Opinion ID: 2521471
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Provocation Instruction

Text: Cassels presented evidence to support each statutory factor of the second-degree murder mitigator. First, on the night of the shooting, Cassels told a detective that he just lost it and was so angry that he just freaked out. The prosecution concedes that this evidence sufficiently supports Cassels' claim that he shot Morris upon a sudden heat of passion. Second, Cassels presented evidence to support that his actions were caused by a serious and highly provoking act sufficient to excite an irresistible passion in a reasonable person. Cassels testified that Morris followed him around the apartment, pushing and shoving him and threatening to beat him severely enough to require hospitalization. Moreover, Morris positioned himself in front of the only exit from the apartment and next to an iron bar that he previously said would make a good weapon. Morris insulted Cassels repeatedly, calling him a mooch, a low-life scum, and a loser, among other things. Cassels was naked during the entire incident, with only a towel wrapped around his body. He was therefore in a highly vulnerable position. Toxicology tests conducted after the shooting showed that Morris was highly drunk on the evening of the shooting, which supports Cassels' claim that Morris was acting like a wild man. Taken together, this evidence is sufficient to allow the jury to determine whether Morris' actions amounted to an adequate provocation. Third, there is evidence that supports Cassels' claim that between the provocation and the shooting, an insufficient interval of time passed for the voice of reason and humanity to be heard. Cassels testified that only seconds lapsed between the initial provoking act and the time of the shooting. In addition, Cassels retrieved the gun from within the small apartment and therefore only traveled a small distance before opening fire on Morris. And, Morris' body was still positioned in front of the exit and adjacent to the iron bar after the shooting. This tends to show that the shooting took place during the course of the incident and before Cassels had time to regain self-control. This evidence is sufficient to allow the jury to consider whether Cassels had cooled-off at the time of the shooting. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to Cassels, Mata-Medina, 71 P.3d at 979, we conclude that he presented sufficient evidence in support of each factor of the mitigator. See Rowe v. People, 856 P.2d 486, 492 (Colo.1993) (holding that defendant was entitled to raise the issue of provocation as a sentence mitigator, and to receive a jury instruction on heat of passion, where defendant was charged with first-degree assault for shooting the victim through a locked door in response to obscenities and pounding on the door). Therefore, the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on provocation. Mata-Medina, 71 P.3d at 979 (quoting Read, 119 Colo. at 509, 205 P.2d at 235).