People v. Bawden

De Haven, J., concurring.

— I concur in the judgment. I think the instruction referred to in the opinion of Mr. Justice McFarland, in which the jury were told what their verdict should be in case they found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree, and without any extenuating circumstances, was correct. Such an instruction does not in any degree interfere with the discretion which is given the jury in this class of cases. This would be my view if the question were a new one. But as similar instructions have been many times approved by this court, after it has given the matter the careful consideration which cases involving the life of a person must always receive, I think the correctness of such a direction to a jury ought not to be considered an open question. The law on this point ought to be deemed settled. As to the other questions discussed in the opinion, I fully concur.