EN BANC
THE UNITED
STATES,
Complainant-Appellee,
G.
R.
No. 1041
April
2, 1903
-versus-
RICARDO
LUCIANO,
Defendant-Appellant.
D E C I S I
O N
TORRES, J:
At about 1 o'clock in the
afternoon of the 6th of March 1902, Ricardo Luciano went to a warehouse
in which was stored sugar belonging to his brother, Jose Luciano,
situated
in the Barrio of Talimundoc, in the town of Magalang, Pampanga. He
found
among several empty sugar pots, a piece of bojo cane full of molasses.
Upon inquiring from the laborers which of them had hidden it there,
Francisco
Dunca replied that he was the person who had done so, after having
asked
Don Antonio Luciano to give it to him. The accused, annoyed by this
conduct
on the part of Dunca, prejudicial to the interests of his brother,
picked
up the piece of bojo cane full of molasses - about half a yard in
length
- and struck Dunca two blows. These caused slight bruises, a slanting
one
in the middle of the right thigh, and another in the left lumbar
region,
between the ninth and twelfth ribs, the blow falling longitudinally to
the body. After this Dunca left the warehouse, walking in the direction
of a cane field. At a distance of about 250 yards, he fell to the
ground.
Felipe de los Santos, seeing this, went to assist him. Finding him in a
bad condition, he called some other laborers, and among them, they
picked
Dunca up and carried him to a shed at the side of the warehouse. Here
he
died a few hours afterwards. The record discloses the fact that the
deceased
was in a sickly condition, and had been suffering from fever before
this
occurred.
An autopsy of the body
of Francisco Dunca was held by two physicians. From statements made by
them it appears that they found on the exterior of the body the two
bruises
which have already been mentioned. In the interior cavity of the body
the
spleen was found to be enormously hypertrophied, it being three times
its
usual size. In the lower portion was found a large cavity with a
rupture;
and the tissues were found to be exceedingly weak and friable. Hematoma
was noted in the interior of the cavity, and between the intestines
were
clots of blood. It was observed, also, that the stomach was dilated
with
food.
The two physicians
agreed that the death of Dunca was due to the hemorrhage resulting from
the rupture of the spleen, which, owing to the abnormal condition of
that
organ hypertrophied and triplicated in size, might have been occasioned
by a fall, a simple emotion or moral impression, a physical effort, or
by overeating. Dr. Mesina affirmed, however, that the rupture of the
spleen
could not be attributed to the blow received, because the bruise found
on the back of the body was not in the region of the spleen, but in the
region of the kidneys, which were not affected; that if the patient had
staggered after receiving the blow, by reason of the abundance of
hemorrhage,
then the rupture might be attributed to the blow, but that if this were
not so, then the rupture of the spleen must be due to some other cause;
and that, in view of the antecedents of the deceased and the state of
his
spleen, his death could not be attributed to violence.
Dr. Liongson averred
that if the spleen as it was found at the time of the autopsy had been
ruptured in consequence of a blow received near the region in which
that
organ is situated the patient would have fallen mortally wounded in
less
than two minutes after receiving the blow and that therefore he did not
believe that the said blow had occasioned the rupture of the spleen,
the
pathological condition of which was due to the malaria with which Dunca
had suffered during, the preceding months. The doctor expressed the
opinion
that Dunca's death was in consequence of the rupture of the
hypertrophied
spleen, caused by some one of the causes previously enumerated, because
Dunca, after receiving the blow, walked without difficulty about the
warehouse
and through the field for a distance of some 250 yards, and the fall
which
he suffered might have been either the cause of the rupture of the
spleen
or the consequence of this accident.
The accused, having
been arraigned on the charge of homicide, pleaded not guilty. His
counsel
introduced witnesses who, among other things, testified, that Dunca,
after
having been struck by the accused, but not heavily, with a piece of
bojo
cane, left the warehouse, going toward his house, and at a distance of
some 250 yards fell to the ground, and, having; been picked up, died
shortly
after near the warehouse. They added that the deceased was a chronic
sufferer
from fever and chills.
From the facts related
it appears that the crime of homicide, defined and punished by Article
404 of the Penal Code, has been committed. The death of Francisco Dunca
took place in consequence of a rupture of the spleen, producing a
copious
internal hemorrhage, as shown by the autopsy and post-mortem
examination
made by the two physicians, which rupture must have been occasioned,
among
other efficient causes, in view of the pathological condition of the
deceased,
by the blows which he receive on the body some minutes before falling
to
ground. If, as the physicians affirmed, such a rupture of the spleen
might
have been the effect of a moral impression, a physical effort, or
overeating,
it is unquestionable that the violent acts of which Dunca was the
victim,
if they were not the direct cause of the rupture of that important
organ,
at least produced a strong physical and a considerable moral shock. The
complication produced thereby, owing to his feeble condition, resulted
in his death, an event which the blows possibly would not have caused
had
he been a strong and healthy man.
