Opinion ID: 853074
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Refusal of Instruction on Self-Defense

Text: Lampkins asserts that the trial court erred by refusing to read to the jury Lampkins' tendered instruction, or any instruction at all, on self-defense. [4] Lampkins, his cousins and friend, all from Muncie, were at a nightclub in Anderson on February 26. Lampkins contends that he was defending himself from the crowd, not from Jones. There was testimony suggesting hostility between the Anderson and Muncie groups. Lampkins argued at trial that he was afraid for his life when he shot Jones. A crowd had gathered around Harris and Jones, and Lampkins testified that he had been stared at, bumped into and shoved around over the course of the night by Anderson residents. For this reason, he said he was afraid that he was in danger when Harris was fighting Jones. He argues that this was sufficient evidence to warrant a self-defense instruction. In determining whether a trial court abused its discretion by declining to give a tendered instruction, we consider the following: (1) whether the tendered instruction correctly states the law; (2) whether there was evidence presented at trial to support giving the instruction; and (3) whether the substance of the instruction was covered by other instructions that were given. Mayes v. State, 744 N.E.2d 390, 394 (Ind.2001). Lampkins' tendered instruction on self-defense correctly stated the law and the substance of the instruction was not covered by others. The only issue is whether Lampkins presented evidence that he acted in self-defense. To establish a claim of self-defense, a defendant must show that: (1) he was in a place where he had a right to be; (2) he acted without fault; and (3) he had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm. Wallace v. State, 725 N.E.2d 837, 840 (Ind.2000). A claim of self-defense cannot be supported, however, when the evidence clearly indicates that the defendant knowingly and intentionally shot his victim in the back and that the victim did nothing to provoke the attack. Smith v. State, 470 N.E.2d 1316, 1319 (Ind.1984). Such is the case here. Lampkins and Jones were not arguing prior to the shooting. The two had not even spoken to one another. Further, there is no evidence indicating that Jones himself was armed or had threatened Lampkins in any way. Nor was shooting Jones justified by Lampkins' fear of the crowd. Accordingly, there was no abuse of discretion when the trial court refused to give Lampkins' tendered instruction on self-defense.