Gibson v. Commonwealth

The petitioner Gibson (the defendant) was convicted of murder in the first degree in 1974, and we affirmed the conviction in August, 1975. Commonwealth v. Gibson, 368 Mass. 518 (1975). By writ of error he now claims that the judge’s instructions to the jury on self-defense and voluntary manslaughter improperly shifted the burden of proof to him. A single justice of this court reserved and reported the case for our decision. Following our decision on a similar claim in Gagne v. Commonwealth, 375 Mass. 417 (1978), we again affirm the conviction.

The judge instructed the jury on the issues of…