Moses, a runaway slave, was indicted for murdering one Gabriel, also a slave, by shooting him. Two witnesses were also slaves, one of them a runaway. The defence rested on questioning the credibility of the witnesses for the prosecution; the murder took place on a dark night, and one witness was deposed by another to have a grudge against Moses. The court found Moses guilty, and he moved for a new trial on the grounds of misdirection by the judge and certain omissions in the wording of the charge. This being refused and sentence of death pronounced, he appealed. The Supreme Court discussed the ways in which judges might direct juries and the laws relating to such direction. Verdict affirmed.
