Law v. State

HUNTER, Justice.

The defendant, Richard L. Law, was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, Ind.Code § 35-1-54-1 (Burns 1975), and sentenced to a term of fifteen to twenty-five years. 1 He now appeals raising the issue of the alleged reversible error of the trial court in giving one of the state’s instructions over his timely objection.

The facts from the record most favorable to the state show that defendant and a friend were drinking in a tavern in Indianapolis on October 3, 1972, when the victim, Louis Hildreth, came into the tavern and approached the two men. Hildreth said that he was…