Gerald M. Hill v. Michael Maloney

COFFIN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Gerald Hill, a Massachusetts state prisoner serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, claims that a jury instruction given at his trial relieved the government of the burden of proving malice — the crucial element in distinguishing between second-degree murder and manslaughter in Massachusetts — and thereby violated his due process rights. See Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979). The district court found no constitutional flaw in the jury charge, and therefore denied Hill’s petition for habeas relief. We now…