State v. Pointer

BRECKENRIDGE, Judge.

Larry Dean Pointer appeals from his conviction by a jury of one count of murder in the first degree in violation of § 565.020, RSMo 1994.1 Mr. Pointer contends that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that his intoxication would not relieve him of responsibility for his conduct. Mr. Pointer claims that the instruction, and the statute upon which it is based, created a presumption that he had the requisite mental state for first degree murder and prohibited the jury from considering his defense that his intoxicated condition negated the necessary mental state, in…