Keaton

This is an appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, imposing sentence of death after conviction of murder in the first degree, and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

On July 14, 1930, the defendant came to the courtroom of Judge Frank C. Collier. A civil trial was then in progress, in which Motley H. Flint, the deceased, was a witness. At the conclusion of his testimony, Flint walked off the stand, and when he reached the spectators’ section, the defendant drew a pistol and fired three shots at him, which took instant effect. Defendant was at once taken to the police station and interrogated. It appeared that he was not personally acquainted with the deceased, but in some manner imagined him to be, with others, responsible for his financial losses. The following day he was indicted for murder. He pleaded “not guilty” and “not guilty by reason of insanity”. Subsequently he withdrew his plea of “not guilty”, and the trial was held on the other plea. The sole question presented to the jury, therefore, was whether the defendant was legally sane at the time he committed the act.

In order to overcome the presumption of sanity, and…