Opinion ID: 1686466
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: State's Instruction on Self-Defense

Text: Appellant also complains about the following instruction: The Court instructs the jury for the State that the defendant could not arm himself with a deadly weapon, with the intention of using it to overcome the deceased if necessary, by either murdering him or inflicting grave bodily harm and injury upon him, and so armed, without abandoning said purpose and so remaining the aggressor throughout the entire time, go upon the premises of the deceased and provoke a fatal difficulty with him and in such difficulty slay the deceased with such deadly weapon, and he heard to say that he acted in self-defense. Appellant says that there was no evidence to support a finding that the appellant armed himself for the difficulty with the intention of seeking out the deceased for the purpose of provoking a conflict and that there is no evidence to support a finding that appellant was the aggressor. The above discussion indicates why our view is to the contrary. Moreover, a view of the attic, disclosed by photographs, shows that Pitts, while in the attic, could easily have moved to one side of the small opening into the attic from the hall and then he would not have been in danger from Henderson. Only by exposing himself at the opening was he in danger of being shot. The jury could have found that Henderson could not have ascended the ladder, because, according to Pitts' own testimony, it was only about halfway to the floor and was stuck at that point. In addition, Pitts knew that the police officers had been called and were on their way to the house. Also relevant on the question of whether appellant was in imminent danger is the fact that Henderson's bullet which hit in the casement of the attic door missed Pitts by at least several feet. (Hn 2) Although flight to avoid danger from an aggressor is not necessary, McCall v. State, Miss., 1901, 29 So. 1003, Miss. Code of 1942, Sec. 2218(f) requires that in order for a homicide to be justifiable there shall be reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury, and there shall be imminent danger of such design being accomplished. The jury could properly have found that Pitts was not in imminent danger when he voluntarily exposed himself to Henderson by standing next to the attic opening rather than remaining in the attic and away from the opening. The right to kill in self-defense is founded on necessity, real or apparent. 26 Am. Jur., Homicide, Sec. 137. In order to justify or excuse the taking of human life in self-defense, the danger of peril of loss of life or the infliction of serious bodily harm must be, or appear to be, impending and imminent ... so urgent and pressing that it is necessary for him to kill in order to save himself ... 40 C.J.S., Homicide, Sec. 123, p. 1000. In view of these physical, surrounding circumstances, the jury was justified in finding that Pitts was in no imminent danger of losing his life or suffering great bodily harm at the hands of Henderson. (Hn 3) Appellant further says that this instruction is too abstract and gives the jury no certain guide as to the elements which must be proved to cut off appellant from the right of defending himself. However, a careful reading of the instruction reflects that it adequately deals with the necessary elements in accordance with earlier decisions. Instruction No. 11 given defendant is not in conflict with the above instruction, because No. 11 deals with a different situation, on the assumptions that there was a reasonable doubt that appellant provoked the difficulty and that deceased was the aggressor. The quoted instruction proceeds upon the premises that appellant provoked the difficulty and was the aggressor. Nor is there any conflict with Instruction No. 12 given defendant, because that instruction sets forth the rule of the Weathersby case, and the jury found that the facts and circumstances made the first part of that doctrine inapplicable, the second applicable. Nor does the quoted instruction estop appellant from pleading self-defense. It tells the jury in effect that if it finds the stated facts to exist from the evidence, it could find that appellant did not act in self-defense. Moreover, appellant obtained six instructions setting out in detail all aspects of his plea of self-defense, and that issue was adequately submitted to the jury for its decision. Durham v. State, 1930, 158 Miss. 833, 131 So. 422; Stubblefield v. State, 1926, 142 Miss. 787, 177 So. 663; Woods v. State, 1938, 183 Miss. 138, 183 So. 508; see also Hunt v. State, 1894, 72 Miss. 413, 16 So. 753; Cotton v. State, 1924, 135 Miss. 792, 100 So. 383.