Harshaw

The defendant was charged with the murder of Pearl Frederick Harshaw with whom he had lived twenty years without the formality of marriage. He entered a plea of not guilty of the crime charged and also not guilty by reason of insanity. Separate trials occurred upon these issues. A jury found him to be sane at the time of the homicide. Another jury convicted him of the crime of murder of the second degree. He was sentenced to imprisonment at San Quentin state prison for the term prescribed by law. From this judgment the defendant has appealed.

It is contended that neither verdict is supported by the evidence, and that the court erred in giving to the jury a certain instruction warning them against failure to perform their duty.

The defendant and Pearl Frederick Harshaw lived together as husband and wife for twenty years without the ceremony of a marriage. Both of them had been previously married. It appears that neither of them had been divorced from their respective spouses. They moved from place to place seeking a living. They were employed chiefly in stock-raising and farming. They engaged in frequent quarrels. About two years prior to the homicide they had a settlement of…