Court Opinion

ID: 9854016
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:59:16.409076+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:52.495479
License: Public Domain

CURETON, A.J.,
dissenting:
Because I believe the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence is that Jackson was not faultless in “bringing on the difficulty” between him and Felder, he was not entitled to a charge on self-defense. I would therefore affirm.
I note initially that although Jackson’s principal argument at trial was that he had a right to defend his mother, he has not asserted on appeal that he was entitled to the self-defense charge because he was defending his mother. It is apparent that the reason he has not done so is due to the fact that, as *40admitted at trial, his mother was the person who started the fight with Felder, thus, bringing on the difficulty.
I believe Jackson’s status in reference to his right to a self-defense charge is summed up in his own testimony. In response to his counsel’s questions, he responded on direct examination as follows:
Q. Did you ever say anything to him about pushing your mother?
A. Yes, sir. I told him not to touch her. Q. Then what happened?
A. Because she was in between us and real close. So, I was like — and I seen the expression on his face like he was ready to hit her. So, I was like don’t touch her.
Q. Then what happened?
A. He hit her and we started fighting.
Q. And were y’all all on the ground when you say he hit her?
A. Yes, sir.
Q.... How long after your mother was pushed did you and [Felder] begin to fight?
A. Immediately.
* * *
Q. Did you feel the need to protect your mother? A. Yes, sir, I did.
Q.... Before the fight began why didn’t you just run away?
A. Because I was scared. I mean, if I would have ran away, I mean, by her being drunk and him being him that she was going to get it. He was going to jump on her.
Additionally, Jackson’s sister, Elizabeth Jackson, testified:
Q. Going back, could you tell us because I’m not entirely sure, the pushing between your mother and Andrew Felder, can you tell us again from the start how the physical contact [between Mother and Felder] occurred?
A. My mother pushed [Felder] first, and he replied to her not to touch him again. She pushed him again, and he pushed her, and when he hit her, she hit the ground, and my brother came in, and that’s how they started fighting.
*41An accused who “provokes or initiates an assault” cannot claim self-defense unless he both withdraws from the conflict and communicates his withdrawal by word or act to his adversary. State v. Bryant, 386 S.C. 340, 345, 520 S.E.2d 319, 322 (1999). Under the theory of defense of others, one is not guilty of taking the life of an assailant who assaults a friend, relative, or bystander if that friend, relative or bystander would likewise have the right to take the life of the assailant in self-defense. State v. Long, 325 S.C. 59, 64, 480 S.E.2d 62, 64 (1997). Moreover, one cannot justify a homicide on the ground of necessity in the defense of another when the other person could not have asserted self-defense by reason of having provoked the encounter. 40 Am.Jur.2d Homicide, § 168 (2008).
I would affirm the trial court’s decision not to instruct the jury on self-defense because there is no evidence to support a self-defense charge. It is undisputed that Felder and Mother were already arguing before Jackson attempted to convince Mother to leave Felder’s house with him. Aware of the level of tension between Mother and Felder, Jackson virtually dared Felder to touch Mother. After Mother pushed Felder, he shoved her to the ground. Thereafter, according to the uncontradicted testimony of Jackson’s sister, Jackson “came in” and the fight began immediately. While the majority states that a reasonable inference from the testimony is that Felder assaulted Jackson and thus was the aggressor, I do not think that is a reasonable inference to be drawn from the evidence. I would hold that, unlike State v. Taylor, where the defendant testified the decedent “threw the first punch,” the only reasonable inference the jury could adduce from the testimony in this case is that Jackson intervened in an ongoing altercation between Mother and Felder to protect his mother who admittedly was at fault in bringing on the difficulty. Because Jackson stepped into the shoes of his mother, he was not entitled to a charge on self-defense.