Some case law since someone asked. Note there are serious differences in charges depending on what kind of evidence/witnesses are available to a DA, and differences in how the judge can instruct the jury prior to deliberations.
Of course if homicide detectives actually found evidence of premeditation, first degree murder charges could apply as well.
http://www.southcarolinacriminaldefe...luntary_m.html
Self defense and involuntary manslaughter are not mutually exclusive
Of course if homicide detectives actually found evidence of premeditation, first degree murder charges could apply as well.
http://www.southcarolinacriminaldefe...luntary_m.html
Self defense and involuntary manslaughter are not mutually exclusive
In State v. Mekler and State v. Light, both opinions released this week, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that involuntary manslaughter and self defense are not mutually exclusive, and that in a murder case both should be submitted to the jury if there is any evidence to support them.
Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter are confusing concepts which are often misunderstood, even by lawyers and judges. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a person, without malice. The definitions vary somewhat from state to state, but In South Carolina, voluntary manslaughter requires 1) legal provocation, which is some act by the victim such as an unprovoked attack, and 2) "sudden heat of passion" in response to the provocation.
Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of a person, either 1) while engaged in an unlawful activity, but not one which would ordinarily cause death or great bodily harm, or 2) while engaged in a lawful activity but with a reckless disregard for the safety of others.
To have the judge charge the jury on self defense in South Carolina, four elements have to be supported by the evidence:
(1) the defendant must be without fault in bringing on the difficulty;
(2) the defendant must have been in actual imminent danger of losing his life or sustaining serious bodily injury, or he must have actually believed he was in imminent danger of losing his life or sustaining serious bodily injury;
(3) if his defense is based upon his belief of imminent danger, the defendant must show that a reasonably prudent person of ordinary firmness and courage would have entertained the belief that he was actually in imminent danger and that the circumstances were such as would warrant a person of ordinary prudence, firmness, and courage to strike the fatal blow in order to save himself from serious bodily harm or the loss of his life; and
(4) the defendant had no other probable means of avoiding the danger. If there is any evidence at all to support the lesser included offenses of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, or the complete defense of self defense, the trial judge must instruct the jury on them, and evidence of a struggle between a defendant and a victim over a weapon is sufficient for an involuntary manslaughter instruction.
In State v. Light, the defendant testified that he was confronted by his girlfriend, who was holding a .22 rifle in one hand and a long strand of brown hair in the other, screaming and accusing Light of having another woman in the house. Light testified that the victim had been acting jealous and following him for weeks before the incident, and there was conflicting testimony from Light and from the State's experts that would have supported a finding by the jury that 1) he took the gun from her and shot her as she crouched or knelt down; or 2) that he took the gun from her and unintentionally shot her after he jerked the gun away and stumbled back; or possibly that 3) the gun went off as she held it, but after he tried to knock it out of her hands.
The judge charged the jury on murder, voluntary manslaughter, and accident, but refused to give jury charges on involuntary manslaughter and self defense. The Supreme Court reversed and ordered a new trial, because there was some evidence at trial to support all of the theories - when there is any evidence of each theory, it is up to the jury to weigh the evidence and decide, not the judge.
Mekler was a more sympathetic defendant by far. She testified that she was sitting on her porch with the victim's wife when the victim came into the yard yelling at his wife and holding a knife, which he said was for Mekler's dog that was barking. Mekler picked up her shotgun, pointed it at the victim and pulled back the hammer while holding it at her waist, and testified that the gun went off unintentionally as she pulled back the hammer. She consistently testified that she did not intend to pull the trigger, and that testimony appeared to be uncontradicted, yet the judge refused to charge involuntary manslaughter and she was convicted of murder.
Although the trial judge did give a self defense instruction, the conviction was overturned because no involuntary manslaughter instruction was given - there was evidence to support self defense or involuntary manslaughter and all theories that the evidence supported should have been submitted to the jury. It sounds as if there was also evidence to support a charge of defense of others, since the testimony indicated that the victim was coming after his wife and not the defendant, but there is no mention of whether this was requested by the defense.
The jury instruction for involuntary manslaughter makes a huge difference - if convicted of murder, the minimum sentence that can be imposed is 30 years (85%, no parole), but involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 0 - 5 years.
Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter are confusing concepts which are often misunderstood, even by lawyers and judges. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a person, without malice. The definitions vary somewhat from state to state, but In South Carolina, voluntary manslaughter requires 1) legal provocation, which is some act by the victim such as an unprovoked attack, and 2) "sudden heat of passion" in response to the provocation.
Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of a person, either 1) while engaged in an unlawful activity, but not one which would ordinarily cause death or great bodily harm, or 2) while engaged in a lawful activity but with a reckless disregard for the safety of others.
To have the judge charge the jury on self defense in South Carolina, four elements have to be supported by the evidence:
(1) the defendant must be without fault in bringing on the difficulty;
(2) the defendant must have been in actual imminent danger of losing his life or sustaining serious bodily injury, or he must have actually believed he was in imminent danger of losing his life or sustaining serious bodily injury;
(3) if his defense is based upon his belief of imminent danger, the defendant must show that a reasonably prudent person of ordinary firmness and courage would have entertained the belief that he was actually in imminent danger and that the circumstances were such as would warrant a person of ordinary prudence, firmness, and courage to strike the fatal blow in order to save himself from serious bodily harm or the loss of his life; and
(4) the defendant had no other probable means of avoiding the danger. If there is any evidence at all to support the lesser included offenses of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, or the complete defense of self defense, the trial judge must instruct the jury on them, and evidence of a struggle between a defendant and a victim over a weapon is sufficient for an involuntary manslaughter instruction.
In State v. Light, the defendant testified that he was confronted by his girlfriend, who was holding a .22 rifle in one hand and a long strand of brown hair in the other, screaming and accusing Light of having another woman in the house. Light testified that the victim had been acting jealous and following him for weeks before the incident, and there was conflicting testimony from Light and from the State's experts that would have supported a finding by the jury that 1) he took the gun from her and shot her as she crouched or knelt down; or 2) that he took the gun from her and unintentionally shot her after he jerked the gun away and stumbled back; or possibly that 3) the gun went off as she held it, but after he tried to knock it out of her hands.
The judge charged the jury on murder, voluntary manslaughter, and accident, but refused to give jury charges on involuntary manslaughter and self defense. The Supreme Court reversed and ordered a new trial, because there was some evidence at trial to support all of the theories - when there is any evidence of each theory, it is up to the jury to weigh the evidence and decide, not the judge.
Mekler was a more sympathetic defendant by far. She testified that she was sitting on her porch with the victim's wife when the victim came into the yard yelling at his wife and holding a knife, which he said was for Mekler's dog that was barking. Mekler picked up her shotgun, pointed it at the victim and pulled back the hammer while holding it at her waist, and testified that the gun went off unintentionally as she pulled back the hammer. She consistently testified that she did not intend to pull the trigger, and that testimony appeared to be uncontradicted, yet the judge refused to charge involuntary manslaughter and she was convicted of murder.
Although the trial judge did give a self defense instruction, the conviction was overturned because no involuntary manslaughter instruction was given - there was evidence to support self defense or involuntary manslaughter and all theories that the evidence supported should have been submitted to the jury. It sounds as if there was also evidence to support a charge of defense of others, since the testimony indicated that the victim was coming after his wife and not the defendant, but there is no mention of whether this was requested by the defense.
The jury instruction for involuntary manslaughter makes a huge difference - if convicted of murder, the minimum sentence that can be imposed is 30 years (85%, no parole), but involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 0 - 5 years.
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