People v. Everette

JUSTICE McNAMARA,*

dissenting:

I dissent from the majority holding that defendant adequately raised the issue of self-defense and that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to instruct the jury as to the law of self-defense. I would affirm the judgment entered on the jury verdict finding defendant guilty of murder.

The majority tenuously relies on scanty comments by defendant that, while pointing a loaded gun at the victim, defendant became afraid when he saw the victim holding a beer can and heard Jeffries tell the victim to hit him. These bare statements can hardly imply…