United States vs. Abaigar

Killing a person who is bound and unable to defend himself constitutes alevosia and makes the offense murder under article 403 of the Penal Code; absent modifying circumstances, the penalty is life imprisonment, and the mere casual presence of armed men near the place is not an aggravating circumstance when the accused did not avail himself of their aid or knowingly count upon their assistance.

Felipe Abaigar was the defendant-appellant in a criminal prosecution governed by article 403 of the Penal Code, which defines and punishes murder. The judgment of the court below was brought before the SC in consultation.

Felipe Abaigar was the accused in the killing of Constantino Nabaonag. The testimony of the witnesses and the confession of the accused himself showed unquestionably that Abaigar stabbed Nabaonag to death while Nabaonag was bound and therefore unable to defend himself against the aggression.

According to Abaigar, he acted after hearing that Nabaonag had spoken ill of him. He testified that as soon as he heard of this he became furiously enraged, seized his dagger, and killed Nabaonag at once. This part of his testimony was not disproven during the trial.

The evidence also showed that Abaigar committed the crime alone, without assistance from anyone. Francisco Abadiano, a witness for the prosecution, corroborated Abaigar’s testimony on this point. There were men in a house near the place where the crime was committed: according to Abadiano, ten men armed with daggers, and according to Abaigar, five without arms. These men took no part, directly or indirectly, in the commission of the crime; it did not appear that they heard the conversation that caused Abaigar’s sudden determination to kill Nabaonag, and it was not shown that they participated in that determination.

The court below took into account that Nabaonag was killed in the presence of his wife. It also considered that the crime was committed with the assistance of armed men.

• Alevosia and Classification: Whether the stabbing of Constantino Nabaonag while he was bound and unable to defend himself constitutes alevosia and classifies the offense as murder under article 403 of the Penal Code.
• Premeditation: Whether the aggravating circumstance of deliberate premeditation attended the killing.
• Ignominy: Whether the aggravating circumstance of ignominy attended the killing because it was committed in the presence of the deceased’s wife.
• Assistance of Armed Men: Whether the aggravating circumstance of assistance of armed men attended the killing because armed men were near the place.
• Penalty: Whether the death penalty imposed by the court below should be sustained or reduced to life imprisonment.

• Alevosia and Classification: Yes. The accused stabbed the deceased while the latter was bound and unable to defend himself, and this circumstance constitutes alevosia, making the offense murder under article 403 of the Penal Code.
• Premeditation: No. The purpose to kill arose suddenly upon information that the deceased had spoken ill of the accused and was instantaneously carried into effect, so there was no cold, meditative, persistent reflection constituting premeditation.
• Ignominy: No. No means were employed and no circumstances surrounded the act tending to make its effects more humiliating; the fact that the deceased was killed in the presence of his wife did not establish ignominy.
• Assistance of Armed Men: No. The crime was committed by the accused alone; the armed men near the place took no part, directly or indirectly, and the accused did not avail himself of their aid or knowingly count upon their assistance.
• Penalty: Life imprisonment. With no modifying circumstance, the penalty under article 403 is the medium grade, life imprisonment, not death; indemnification of 1,000 Mexican pesos and costs were imposed.

