Page:Palmore v. State.pdf/15

262 Rh  as to cast light on that darkest of all subjects, the motives of the human heart.

This position is fully sustained, we think, by our own adjudications and those of other states. Pitman v. The State, 22 Ark., 354; Coker v. The State, 20 id., 53; Atkins v. The State, 16 id., 584.

In addition to this, defendant offered to prove, by one of the Taylors, the fact that divers threats were made by the deceased against the life and limb of the defendant, to be executed whenever he met him, and that these threats were communicated to the defendant shortly before the homicide. This was excluded by the court, and its ruling was duly excepted to and made one of the grounds of the motion for new trial. This was erroneous. The testimony should have been admitted. Stokes v. The People, 53 N. Y., 164; Holler v. The State, 37 Ind., 57; Rector v. The People, 19 Wend., 589; Howett v. State, 5 Geo. 54.

The defendant offered to prove, by witnesses named, that the deceased was "a violent, dangerous, quarrelsome and revengeful man." This testimony the court refused to permit the jury to hear, and defendant excepted. The court should have admitted this, as it tended to shed light upon the motives of the slayer, and the conduct of deceased at the time of the difficulty. 2 Whart. Cr. L., sec. 1099; Phillips v. Com., 2 Duval, 328; 1 Metc., 370; 31 Miss., 504. The testimony may be of little value; the jury might give it but slight weight. No matter; the question for us is, Ought the jury, as a matter of law, to have been allowed to consider the fact? We think so. Pitman v. State, ubi supra; State v. Keene, 50 Mo., 357; Hurd v. State, 25 Mich., 405. This testimony was of more importance to defendant, in view of the slight conflict in the testimony as to which was the assailant, the deceased or the prisoner.