Revoir v. State

• Decision Date: 03 May 1892
• Citation: 82 Wis. 295,52 N.W. 84
• Parties: REVOIR v. STATE.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

82 Wis. 295

52 N.W. 84

REVOIR

v.STATE.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

May 3, 1892.

Error to circuit court, St. Croix county; EGBERT B. BUNDY, Judge.

Albert Revoir was convicted of murder, and brings error. Reversed.Bashford & Disney, for plaintiff in error.

J. L. O'Connor, Atty. Gen., and J. M. Clancy, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

PINNEY, J.

The plaintiff in error was tried in the circuit court for St. Croix county on an information charging him with the crime of murder in the first degree. The accused pleaded not guilty, and subsequently a special plea of insanity at the time, etc., was interposed. Upon the trial of the special issue raised by the special plea a very considerable testimony was given in support of the plea, making it necessary for the court to instruct the jury fully on the law of insanity, as applicable to the case, and upon the question of the burden of proof; but a statement of the substance of the evidence would serve no useful purpose. The circuit judge charged the jury that, if they should find that “there is reasonable doubt of the sanity of the accused at the time, they should so return by their verdict, and find him not guilty for that reason; that unless the evidence introduced is sufficient to raise in the minds of the jury a reasonable doubt of his sanity at the time, the presumption of sanity must prevail.” These instructions were excepted to. In a subsequent part of the charge the circuit judge instructed the jury as follows: “If you find there is reasonable doubt as to whether or not the defendant was so insane, that he did not comprehend the nature or character of the act, or did not know that it was wrong or unlawful, you should find him sane. This is the only test of insanity as applicable to this case.” And this was also excepted to. The jury found that the defendant, at the time of the homicide charged in the information, was sane. Upon the plea to the information, of not guilty, there was a further trial, and the defendant was found guilty of murder in the second degree, and was sentenced accordingly to 14 years' imprisonment in the state's prison; the first day thereof to be solitary confinement. The accused sued out a writ of error.

Any error which occurred on the trial of the issue of insanity, to the prejudice of the accused, requires a reversal of the conviction on the plea of not guilty. Bennett v. State, 57 Wis. 69, 14 N. W. Rep. 912. The statute in force governing the trial (Rev. St. §...