shooting another, the question being whether it was done by accident or design, evidence was admitted to prove that the prisoner intentionally shot at the prosecutor at another time, about a quarter of an hour distant from the shooting charge in the indictment. ”

“ By focusing exclusively on Zuchel II, the majority also disregards our cases presenting less immediate danger where we have affirmed summary-judgment grants of qualified immunity to other shooting officers. In measuring whether his split-second decision to shoot amounted to excessive force under clearly established law, Officer Pitzer could rely on those cases, too. For example, in Estate of Larsen, 511 F.3d at 1258–59, we affirmed a grant of summary judgment on qualified-immunity grounds to two officers who shot and killed a knife-wielding man. ”

“ I had no reason for following my patient into his cellar. Under the circumstances, a man may be excused for not wanting to go back quietly to his room. And perhaps I would have never reached a decision if it had not been for the pistol shot that suddenly shattered to pieces the silence of the hall.
The response to such a violent sound as a pistol shot is never quite instantaneous. There is always a moment's partial paralysis, in which the muscles of the throat seem to contract and the heart stops beating. ”

“ It is universally admitted that, where a shot fired in one jurisdiction strikes a person in another jurisdiction, the offender may be tried where the shot takes effect, and the only doubt is whether he can be tried where the shot is fired. ”

“ If the ball in the body corresponded with balls still in the pistol, this probability would become a practical certainty. And yet, the detective knit his brows. Suppose it was established beyond a doubt that this pistol killed the billiard player, there still remained the question how the shooting was accomplished. The murderer was in Number Seven, he could not and did not go into the corridor, for the corridor door was locked. But the billiard player was in Number Six, he was shot in Number Six, and he died in Number Six. ”

“ It is also held to be a violation of simple physiological and surgical rules to probe or carelessly search for a bullet whose location cannot be made out from a study of signs and symptoms in a given case. The act of probing breaks up blood-clot, often brings on fresh hemorrhage, is in a majority of cases unsatisfactory, frequently introduces specific elements from without, and really gives little, if any, more information than can be gathered from a study of the case without the use of the probe. ”

“ Q. Did you hear the sworn statement of the witness Henstridge and another that the report of the shot, which could have been none other than the fatal shot, was heard and fixed by them at a time estimated at a few minutes after three o'clock, that is to say, at a time when, according to your own admission, you were in the deceased's company?
A. It is an absolute lie. ”

“ The instruction was that using a deadly weapon, not previously selected with a purpose to use it, was, when used in circumstances of the kind shown, a case of manslaughter. Thus there was a necessary implication that if the pistol had been previously procured, with a view to using it in self-defense, the defendant would be guilty of murder, if he discharged the pistol with fatal effect, even while defending himself from an attack threatening his life. ”

“ The examination and testimony of the experts enabled the Commission to conclude that five shots may have been fired, even though only four bullets were recovered. Three of the bullets recovered from Tippit’s body were manufactured by Winchester-Western, and the fourth bullet by Remington-Peters, but only two of the four discarded cartridge cases found on the lawn at 10th Street and Patton Avenue were of Winchester-Western manufacture.C4-581 Therefore, one cartridge case of this type was not recovered. ”

“ Hence, to hit the mark is murder; but to aim at it, and make rather a wide shot, is manslaughter only. If a ball glances on a man’s ribs, it is manslaughter; if it goes between them, it is murder. This line of argument may satisfy some people; and that it does do so, we know; at the same time, it is not a doctrine that we can endorse, being fully convinced of its utter want of foundation, in right reason or common sense. Murphy, the victim of Brady’s shot, was believed to be dying; the physicians [Pg 178] declared he could not live many hours, and for this crime Brady was executed. ”

“ The fact that the Commonwealth has available such substantial evidence of the origin of the bullet restricts the need for the Commonwealth to compel respondent to undergo the contemplated surgery. [10]
In weighing the various factors in this case, we therefore reach the same conclusion as the courts below. The operation sought will intrude substantially on respondent's protected interests. The medical risks of the operation, although apparently not extremely severe, are a subject of considerable dispute; the very uncertainty militates against finding the operation to be "reasonable." ”

“ Yes. When a person is shot, it’s generally with a gun. Have you found it?”
“She had an automatic pistol in her hand.”
Reggie Fortune rose. “I had better see her,” he said sadly. “A wearing world, Lomas. Come on. My car’s outside.”
Two hours later he stood looking down at the slight body and the scorched wound in that pale face while a police surgeon demonstrated to him how the shot was fired. ”

“ The report they had heard was made by the heavier pistol in front of him. It was a ruse of terrifying simplicity but diabolical ingenuity. The wick of the tinder-lighter was an admirable slow match, obtainable in any tobacconist's shop for a few pence, which, by means of this trick, had established a false alibi for the actual murderer by causing the report which had reached the dining-room, and sent the inmates hastening upstairs to ascertain the cause. The shot which had mortally wounded Mrs. Heredith must have been fired before. ”