Jonathan Dawkins v. United States

Easterly, Associate Judge:

Jonathan Dawkins appeals his conviction for voluntary manslaughter. He argues that the jury was deficiently instructed regarding his claim that he used deadly force in self-defense. Specifically, Mr. Dawkins argues that the trial court erroneously permitted the jury to reject his self-defense claim based on his failure to retreat, before the decedent initiated a fistfight with him, before he (mistakenly) perceived that fight as escalating into a two-on-one attack, and thus before he employed deadly force or had any possible justification (based on a reasonable belief…