The blows given Dunca
were illicit, and acts contrary to law, whatever may have been the
motive
which led up to them. In order to determine the character, extent, and
consequences of the punishable act and to define and classify the
offense,
it is necessary to take into consideration its results and the effect
produced
on the deceased.
It is true that, in
consequence of former ill health, Dunca's spleen was in a hypertrophied
condition and was three times its natural size; but it is also true
that
the rupture of the spleen and the consequent hemorrhage occurred a few
minutes after the blows were received. Therefore, even in case the
lesion
of the organ was due to a supervenient accident to the deceased,
already
seriously ill, it is unquestionable that the ill treatment given him
provoked
this fatal result and hastened the death of a man who a few moments
before
had been working in the warehouse and able to move about freely.
The person guilty of
the ill treatment referred to is the sole responsible author of the
crime
committed. He who executes an illicit act, in violation of law, is
responsible
for all the consequences which such an act may produce. He cannot free
himself from responsibility by reason of the circumstance that he did
not
intend to kill the man he injured. The defendant willfully struck Dunca
two blows with a bojo cane, with the wrongful intent of punishing him.
This was an unauthorized act, and constituted a breach of the penal
law.
Being illicit, the accused is presumed to have acted with malice and is
criminally responsible. [Article 1 of the Code and judgments of March
10,
1871, and June 26,1880].
The act committed by
Luciano having been a perfectly voluntary and intentional one - an act
entirely illegal, and reproved by the penal law - and the injured man
having
fallen to the ground after having walked a distance of some 250 yards,
as a consequence of the rupture of his spleen, it is unquestionable,
notwithstanding
the fact that the two physicians who held the post-mortem
examination
could not affirm with certainty what was the direct cause of the
rupture,
that the violence with which the deceased was treated more or less
directly
caused his death; or, at least, it was a concomitant cause which
largely
contributed to and hastened his death. Consequently the aggressor is
certainly
responsible for all the consequences of his criminal action, even if
his
intention was not that of causing death. Ricardo Luciano, therefore,
must
be adjudged the responsible author of the crime of homicide.
This lack of intention,
however, decreases his responsibility, and must be taken into
consideration,
together with the other mitigating circumstance - that is, that the
accused
acted on the impulse of passion, produced in his mind by the conduct of
the deceased. The trifling value of the sugar or molasses stolen is a
matter
of indifference in this case. The theft committed by Dunca might have
been
imitated by the other laborers, and if each were to have taken an equal
quantity of molasses, and were to do it frequently and repeatedly, the
loss would in a short time become considerable. It will be readily
seen,
therefore, how and why the knowledge of the theft of the small amount
of
sugar stolen might have produced this burst of anger.
In the commission of
the crime defined no aggravating circumstance was present, and
therefore,
there being two strongly marked mitigating circumstances, to wit, Nos.
5 and 7 of Article 9 of the Code, the accused should, in accordance
with
the precept of Paragraph 5 of Article 81 of the Code, be convicted, the
penalty imposed to be that immediately inferior in degree to that
assigned
for the crime by Article 404 - that is prision mayor in its minimum
degree.
With respect to the
allegation of the defense as to the withdrawal of the complaint by the
provincial fiscal, We hold that under the accusatory system the
Government
may abandon the criminal action and withdraw the information, if unable
to obtain evidence, before the trial has commenced; but after the trial
has begun and after the evidence is taken and the defense has been
made,
the accusation cannot be so withdrawn. The judge, in the performance of
his duty, may continue the proceeding and render such judgment as he
may
deem proper under the law, as was done in this case.
Upon the foregoing
considerations, therefore, the judgment below must be affirmed, with
the
costs of this instance to the defendant, the indemnity to the widow and
heirs of the deceased being fixed, however, in the sum of 1,000 Mexican
Pesos.
This Decision is
strictly
in accord with the rigorous precept of the penal law; but a
consideration
of the circumstances under which the act resulting in the homicide was
committed, the cause which induced Ricardo Luciano to strike Francisco
Dunca, and the pathological condition of the latter, leads Judges
Torres
and Ladd to consider excessive the penalty assigned by the law and
which
has been imposed. This is not a case in which an abandoned criminal,
armed
with a deadly weapon, attacked the deceased with the intention of
killing
him, but that of the unfortunate victim of an accident which has
brought
him under the operation of the penal law. It can not be said,
furthermore,
that he was guilty of great cruelty in the punishment he intended to
inflict
upon Dunca. Consequently the judges mentioned are of the opinion that
it
would be equitable to refer this case to the Chief Executive, in order
that he may exercise clemency, should he see fit to do so, by granting
a partial pardon and thereby mitigating the marked severity of the
penalty
imposed upon the accused, this action being authorized by Article 2,
Paragraph
2, of the Penal Code. So ordered.
Arellano, C.J.,
Cooper, Willard, Mapa and Ladd, JJ., concur.
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