GR 39461; (February, 1934) (Digest)
G.R. No. 39461 ; February 24, 1934
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CORAZON ZAMORA DE CORTEZ, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The defendant-appellant, Corazon Zamora de Cortez, was convicted of homicide by the Court of First Instance of Capiz for killing Maria Bigay. She admitted the killing but claimed she acted in lawful defense of her honor, having surprised the victim in the act of adultery with her husband in the house of Lucia Celis. This claim was corroborated by the testimonies of Lucia Celis and the appellant’s own husband.
ISSUE
Whether the appellant is entitled to a mitigating circumstance or justification for the killing.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court found that the preponderance of evidence did not justify a claim of self-defense. However, the evidence sufficiently indicated that the killing was committed under the circumstances described in Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code, which provides a privileged mitigating circumstance for a person who kills or inflicts serious physical injuries upon another upon surprising the latter in the act of committing sexual intercourse with his or her spouse. Consequently, the Court modified the judgment. The appellant was sentenced to suffer only six months and one day of destierro (banishment) and ordered to remain outside a 25-kilometer radius from Pontevedra, Capiz.
AI Generated by Armztrong.