Prosecution's jury instructions

In District Court for the Second Judicial District Utah Territory

The People of the United States in Utah Territory vs. John D Lee - Imp'd

Instruction for Prosecution

The Dist Atty for said Territory requests the court to give the following instructions to the jury to wit

First Given ⏤Objected To⏤

To authorize the jury to find the prisoner guilty⏤his guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt⏤ And Proof which convinces and directs the understanding and satisfies the reason and judgment of those who are found to act conscientiously upon it is proof beyond a reasonable doubt⏤If it leaves in the mind an abiding conviction to a moral certainty of the truth of the charge

Second Given

Here possible doubt is not a reasonable doubt⏤because everything relating to human affairs are depending upon moral

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evidence is open to mere possible or imaginary doubt.

⏤objected to⏤

It is that state of the case which after the entire comparison and consideration of all the evidence leaves the minds of the jurors in that condition that they cannot say they feel an abiding conviction to a moral certainty of the guilt of the prisoner.

Then Given objected to

If the jury believe from the evidence that fifty persons whose names are unknown and John Smith, or any one of such persons were murdered at Mountain Meadows, in order to find the defendant John D Lee guilty of the crime as charged in the indictment it is not necessary to prove that he actually killed any one of the deceased parties with his own hand if the jury further believe from the evidence that he was present aiding and abetting in the killing⏤

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Fourth⏤ Given

The jury can only consider such evidence as is before them⏤not such facts as stated might be proved and the court has ruled out⏤

Fifth Given Objected to

It is not necessary to prove that there was a person by the name of John Smith killed at Mountain Meadows at the time of the Massacre in order to convict the defendant Lee if the jury believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that there was one or more of the emigrants killed by defendant Lee or that he⏤ aided and abetted in the killing of any one or more of the said emigrants whose name or names are unknown⏤

Given Objected to

To make one a principal in murder it is not necessary that he should inflict the mortal wound with his own hand; it is enough if he were present aiding and abetting in the act; and therefore if the jury are satisfied from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that either the prisoner John D Lee or either of the parties indicted jointly with him or any persons acting in concert with, or in and or abettal of John D Lee, with malice aforethought and wilfully deliberately and premeditatedly at the place charged in the indictment killed any one or all of the persons described in said indictment the jury must then find a verdict of guilty against the prisoner John D. Lee for murder in the first degree; and the burden of proving that the killing was done wilfully deliberately and premeditatedly and with malice aforethought rests upon the prosecution, and they must show those facts beyond a reasonable doubt and in determining these facts, the jury should look to the fact of killing in connection with the attending facts as shown by the evidence

In 2 Dist Court The People Etc vs John D. Lee-⎼ Implead

Instructions

Wm Carey US Atty