Winters

The defendant has been convicted of the crime of murder, and the death penalty adjudged. Upon appeal, he complains of various errors of law committed by the trial court.

A very full instruction upon the law of “reasonable doubt” was given to the jury, and it was therein said: “You are instructed that the doubt which acquits a defendant on trial on a charge of crime must be a reasonable doubt in the sense mentioned and no other.” Inasmuch as the instruction contained a full and sound statement of the law bearing upon the matter of reasonable doubt, there can be no valid objection to the foregoing language used by the court. Neither is the instruction susceptible to the objection that it is argumentative in form.

The following instruction was given: “You understand, of course, that a witness ascertained or appearing to be willfully false in one part of his testimony as to the truth or falsity of a given proposition of fact, is to be distrusted in other parts.” While this instruction is somewhat out of the ordinary form bearing upon the subject matter covered by it, still we find no substantial objection to it.

Upon the question of alibi the court said to the jury: “Such a defense…

I am of opinion that the court erred not only in the instruction which it gave upon the subject of alibi, but as well in the instruction asked by defendant which it refused to give. The defendant’s whole case rested upon an alibi. If the law upon this subject was improperly placed before the jury the injury which thereby resulted to defendant certainly entitles him to a new trial.

The defendant asked the court to charge the jury as follows: “An alibi simply means that the accused was at another place at the time of the commission of the crime, and therefore could not have committed it; and I instruct you that this defense is *332 as legitimate and proper as any other defense. All the evidence bearing upon this defense should be carefully considered by you. If the testimony on this subject, considered with all the other evidence in the case, is sufficient to raise a doubt in your mind as to the guilt of the defendant, you should acquit him. The accused is not required to prove the defense of an alibi beyond a reasonable doubt, or even by a preponderance of evidence. It is sufficient if the evidence upon that point raises a doubt of his presence at the time and place of the…