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Criminal Law Keyed to Ohlin
Commonwealth v. Carroll
Citation:
412 Pa. 525, 194 A.2d 911 (1963)ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Carroll got married to his wife in 1955.
In 1962, Carroll was selected to attend an electronics school for nine days. His wife was unhappy with this. Immediately prior to leaving for school, at the suggestion of his wife, he put a loaded gun on the window sill at the head of their bed, so that she would feel safe. On the evening of January 16, 1962, Carroll came home and told his wife that he had been temporarily assigned to teach at another school, which would require his absence from home a lot. A violent argument ensued at the dinner table and continued until four o’clock in the morning.
Carrol testified that sometime between 3 and 4 in the morning, he remembered the gun on the window sill over their head. Right after his wife dozed off, he shot her twice in the back of the head.
Carroll testified that right before shooting, he started thinking about his children. He said that “I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to help my boys. . . I thought of the gun, just thought of the gun . . . the next thing – the only thing I can recollect after that is right after the shots or right during the shots I saw the gun in my hand just pointed at my wife’s head . . . all I remember hearing was two shots and feeling myself go cold all of a sudden.”
He proceeded to get rid of the wife’s body and clean up the house. He was arrested the next Monday, when he had gone to his teaching assignment.
He pleaded guilty generally to an indictment and was tried by a judge without a jury. He was convicted of first degree murder. He appealed, arguing that the conviction is improper because there was insufficient time for premeditation.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
HomicideTopic Refresher Course
Conspiracy; Introduction to Homicide and Murder Part 1