Martin v. Commonwealth

On February 7, 1976, Martin D. Taylor was shot and killed. The defendant, Fillmore B. Martin, Jr., admitted the shooting but claimed the killing was accidental. A jury convicted defendant of second degree murder and fixed his punishment at twenty years in the penitentiary. He was sentenced accordingly. We granted a writ of error limited to the question whether the trial court erred in refusing an instruction relating to the defense of accident.

The evidence shows that on February 7, 1976, the deceased, Taylor, was helping Lydia Quick move from her apartment in the Webster Court Apartment…