State v. Mize

EXUM, Justice.

The only question presented on appeal is whether the trial court erred in not submitting the defense of self-defense to the jury pursuant to defendant’s request. We hold there is no evidence of self-defense and the trial court properly denied the request.

The evidence presented at trial tended to show that the defendant, Edgar Earl (“George”) Mize, and the victim, Joe McDonald, had been friends for several years until a disagreement arose concerning payment McDonald owed Mize for some tree cutting work they had done together. Relations between the two deteriorated further on 31…