• Alevosia and Classification: The SC relied on the testimony of the witnesses and the confession of the accused, which showed unquestionably that Abaigar stabbed Nabaonag to death while Nabaonag was bound and therefore unable to defend himself against the aggression. That circumstance constitutes alevosia, so the offense was properly classified as murder under article 403 of the Penal Code. The SC thus affirmed the judgment of the court below insofar as it found Abaigar guilty of murder.
• Premeditation: The court below considered deliberate premeditation, but the SC did not approve. The record showed that the purpose of killing Constantino arose suddenly in Abaigar’s mind and was instantaneously carried into effect upon information that the deceased had spoken ill of him. Abaigar testified that as soon as he heard of this he became furiously enraged, seized his dagger, and killed Nabaonag at once, and this part of his testimony was not disproven. The determination to kill was followed immediately by execution, leaving no opportunity for the cold, meditative, and persistent reflection that constitutes premeditation, which is different from the simple determination of the will presumed in every offense.
• Ignominy: The court below considered ignominy because the deceased was killed in the presence of his wife. The SC held that no means were employed and no circumstances surrounded the act tending to make the effects of the crime more humiliating. Ignominy is a circumstance pertaining to the moral order that adds disgrace and obloquy to the material injury caused by the crime; the presence of the wife, as the circumstance relied on by the court below, did not establish ignominy.
• Assistance of Armed Men: The court below considered the assistance of armed men, but the evidence showed that the crime was committed by Abaigar alone, without assistance from anyone. Abaigar’s testimony, corroborated by prosecution witness Francisco Abadiano, established this. It was true that there were men in a house near the place—ten armed with daggers according to Abadiano, and five without arms according to Abaigar—but they took no part, directly or indirectly, in the commission of the crime; it did not appear that they heard the conversation that caused Abaigar’s sudden determination to kill, and it was not shown that they participated in that determination. The mere casual presence of armed men near the place does not constitute an aggravating circumstance when the defendant did not avail himself in any way of their aid and did not knowingly count upon their assistance.
• Penalty: There being no modifying circumstance tending to modify the guilt of the defendant, the penalty prescribed by article 403 of the Penal Code in its medium grade was life imprisonment, not death. The SC therefore reversed the judgment of the court below insofar as it condemned Abaigar to death and imposed life imprisonment, with indemnification of 1,000 Mexican pesos to the heirs of the deceased and costs of the instance.

• Alevosia — Alevosia is present when the victim is bound and unable to defend himself against the aggression; it classifies the killing as murder under article 403 of the Penal Code. The SC applied it because Abaigar stabbed Nabaonag while the latter was bound and unable to defend himself.
• Premeditation — Premeditation requires an opportunity for cold, meditative, and persistent reflection between the determination to kill and its execution; it is not the simple determination of the will presumed in every offense. The SC found none because the purpose to kill arose suddenly and was instantaneously carried into effect.
• Ignominy — Ignominy is a circumstance pertaining to the moral order that adds disgrace and obloquy to the material injury caused by the crime; it requires means or circumstances tending to make the effects of the crime more humiliating. The SC found none despite the killing having occurred in the presence of the deceased’s wife.
• Assistance of Armed Men — The mere casual presence of armed men near the place of the occurrence does not constitute an aggravating circumstance when the defendant did not avail himself in any way of their aid and did not knowingly count upon their assistance. The SC applied this because the armed men near the place took no part and did not participate in the determination to kill.
• Penalty for Murder under Article 403 — When no modifying circumstance attends murder, the penalty under article 403 of the Penal Code is the medium grade, life imprisonment. The SC applied this in reducing the death penalty to life imprisonment.

• "The testimony of the witnesses and the confession of the accused himself show unquestionably that the latter stabbed Constantino Nabaonag to death while he was bound, and therefore unable to defend himself against the aggression. This circumstance constitutes alevosia, and the offense is therefore properly classified as murder, defined and punished by article 403 of the Penal Code." — This passage establishes the presence of alevosia and the classification of the killing as murder.
• "There was no premeditation, because an examination of the record shows that the purpose of killing Constantino arose suddenly in the mind of the defendant, and was instantaneously carried into effect, upon information that the deceased had spoken ill of the defendant." — This passage rejects the lower court’s finding of deliberate premeditation.
• "The mere casual presence of armed men, more or less numerous, near the place of the occurrence does not constitute an aggravating circumstance when it appears that the defendant did not avail himself in any way of their aid, and did not knowingly count upon their assistance in the commission of the crime." — This passage states the rule on assistance of armed men and explains why the armed men near the scene did not aggravate the killing.
• "In the present case, there being no circumstancial tending to modify the guilt of the defendant, the penalty is that prescribed by article 403 of the Penal Code in its medium grade, to wit, the penalty of life imprisonment, and not the penalty of death imposed by the court." — This passage fixes the penalty at life imprisonment because no modifying circumstance attended the murder.

• Article 403, Penal Code — Defines and punishes murder; the SC applied it to classify the killing as murder because of alevosia and to impose the medium-grade penalty of life imprisonment absent modifying circumstances.