State v. Gorham

The principal issue in this murder case is whether the trial court’s jury instruction concerning self-defense was reversible error. We hold that it was not.

In the early morning hours of February 24,1978, Robert Bell and the defendant, Billy Gorham, were driving along Ahern Street in Manchester in Mr. Bell’s car. In front of 19 Ahern Street, two parallel parked cars blocked their path. William Peters was the driver of one of the cars; the decedent, Emile Voisine, Jr., drove the other. Both cars were occupied by several youths, most of whom had been drinking. Although the evidence is not clear,…