GR 1166; (September, 1903) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1166, September 29, 1903
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. FREELAND McCRAY, defendant-appellant.
FACTS:
On the night of December 17, 1902, in Batangas, Batangas, an altercation occurred between Freeland McCray and John King in a house. During the quarrel, McCray and King fired shots at each other with revolvers. King sustained three gunshot wounds, two of which were fatal, causing his death shortly thereafter. McCray was charged with homicide. At trial, McCray pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense. The evidence presented was contradictory. Some witnesses testified that King fired the first shot, while others stated McCray was the aggressor. The trial court convicted McCray of homicide and sentenced him to ten years of prision mayor.
ISSUE:
Whether the accused, Freeland McCray, is entitled to a complete exemption from criminal liability on the ground of self-defense.
RULING:
No, the accused is not entitled to a complete exemption, but only to an incomplete exemption (mitigating circumstance of incomplete self-defense).
The Supreme Court found that the three requisites for complete self-defense under Article 8(4) of the Penal Code were not all present:
1. Unlawful Aggression: The Court held that unlawful aggression on the part of the deceased, John King, was established. The weight of evidence indicated that King fired the first shot at McCray, wounding him in the neck.
2. Reasonable Necessity of the Means Employed: Given the unlawful aggression that placed McCray’s life in imminent danger, the Court found that the means employed (using a revolver to return fire) was reasonably necessary to repel the attack.
3. Lack of Sufficient Provocation: The Court ruled this requisite was absent. The evidence proved that McCray had provoked the incident by repeatedly challenging King to a fight and, after the challenge was refused, re-entering the house in an aggressive manner, attempting to approach King.
Since only two of the three requisites were present (unlawful aggression and reasonable necessity of means), McCray could only avail of the incomplete exemption from criminal liability under Article 86 of the Penal Code. This constitutes a mitigating circumstance. Consequently, the penalty should be one degree lower than that prescribed for homicide.
The Court AFFIRMED the conviction but MODIFIED the penalty. McCray was sentenced to eight years and one day of prision mayor, with the corresponding accessory penalties, and ordered to indemnify the heirs of the deceased in the amount of 1,000 Philippine pesos.