Alpine

Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, under recommendation of the jury that tried him. He appeals from the judgment and from an order of the trial court denying his motion for a new trial.

The victim of the alleged murder was one Barney Blum. Appellant admitted the killing and defended solely on the ground that he took Blum’s life in defense of his own. In order properly to consider the points made upon the appeal it becomes necessary to state in a general way the theories upon which, respectively, the prosecution and the defense were conducted in the trial court. It was the theory of the prosecution that appellant was indebted to Blum in the sum of $150, and that he had delivered a watch and chain to that individual to hold as security for the payment of the debt; that difficulties arose between the two because of this state of affairs and that appellant’s killing of Blum was deliberate and premeditated.

The theory of the defense was that about three weeks before the killing Blnm “held up” appellant at the muzzle of a gun and robbed him of a watch and chain and of money; that he then threatened to kill appellant if the…