Commonwealth v. Davis

Convicted of murder in the first degree, the defendant appeals, alleging error in (1) the admission of his statements to the police; (2) the denial of his motion for a required finding; (3) the denial of his request for an instruction on voluntary manslaughter; and (4) the instructions on malice. The defendant asks that we exercise our power under G. L. c. 278, § 33E, and reduce the verdict to manslaughter. We conclude that there is no reversible error, and no substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice. Therefore we affirm the conviction. We decline to exercise our power under G. L.…