## Facts

- James J. Malone (17) and William H. Long (13) were together in the back of a store while Malone was staying with Long’s family.
- Malone obtained a revolver; Long obtained a cartridge.
- Malone proposed a game of “Russian poker,” and Long agreed.
- Malone pointed the revolver at Long and pulled the trigger three times; on the third pull the gun discharged, shooting Long.
- Long died two days later from the gunshot wound.
- Malone claimed he loaded the cartridge so the gun would not fire and that he did not intend to harm Long.
- A jury convicted Malone of second-degree murder, and the trial court imposed a five-to-ten-year sentence.

## Issues

1. Whether intentionally pointing a loaded revolver at another person and repeatedly pulling the trigger, without a specific intent to kill, can support second-degree murder based on malice rather than only involuntary manslaughter.
2. Whether the trial court’s instructions on “accidental” versus “intentional” killing required reversal.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the judgment of sentence.
- The court held that second-degree murder may be found when a defendant, acting voluntarily and with malice but without a specific intent to kill, commits an act that causes death even if death was an unintended result.
- The court concluded Malone’s conduct constituted the type of malice sufficient for second-degree murder.
- Although the jury charge contained statements erroneous in a way that favored the defense, reading the instructions as a whole showed no prejudice to Malone warranting reversal.

## Legal Principles

- Malice for murder may be inferred from the intentional doing of an uncalled-for act in callous disregard of its likely harmful effects on others.
- A killing may constitute second-degree murder when it results from an intentional act of gross recklessness toward human life, even absent a specific intent to cause death.
- In “accident” defenses, the law distinguishes accidental (unintentional) means from accidental (unintended) results; an intentional, dangerous act can support murder liability even if the death was unintended.
- Proof of motive is not required if the Commonwealth proves the malicious act and the resulting death.
- A presumption of malice does not arise until the Commonwealth establishes a prima facie case of felonious homicide.
- Jury instructions are reviewed as a whole; errors that do not prejudice the defendant’s rights do not require reversal.

## Conclusion

The court upheld a second-degree murder conviction because deliberately playing a gun-pointing, trigger-pulling game created an obvious and extreme risk of death, permitting the jury to infer malice from gross recklessness even though the defendant claimed he did not intend to kill.


Commonwealth v. Malone, 354 Pa. 180, 47 A.2d 445 (Pa. 1946)